Millions of people now choose dairy-free butters in England (especially ‘block butters’ (for vegan baking recipes and homemade pastry). So unless you’re going to make your own vegan butter (recipe below), here are some good brands that are also free from palm oil.
For homemade pastry, keep fresh dough away from young children and pets. Read more on food safety for people & pets.
Never feed fatty leftover sandwiches or other foods to garden birds or wildfowl, as it smears on feathers, affecting waterproofing and insulation (many vegan butters also contain salt or garlic, which are toxic to pets, birds and wildlife).
Greenpeace says there is no such thing as ‘sustainable palm oil’, a self-policed term that does not ensure the safe habitats of orangutans and other endangered creatures. Palm oil is used simply because it’s a cheap alternative to rapeseed oil, which would support our local farmers.
You can now recycle all soft plastic packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside does not recycle.
All Flora Vegan Butters Have No Palm Oil
Instead of being a stick-in-the-mud food brand, Flora has really turned the worm. As well as offering the world’s first paper-based easy-to-recycle oil-resistant tubs for its plant b+tters, margarines, and has reinvented all its previous brands (which had dairy and/or palm-oil) and now everything is vegan, orangutan-friendly and eco-friendly too!
If this company can do it, so can all the others. And the good news is that it tastes great, has no cholesterol and due to being a major brand, you can find their vegan butters everywhere, even the local smaller supermarkets. It also offers a block vegan butter (for baking), garlic vegan butter and even a vegan double cream, if you are cooking a lot of French food!
Lurpak is a quality butter that now has a dairy-free version. It’s sold everywhere and has a very ‘buttery’ taste.
Other Palm-Oil-Free Vegan Butters
The Flower Farm is a Dutch brand sold in supermarkets, made with shea butter (not for latex allergies) that grows wild on the African savannah, where plum-like fruits fall off trees naturally, harvested by hand. There is a version for children with extra calcium.
Founder Marcel van Wing spent 4 years in Indonesia. He says swapping to this brand could remove 17 kilos of palm oil demand yearly, for a family of four. He believes orangutans (our closest relatives) are like ‘greed-free versions of humans’.
Mouse’s Favourite is a delicious organic vegan butter, in home compostable packaging. This is lovely on your morning toast or afternoon vegan scones, or melt into a hot jacket potato. Gives a lovely glossy crust for baked recipes. Or use a knife to make vegan butter curls.
Keep this vegan butter chilled in the fridge, at 5 degrees centigrade or less. You can freeze extra packs (thaw them gradually in the fridge).
Mergulo is a premium brand adored by chefs, made with salty cashews and sold in plastic-free packaging. Blended with coconut oil, its founder is a chef who sells this brand nationwide.
Miyoko’s Creamery (USA) is a good inspiration for us, as it’s made with oats (which could be locally-grown here to make butter). Many livestock farmers are transfarming, leaving animals to live in peace. This lets family farms flourish, due to the growing oat milk market.
Make Your Own Vegan Butter
This vegan butter (Jessica in the Kitchen) can be spread on bread or toast, or use for baking. Made with soy milk or full-fat cashew milk, it contains sea salt, apple cider vinegar and refined coconut oil.
It has cheesy-tasting nutritional yeast too. You can leave out soaked cashews, but it won’t be as creamy (and won’t brown). Also try Jessica’s recipe for vegan buttermilk.
Why Don’t Vegans Eat Butter or Dairy?
Compassion in World Farming was set up by a concerned dairy farmer. It says that intensive dairy farms (which produce nearly all commercial milk) spend most time indoors, and suffer stress from over-milking.
Early separation from calves (males are often shot after birth due to not being of financial value, or exported for veal) causes great stress. If you drink milk or eat dairy, choose free-range organic. Plant drinks are also free from cholesterol.
