Eat Out Eat Well

bread

Are You Eating A Bread And Butter (or oil) Meal Before Your Actual Meal?

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Have you been known to invade the breadbasket with gusto as soon as it lands on the table?

Then do you mindlessly continue to munch before and during your meal either because you’re hungry or because the bread is there for easy nibbling or for sopping up gravy or sauce?

Butter or Oil?

Olive oil for bread dipping is giving butter some stiff competition.  Olive oil arrives green or golden, plain, herbed or spiced.  It can be plopped down on your table, or poured with a flourish.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

Butter can also appear in many forms.  It still may still arrive in shiny foil packets – what would a diner be without them – or mounded in  pretty dishes sprinkled with sea salt or blended with various fruits or herbs.

Don’t be misled by the presentation — butter and oil, although delicious, are high calorie, high fat foods. Certain oils may be heart healthy, but they are still caloric.

Who Takes In More Calories – Butter Or Olive Oil Eaters?

Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants have shown that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread consume more fat and calories than if they use butter on their bread. But, the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread than the butter eaters.

In a study done by the food psychology laboratory at Cornell University, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and bread that was eaten.

The researchers found:

  • Olive oil users used 26% more olive oil on each piece of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories)
  • Although the olive oil users have a heavier hand than the butter users when slathering or dipping their bread, over the course of the meal the olive oil users ate less bread and oil – the olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter
  • Olive oil users took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters)

The Caloric Punch of Butter, Oil, And Bread

  • A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories
  • Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter contains heart unhealthy saturated fat
  • Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece; harder breads and breadsticks are often less caloric than softer doughy breads
  • Most white bread and a small piece of French bread average around 90 to 100 calories a slice; dinner rolls average 85 calories each
  • If you’re eating Mexican food, bread may not appear, but a basket of chips adds around 500 calories

If you’re thinking of switching up your bread and butter routine when you eat at home, why not consider an attractive oil canister for pouring some extra virgin olive oil onto a plate for dipping your bread (or for dressing your salad or some vegetables).  Here are some very attractive ones at different price points.  All are available through Amazon Prime.

Cucina Italiana Ceramic Olive Oil Dispenser Bottle, with Set of 4 Bread Dipping Plates, Honey Yellow

One Quart Olive Oil Dispenser, Stainless Steel Olive Oil Can Drizzler with Drip-free Spout

Michael Aram Olive Branch Gold Olive Oil Dispenser

My posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy through one of the links you won’t pay a penny more but I’ll receive a small commission. I do not get compensated for reviews.

Do You Eat A Bread And Butter (or oil) Meal Before Your Meal?

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breadbasketHave you been known to invade the breadbasket with gusto as soon as it lands on the table?

Then do you mindlessly continue to munch before and during your meal either because you’re hungry or because the bread is there for easy nibbling or for sopping up gravy or sauce?

Butter or Oil?

Olive oil for bread dipping is giving butter some stiff competition.  Olive oil arrives green or golden, plain, herbed or spiced.  It can be plopped down on your table, or poured with a flourish.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

Butter can also appear in many forms. It still may still arrive in shiny foil packets – what would a diner be without them – or mounded in pretty dishes and sprinkled with sea salt or blended with various fruits or herbs.

Don’t be misled by the presentation — butter and oil, although delicious, are high calorie, high fat foods. Certain oils may be heart healthy, but they are still caloric.

Who Takes In More Calories – Butter Or Olive Oil Eaters?

Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants have shown that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread consume more fat and calories than if they use butter on their bread. But, the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread than the butter eaters.

In the study done by the food psychology laboratory at Cornell University, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and bread that was eaten.

The researchers found:

  • Olive oil users used 26% more olive oil on each piece of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories).
  • Olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter.
  • Although the olive oil users used a heavier hand than the butter users for what they put on individual slices of bread, over the course of the meal they ate less bread and oil.
  • Olive oil users took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters).

The Caloric Punch of Butter, Oil, And Bread

  • A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories.
  • Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter contains heart unhealthy saturated fat.
  • Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece. Harder breads and breadsticks are often less caloric than softer doughy breads.
  • Most white bread and a small piece of French bread average around 90 to 100 calories a slice. Dinner rolls average 85 calories each.
  • If you’re eating Mexican food, bread may not appear, but a basket of chips adds around 500 calories.

Irish Soda Bread: Farl, Cake, Spotted Dog?

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A loaf of Irish Soda Bread with raisins on baking sheet.
A loaf of Irish Soda Bread with raisins on baking sheet.

It’s not too hard to find green bagels, beer, and even green  milkshakes on St. Patrick’s Day in the US. Of course there’s also corned beef and cabbage – and “Irish soda bread” — with a cruciform slashed on top.  Have you ever wondered why the shape of the cross is slashed on the tope of the bread – and why it’s known as soda bread?

Soda Bread and Native Americans

The earliest reference to the chemical reaction that makes soda bread rise is actually credited to American Indians.  Centuries before soda bread became popular in Ireland, they added pearl-ash (potash), the natural soda in wood ashes, along with an acidic ingredient, to make their breads rise.

Soda bread became popular in Ireland when bicarbonate of soda, also known as bread soda, became available to use as a leavening agent.  Bread soda made it possible to work with the “soft” wheat grown in Ireland’s climate. “Hard” wheat flour, the main kind used in the US today, needs yeast to rise properly. “Soft” wheat flour doesn’t work well with yeast but is great for “quick breads” like soda bread.

According to The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread the earliest published recipe or soda bread was in a London magazine in 1836 – also later repeated in several US papers – that refers to a “receipt for making soda bread” found in a newspaper in Northern Ireland. The praise:  “there is no bread to be had equal to it for invigorating the body, promoting digestion, strengthening the stomach, and improving the state of the bowels.” Sounds like tasting good wasn’t a big priority!

In 19th century Ireland, making bread was part of daily life and most families lived in farmhouses where kitchens had open hearths, not ovens. Bread soda meant that anyone who didn’t have an oven (most people in Ireland in the 1800’s didn’t) could make soda bread.

The bread soda wasn’t perishable, was relatively inexpensive and buttermilk, a by-product of making butter, and the soft wheat for flour, both necessary components of soda bread, were commonly available. The bread was cooked on a griddle or in a bastible, a big cast-iron pot with a lid that could be put right into coals or a turf fire.

Brown Or White; Cake Or Farl?

“Plain” soda bread often appears with a main meal  — to soak up gravy – or at breakfast. It comes both brown and white, and in two main types, cake and farl.

Traditional brown Irish soda bread is basic table bread made from whole meal flour, baking soda (bread soda), salt, and buttermilk.  White soda bread, made with white flour, is considered slightly more refined than brown soda bead and is sometimes considered a more special occasion bread.

Cake tends to be found more in the south of Ireland while people in Northern Ireland seem to prefer farl — although both can be found in the North and South, sometimes with different names.

Cake is soda bread that is kneaded, shaped into a flattish round, then deeply cut with a cross on the top.  Now it’s normally baked in an oven.

For farl the dough is rolled into a rough circle and cut all the way through — like a cross — into four pieces or farls (“farl” is a generic term for a triangular piece of baking).  It’s usually baked in a heavy frying pan, on a griddle, or on top of the range or stove. It’s flatter and moister than cake.  Each farl is split in half “the wide way” before it’s eaten and is best when hot. It’s also allowed to cool and then grilled or fried as part of other dishes — especially the Ulster Fry,  a local breakfast where golden and crispy soda bread and potato farls have been fried in reserved bacon fat and are served with Irish bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomato and egg.

What’s Spotted Dog?

There are regional variations of the basic soda bread recipe – even though some purists would say there should be no additions to the dough.

In Donegal caraway seeds were traditionally put in the bread.  In earlier and leaner times when raisins or dried fruit were luxuries, a fistful of them or maybe even a little sugar or an egg — if either could be spared — would have been put into the white flour version of the bread during the harvest as a treat for the working men.

The non-traditional varieties of soda breads that are made with raisins, caraway, orange zest, and other add-ins are often called Spotted Dog.

What About The Cross On Top?

Before baking, a cross is traditionally cut on the top of the soda bread loaf with a knife – often said to ward off the devil and to protect the household.

Legend and symbolism aside, there’s a practical reason for the cruciform shape to be cut into the top of the dough. Slashing the dough lets heat penetrate into the thickest part of the bread and allows the bread to stretch and expand as it rises.

Slashing a round loaf with a cruciform shape ends up dividing the bread into quadrants that can be easily broken apart (the breaking of the bread). But, since Ireland is a Catholic country, the symbolism of the cross can also be interpreted as blessing (crossing) the bread and giving thanks.

One serving (74 g) of Irish Soda Bread with raisins and caraway seeds has 214 calories, 3.67g fat, 41.51g carbs, 4.86g protein.

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Is The Breadbasket Doing You In?

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Shiny Packets And Small Pots

It used to be only butter on bread – big slabs, small pots, or foil wrapped rectangles.  You can still find all of these – what would a diner be without those sometimes rock hard, sometimes soft and squishy, gold or silver foil wrapped butter packets?

Butter or Oil?

Olive oil for bread sopping and dipping is giving butter some stiff competition.  Olive oil arrives green or golden, plain, herbed or spiced.  It can be plopped down on your table, or poured with flourish from a dark tinted bottle.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

How Many Calories?

Do you eat more calories from one or the other?  Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants showed that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread consumed more fat and calories than if they used butter on their bread. But, the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread than the butter eaters.

In the study, done by the food psychology laboratory at Cornell University, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and the amount of bread that was consumed.

How Much Butter, How Much Oil, How Much Bread?

Adult diners given olive oil for their bread used 26% more oil on each piece of bread compared to those who were given block butter, but they ended up eating 23% less bread in total.

The researchers found:

  • Olive oil users used 26% more olive oil on each slice of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories)
  • Olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter

The olive oil users had a heavier hand than the butter users – for individual slices of bread.  However, over the course of the meal when the total amount of bread and either oil or butter was accounted for, the olive oil users used more per slice, but, overall they ate less bread and oil over the course of the meal.

They also took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters).

Butter, Oil, And Bread Add Significant Calories

  • A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories.
  • Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter is filled with heart unhealthy saturated fat
  • Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece
  • Most white bread and French bread averages around 90 to 100 calories a slice. Most dinner rolls average 70 to 75 calories each.

What’s Your Bread And Butter (or oil) Plan?

The bread and butter or olive oil pre-dinner (and maybe during dinner) ritual can create a real caloric bump without much nutritional value.  So many of us chow down mindlessly on bread and butter or oil before a meal – because we’re hungry – or because it’s there for easy nibbling.

Choose to eat it, limit your amount, or don’t let the breadbasket land on your table.  The choice is yours – just be mindful of the calories.

Is Your Wheat Bread Whole Grain?

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Confused?  You’re not alone.  “How do I tell if it’s whole grain?” is a question I get asked all of the time. Whole grains are the place we really fall short.  According to the government’s new dietary guidelines, the average American is getting, on average, only about 15% of the amount that we need.

According to the FDA, whole grains are “cereal grains that consist of the intact and unrefined, ground, cracked or flaked fruit of the grains whose principal components — the starchy endosperm, germ and bran — are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain.” Examples include barley, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, millet, rice, rye, oats, sorghum, wheat and wild rice.

Got that???  In other words, whole grains are intact grains: they haven’t had their bran and germ removed through the milling process. This makes them good sources of fiber and keeps the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals from being removed.

What Is Refined Grain and Flour?

Refined grains have been processed to remove the bran and germ.  Flour made from refined grains produces baked goods with a softer texture and a longer shelf life.  But fiber, iron, vitamins, and minerals have also been removed during the milling process.

White flour, which is made from a refined grain, has had both the bran and germ removed. To make it enriched flour, which you find quite frequently, nutrients are added back in to make up for the ones lost in processing.  The amount of nutrients are regulated by the FDA.  Because flour is enriched does not mean that it is whole grain.

How To Tell If Your Bread Is Whole Grain

  • Always check the ingredients label, not just the front of the package
  • Look for the word “whole” as in “whole grain,” “whole meal,” or “100% whole wheat”
  • Check that whole grains are included in the first items in the ingredient list
  • Aim for products with at least 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving
  • Descriptive words like stone-ground, multi-grain, 100% wheat, or added bran don’t necessarily mean whole grain