Butter.

I've never used margarine. I learnt early on that it is made from hydrogenated fats and chemicals. It has subsequently been found that hydrogenated fats are over represented in the blood vessels of heart disease patients. For anyone in the least bit interested, once upon a time the Abels brand was actually made from fat that had been removed from meat at the meat works (nephew used to be the chemist at Abels and he said that it made him sick just thinking about how it was made). This would be why it could be used in baking probably.

With all the new regulations coming into force soon regarding the percentage of hydrogenated fats permitted in margarine, many margarine makers are choosing to stop making it because they cannot make a healthy product.

And back to the above quote, it is interesting that you have found that hydrogenated fats do not melt or breakdown in situations where you'd expect that to happen and does, with butter. I am constantly saddened that people choose a fake food over a real food because it is cheap. My opinion, for what it is worth, is to have less of the quality instead, rather than replace it with more of the junk. I'd prefer to go without baking if I couldn't afford the butter.

Buzzy, sadly cheap is all many people can afford. I'd hate to have to feed a family these days with food prices going up every week, not just a few cents either but by quite a lot too. And I also notice that the weight in many products, especially frozen foods has reduced but the price is the same.

Where do you get margarine? I haven't seen it in the supermarkets.

it is always beside the butter

I only see spreadables. Never a block of margarine.

I always use Rice Bran oil in all my cakes, makes them last longer and moister. Butter only goes into slices (although almost cheaper to buy ready mades theses days). We only have butter in the house for sandwiches etc and only purchase when on special. Freezes well so always stock up when on sale. But really no-one should be buying butter right now, maybe if everyone boycoted it they would bring the price down. I agree, kiwis ripping off kiwis. not good

Sadly, if you read the ingredients, that one is made with palm oil. Please, please, let's not use that one. (Apologies if you've managed to find a brand that doesn't, but Countdown's house brand is palm oil based)

I use either of the following in baking Flora, Meadowlea or Sunrise all have been fine and worked the same as butter. I haven't used the cheaper ones ie HB as I don't like them personally.

New World PAMS BUTTER thursday only $4.49 in NI only

Welcome to the world of free trade. Any company can export their products to any other company world wide.

If that product earns the company a certain amount of money overseas the company will ask the same price in NZ from their NZ customers. The company is not a charity, they want to make money. The company is not subsidized by the Government in NZ to feed the poor.

So why should they sell their stuff cheaper locally than what they can get overseas? I know this is hard to comprehend if you have never run a company yourself, but that is how companies work. They want to make a profit.

So if you boycott NZ butter, there will simply be more shipped overseas. A good example on the butter front is that we used to get fantastic NZ cultured butter many years ago. It was more expensive than the normal rancid paper wrapped stuff and all the Europeans bought it of course.
However that was not enough turn-over and after about 3 years it vanished from the shops again. When I inquired I was told that it was not worth it to keep it on the shelves so it all goes overseas now.

Do you adjust the weight for the recipe?
If butter contains 90 % fat, and the recipe asks for 200 g butter, do you use 300 g spread when that contains 60% fat?