I am a scratch baker and am considering costs on my ingredients.

I have been very faithful to certain brands of butter, vanilla, etc. Do you think that a brand of butter like Land O Lakes for instance makes any difference to your baking vs. a store brand?

What about vanilla? I always used Nielsen-Massey (sp?)? Do you think other brands produce the same results as long as they are pure extracts?

What things are you brand specific on? What things have produced almost identical results?

I am asking largely because I can get some things at a better price in quantity than buying at the grocery but they are not necessarily the same brands I have been using.

I appreciate your thoughts on this!

Part of it depends on your tastes.

I don't care what brand of butter I use but I only use Betty Crocker cake mix.

You should try different things and see what you think of each.

For me I buy whatever butter is the cheapest and have never tasted a difference.And I can't believe I am going to say this,Indydebi is always spot on I prefer Duncan Hines,For Vanilla I hate using clear,but I just use the wilton for that,I use the same brand you do but I use pure vanilla bean paste.Just like Indydebi said just gotta try it out.

Oh, I recommend only eating Kraft mac and cheese to me no name brand will do!!

LOL I can't get over the ORANGE color of the blue box... BUT.. that's another topic LOL

Hello, I bake from scratch too, I have found that butter is butter for my cakes. I buy the one that has the lower price, as long as it is 100% butter and not that butter blend stuff.The same is also true for the extracts.My mother taught me how to bake and that's all she ever used was butter and extracts .No margarine and no imitation flavorings.

There is a difference in butters. Yes, there are name brands, but they are not necessarily the best. You should know, as a baker, that there are several things to consider and try to make sure the product you are serving is what you want exactly to be put out in your name.

Out comes the old home ec teacher in me....
"Butter is classified primarily on flavor characteristics and is then rated according to body, color and salt. A final grade is assigned based on the combination of all four attributes. Grades include AA, A and B. All butter sold in the United States must contain at least 80 percent milkfat."

Personally, I have found that the best butter that works the way I want it too, is almost a dollar cheaper than the Land 'O Lakes. I get it at Save a Lots and it is available in salted and unsalted. I love it! In fact, I will not make a cheesecake unless I use their brand of cream cheese, either. The moisture content is exactly the standards for what I am looking.

So, yes, there are differences... buy several kinds and use them in the same recipe... judge the results. You will see the difference and your family will love you for having several things to eat!

Hello, I bake from scratch too, I have found that butter is butter for my cakes. I buy the one that has the lower price, as long as it is 100% butter and not that butter blend stuff.The same is also true for the extracts.My mother taught me how to bake and that's all she ever used was butter and extracts .No margarine and no imitation flavorings.

I sometimes add marshmallow flavoring to my white cakes.... gives a very fun and different flavor

Only C&H powdered sugar for me!

Lu

I think brands do matter. What brands, that's up to you and what you like. I like Domino sugar, and Land O Lakes butter. But someone else might like a different taste.

There are some good off brands, but you really gotta look for them, I think.

my biggest thing is not using store brand powdered sugar. unless i can get it super cheap the 10x is easier for me cause i don't have to sift it before i use it

I think it really depends on what you're making. I am also a scratch-only baker and would never consider using an imitation flavoring or non-butter shortening. That said, the flavor differential is really going to depend. For custards and pastry creams, I can really taste the difference between pure vanilla extract and using a vanilla bean, for example. For a cake, I don't taste any difference between brands of butter, so I stick to what I can get most economically.

I only use Land o lakes butter too. Until I found the BJ's brand of unsalted butter at 1.80 a #. I asked CCer's on here what they thought and alot of them used this butter. I finally used it in my SMBC and NFSC and Cakes and boy there was not a difference at all in taste. I was so glad I finally had the courage to try something new and cheaper and it totally works!!!!

There are very few things I am brand loyal to. Most of the time I don't notice much of a difference, if any.
But, I only use Jif peanut butter (and All Free and Clear, but that's just for laundry. I don't use that for baking )

For butter I have found that the 4 lb multi packs at the cash and carry works just as well as the more expensive brands. Sometimes I get Lurpak butter from the cash and carry too which is a great brand but it is really really vividly yellow, so it makes my BC too yellow so won't use it for BC only baking.

For vanilla I use the same brand as you, to me it is far superior to the real vanilla I bought in the cash and carry. I can't remember what the brand was, possibly McCormic. Side by side the vanilla from the cash and carry was much weaker in flavour and scent. Not good at all. So I won't skimp on vanilla.