My kingdom for some GOOD soy margarine!

August 19, 2012 12:01 PM

Food locator question for SoCal Mefites: Where (and what brand) can I buy a soy margarine, no dairy component, that comes in sticks, that is NOT Nucoa?

I am a picky (but good) baker. I like the Willow Run sticks for baking, even Kroger brand margarine works. I haven't been able to find those here, so I tried Nucoa, which meets my criteria. But something about Nucoa doesn't work. It has...an overly greasy mouthfeel. Sounds stupid when talking about sticks of fat, but Nucoa has that 'roof of the mouth coating' mouthfeel to it, and I think it changes the way the cookies I make taste. Nucoa is nasty and gross and I hate it.

I called Whole Foods, Sprouts, and have been to several stores with no luck. Is Willow Run sold somewhere out here? I live in Pomona but am willing to drive a little bit. A similar product? Help!

It needs to be:

1) All soy/vegetable- no dairy
2) in stick form - no spreads
3) not Nucoa

Thanks in advance!

posted by bolognius maximus to food & drink (8 answers total)

Earth Balance does a vegan stick; I can get it in my local natural food store and am shocked that SoCal Whole Foodses don't have it. Sorry I can't help with a precise location.
posted by obliquicity at 12:21 PM on August 19, 2012

I've seen that product at Safeway. You might try calling your local store. Even if they don't carry it, they could likely source it from the warehouse.
posted by 26.2 at 12:25 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ralph's is owned by Kroger--check their store brand margarine to see if it's the same. My parents also use Fleischmann's stick margarine for dairy-free baking (I think my mom gets hers at Gelson's or Albertson's), but check the label to make sure they haven't changed the formula--I think there was some dispute about this a few months ago. I don't know that I would call Fleischmann's more than...adequate for baking but it seems to work better than Nucoa.

If you can find a grocery store in a neighborhood with a large Jewish population you might have better luck finding dairy-free margarine.
posted by corey flood at 12:41 PM on August 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Earth Balance is the way to go. It should be widely available - I can get it at my regular grocery here in North Carolina. Trader Joe's even carries it here. I don't know what part of SoCal you are in but you might try Follow Your Heart if you aren't too far from Canoga Park.
posted by something something at 12:52 PM on August 19, 2012

Oh, scratch the Follow Your Heart idea. That's quite a hike from Pomona just for some margarine.
posted by something something at 12:53 PM on August 19, 2012

Nthing Earth Balance, it's great. I had the same issues you did with Nucoa when I was doing a lot of vegan baking.
posted by charmedimsure at 1:09 PM on August 19, 2012

Whole Foods around here (Berkeley) has Earth Balance sticks. Duke nicer grocery stores do too. Not as easy to find as the tubs, but they're out there.
posted by kendrak at 1:14 PM on August 19, 2012

Thanks for the suggestions! The only place close that carries Earth Balance sticks is in San Dimas, so I didn't have to go too far. After that it was 30+ miles!
posted by bolognius maximus at 11:04 PM on August 19, 2012