The classic 1980s television commercials for the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! margarine product featured characters literally falling head over heels in love with its taste. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! was deemed just as tasty as real butter in the ad, but without all the fat and calories.

And there's the real rub - fat and calories. In the late 1970s, Americans were urged by the federal government, as well as other governing health bodies, to eat less red meat, eggs and dairy. Why? Because at that time, it was believed that avoiding all fat and cholesterol was critical to good health and avoiding heart disease. Butter got an especially bad reputation during this time and hence the rise of the margarine and butter substitutes.

However, according to a recent article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, butter has been making a comeback since 2008 and seen enormous spikes in sales and U.S. consumption. In fact, the butter consumption in this country is the highest it's been in 40 years.

Why the change? According to the Star Tribune report, there are three important things.  Americans are craving a return to simpler foods and don't want heavily processed foods. The fat in butter may not be as unhealthy as people think; butter, a purely saturated fat, was blamed for contributing to heart disease in earlier studies. However, according to a recent article from Business Insider, researchers have been unable to provide convincing evidence that saturated fat causes heart disease. Finally, modern and popular chefs and foodies are turning back to real butter for cooking.

We can believe it is butter!

Local food pundit and food personality Aura Mae, a.k.a. Your Kitchen Beautician, passionately believes in butter for its taste and cooking appeal. For Mae, the writing is on the wall when it comes to this food.

"With the news that trans fats weren't the healthy choice we were led to believe, I think consumers were looking something more natural," says Mae. "Butter is a very simple product. It's just cream, beaten to remove the liquid, and sometimes salt.

Butter is around 80 percent fat and margarine is roughly 35 percent. Butter will give you crispier and flakier pastries. The flavor of butter is very different from margarine. Part of that is the way the fat melts on your tongue and carries the creamy flavor to your taste buds."

And speaking of taste, using real butter is the darling of chefs and the cooking world. There's a reason for that.

"Cookies made with butter are more tender because gluten can't form in fat and the butter inhibits its formation," says Mae. "Also, the milk proteins will brown, giving the golden brown end result that we find appealing. When heated enough to brown, butter develops a nuttiness that adds another layer of flavor."

Mae continues, "The milk proteins in butter carry the flavor. Clarified butter, or ghee, has much less flavor because milk solids have been removed. It's the milk solids that burn at higher temperatures, so you might choose to use clarified butter in a higher heat application."

So from a health perspective, is there a healthier real butter option out there? According to Mae, there is and so much more. 

"The most healthful and flavorful butters are made from cream produced by cows allowed to pasture on grass. Look for "pastured" or "grass-fed" on the labels. Also, check out imported butters. In my local stores I have found butters from Ireland - Costco has Kerrygold Irish butter in a well-priced, three-pack - as well as France, Italy and Germany."

So, what are Mae's tips, tricks and ideas for using butter in the kitchen?

To sauté in butter, heat the pan first, and then swirl in the butter to coat the pan and toss in your vegetables. If the butter starts turning brown, the heat is too high.

Whisk in small cubes of cold butter to sauces and gravies just before serving to make them richer and glossier.

The freezer is the best place to store butter you aren't using, but if you forgot to take it out to thaw, you can grate it and leave it at room temperature. It will be soft enough to use within minutes. Grated frozen butter is the best thing to use when making biscuits or pie crust. You can work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers without it melting and it will create beautiful flakiness.

Making butter at home yields an amazingly delicious product, but I found it to be more work than I was willing to do for everyday use. I only make it for special meals.

Mix equal parts butter and avocado and add a little lime zest and cilantro. It's great on a grilled steak or corn on the cob.

Follow Aura Mae's tastes at @AuraMaeFood.