Butter and margarine are both common bakery ingredients, and many people wonder how they differ and whether one can be used in place of the other.
If you love baked goods, you have probably wondered about butter and margarine. Both can be spread on bread, and both can be used to make desserts. Because they look alike and taste similar, many people ask which one is better.
The Difference Between Butter and Margarine
Butter
Butter is a fat extracted from animal milk, most commonly cow's milk. The milk is left to stand in a pot so the fat rises to the top, where it is skimmed off and churned into a solid mass. The liquid is discarded and the remainder is kneaded together. Butter is yellow and fragrant, with a fat content below 80%. It softens easily and can turn liquid if left at room temperature, so it must always be kept somewhere cool, such as a fridge or chiller, to stop it from melting.
Two Types of Butter
1. Unsalted butter has no distinctive flavour of its own. It is mostly used for baking and cooking.
2. Salted butter has salt added to give it a slightly salty taste, though not a strong one. It is mostly spread on bread or pancakes, or used in cooking and baking.
Margarine
Margarine, also called "artificial butter", is a product made to imitate butter. It is coloured and flavoured to resemble butter but uses plant fats such as palm oil, soybean oil or corn oil. Margarine is 80% fat, with 20% water and solids. Vitamins A and D are also added so that its nutritional value is closer to butter's. Margarine is firmer and has a higher melting point than butter, so it does not need to be kept in the fridge or at a low temperature.
Butter made from milk naturally contains vitamins, whereas whether margarine contains vitamins depends on how it is produced.
Downsides of Butter
Butter is high in saturated fat, which raises cholesterol and "bad" LDL in the body. It should therefore not be eaten in large amounts, as this increases the risk of high blood fats as well as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
One teaspoon of butter contains as much as 33 mg of cholesterol, which is very high, and our bodies should get no more than 200 mg of cholesterol a day. So we should not eat a lot of butter, or eat it every day.
Downsides of Margarine
Margarine has its downsides too: it is rich in trans fats, which are harmful to health. Eating it often increases the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
So whether you choose butter or margarine, eat it in small amounts to look after your health and reduce the risk of serious illness.
