Margarine – Facts, Substitutes, and Everything You Need to Know

Margarine is an ingredient more commonly associated with being a more affordable butter substitute. This is usually made of a mix of oils ( unsaturated fats ) sometimes containing milk products. A highly processed food, it’s been part of many people’s pantries for years. Read the article to find out more on the difference between butter and margarine, popular margarine brands in the Philippines, benefits, substitutes, and recipes. And is it just a more affordable butter ?

A short Introduction

This artificial butter ( margarine pronunciation ‘maar-jr-uhn’ )  is popularly used as  a butter substitute. Despite being an alternative, unlike butter which is made up of dairy/milk, the margarine ingredients are as follows; water, vegetable oil or animal fats ( with hydrogenated oil which with too much consumption may cause heart problems), salt, emulsifiers, and sometimes containing milk solids or skimmed milk. These can be used in cooking and baking and contain a lesser amount of fats compared to butter. 

This ingredient was given the Latin name ‘Oleomargarine’ as these were made with olive oil or ‘oleum’ first. It was then shortened to margarine or ‘marge’ after. The fats and oils are emulsified with water droplets intensity and uniformly dispersed throughout the phase until it turns into a solid form. This process of refining vegetable oil and water was made during 1813 by a French Chemist, Michel Eugène Chevreul . combining different forms of fats and ingredients like margaric acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid. It was in 1869 when margarine really came to life as the French Emperor Napoleon III challenged many to create a butter alternative for the lower classes and armed forces using beef tallow. Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès created this in 1869, patented it but was not able to have any commercial success. It was then Sold to a Dutch company which became part of the company Unilever and was then advertised and slowly brought to the masses.

The ‘marge’ used to only be white in color, which many found appealing as it looked too similar to lard. Thus, since 1880’s many manufacturers have added a bit of coloring to make it look a bit more like butter and to improve their sales. Often you can find this spread at grocery stores, convenient stores, and now online stores. Sold in jars, plastic containers, squeeze bottles, wrapped similarly to butter or as margarine sticks, some containers are even colored per flavor. Many other margarine is eaten as a ‘sweet’ being flavored with chocolate, condensed milk, strawberry, honey and more. Some other savory versions like garlic have also been made.

Margarine Substitutes

• The easiest and best substitute would be butter.
  • Butter vs Margarine taste – Butter is richer in taste and has a nice smooth and silky mouthfeel. Whereas the other is more greasy and lacks flavor, depending if it has some additives / additional flavorings.
  • When using Margarine vs Butter for baking cakes – Butter will make the cake more tender and flavorful. The lower saturated fats from margarine can change the texture of cakes and many other pastries.
  • Butter vs Margarine in cookies – Butter helps stabilize the cookie. While the other will spread out the cookie more when cooked and may not have the crips outer layer.
  • For cooking –  similarly to the other methods of cooking, butter is still a clear winner. But margarine is still great price-wise and is more practical when practicing dishes or for dishes that feature a stronger flavor, as margarine has a lighter taste.
• You can also use different oils such as olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil. Avocado oil, or even coconut oil instead. Though when using coconut oil, it will have a slight ‘coconut’ taste compared to the other oil substitutes of which have no flavor.

Questions : 

• Is Margarine bad for you ?

Some might wonder, Is margarine healthier than butter? Are there any margarine health risks? While it is a more affordable version, it is not the ‘healthier’ option. It has trans fat which may raise (bad) cholesterol levels. High cholesterol levels might cause heart problems. Eat this with moderation.

• Butter vs Margarine calories

While butter is a better version, being made out of dairy rather than a mixture of oils. They do have almost the same amount of calories. A tablespoon each can have around 100 calories.

• Is Margarine dairy free? Is Margarine Vegan?

Most of these are dairy free, vegetarian and vegan friendly. Though some brands may have a hint of dairy in. It would be best to check the ingredient list before buying.

• Can I use Butter instead of Margarine ?

Yes,  both can be substituted for each other for cooking and baking. Though the taste wll slightly differ since butter has a richer dairy feel.

• What happens to margarine when heated ?

Like butter, these will melt and when cooled down will turn solid slowly.

The use of Margarine In the Philippines

Many FIlipinos are familiar with this ingredient as the ‘affordable butter’ with a distinctly mild buttery taste that is often spread over white bread or any bread and lightly sprinkled with sugar then eaten toasted or untoasted. Some even eat these over crackers. With many other ways to use this ‘not-butter’. It’s so affordable you can find margarine prices ranging from 32 pesos for a 100 gram container to 276 pesos more or less for a 1 kilogram tub.

The best margarine for baking, or rather the most popular margarine butter brands you can find in stores in the Philippines is “Star Margarine” from San Miguel Foods and “Baker’s Best”. Star-Margarine being so popular that it has an array of flavors from Classic, Chocolate, Caramel, Sweet blend ( using honey and is said to be sugar-free ), and a savory garlic flavor. These even come in small packaging to make it easy to carry around for on the go snacks, to bigger ones that are more suited for bigger families. 

Try out these Yummy recipes :

A more affordable ‘butter-y’ way to add ‘butter’ into recipes that need it. This artificial oil that still contains a hint more or less of dairy is easy to find in the groceries, small and big supermarkets, convenience stores, and Sari-Sari stores ( Filipino small/neighborhood convenience stores). Here are some Yummy recipes to try :