Lancelot Acres

What is margarine, exactly?

What is margarine, exactly?

I found this at http://www.homesteadblogger.com/promisedland and found it very interesting.  I knew there was a reason we prefer real butter!  LOL

Did you ever wonder how margarine is made?  You know, the stuff that’s supposed to taste like butter and be healthier for you?  I couldn’t help wondering because if it’s not butter, then what is it?  This is what I found:

First, margarine is made from vegetable oil.  Along with using high pressure and high temperature to remove the oil, hexane is used to remove the last bit.  Hexane is a carcinogen (causes cancer), and is mostly removed later on, but trace amounts remain.

Second, the oils are steam cleaned.  This kills any bacteria, but also destroys any vitamins and anti-oxidants that were in the oils.

Third, the oils are then mixed with finely ground nickel, which acts as a catalyst for the hydrogenation process.  Nickel is also a carcinogen.

Fourth, the oils are again put under high temperature and pressure, and hydrogen gas is introduced.  The hydrogen atoms are forced into the oils.  This turns the oils from a liquid into a semi-solid.  This semi-solid pretty much takes the form of a grey greasy substance.  Emulsifiers are added to remove any lumps.

Fifth, the grey grease is steam cleaned again, and bleached to turn it white (after all, who wants to eat grey margarine?). 

Because you now have a lump of stuff that has practically no nutritional value or taste, synthetic vitamins and artificial flavors are added.  A natural yellow color is added to make it look like butter.  Until the 1950s, margarine had to be white so people wouldn’t mix them up.  Now people don’t know the difference.

So which would you choose…a bleached, colored, artificially flavored greasy lump…or….nice fresh, lightly salted butter right from the cow?  I know what I’d choose, but since straight from a cow isn't an option right now, I'll take real butter from the store, organic if possible.

Butter

{ 10:36, 2008-Apr-21 } { Posted by Belle }

My family has quit using margarine. We had a problem for awhile because butter is hard to spread, but then we found a butter mill at Lehman's. It is for stick butter. We put the stick of butter in the container, twist the handle, and the butter comes out the end in very thin strands, so it is easy to spread. There is a picture of it on my blog if you like to see what it is.

We also found, to make butter spreadable, whip it with an electric mixer. It makes it as easy to spread as bowl margarine. I found it at a blog here, I think it was Simple Folk.

Belle