Promised Land Homestead

What is Margarine?

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.  In fact, I don’t know if I can ever eat margarine again.  Yuck!

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9:18 AM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by faithfarm

Nice entry! Thank you for posting it. Blessings>faithfarm

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9:50 AM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by seventhheaven

A friend of mine told me that after she researched some of the things in margarine she found that it was one molecule away from being plastic. Hmmmm..... that was all it took for me to change to butter.

Right On!

11:46 AM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Hey Derek - I love your new site. It's so great to read about y'alls lives! I can't agree with you more about the "yuck" margarine. I've know this for awhile so needless to say we only use butter. I think it's interesting how in trying to be healthy we sometimes miss the boat completely! Our bodies don't recognize and can't process all of this processed food! I think there is a lot to be said about simple being better. I know y'all have fresh butter. For those, like myself, who don't remember to set the stick of butter out so it will be soft enough to spread ... there are many brands on the market that sell real tub butter that's mixed with olive oil to make it nice and spreadable(or you can do the same thing with your stick of butter at home). Thank you for the great information! Give my love to everyone, Lyndsey

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12:15 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by dsw3131

Hey Lyndsey! Good to hear from you. Thanks for the tip. I'll pass it to Reg. I also bought her a "butter bell" which is a container you can keep butter in without having to refrigerate it. The only problem is during winter our house is usually still to cold for it to be spreadable.

The other day my father-in-law came over and remarked that he could't spread our butter on his bread. "Yeah", I said, "that's the way REAL butter is."

Funny.

Great info...

2:05 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by wannabeone

...thanks SO MUCH for posting it!

I've been making our own butter for years, now. If I'm getting low and don't have time to make it, I go to a local Old Order German Baptist farm and get theirs. My one hold-back on being totally margarine free is that our youngest dd is allergic to butter and milk. So, I get her rice milk and Earth Balance non-hydroginated [sp?] maragarine...it's also Kosher, so that satisfies me that it's considered 'Biblically clean.' So...because I must for her...that's what I get. The rest of us eat butter.

Would you mind if I put that on my blog and gave your credit? Since I don't know how often you blog, or check yours, I will go ahead and put it on mine...if you don't want it on there just tell me and I'll be happy to comply and take it off! :-)

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

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3:17 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by CitySteader

Amen! I've told people this for years, though not so detailedly, and yet some of them still swear by margarine!!! Maybe the details make the difference. I'll have to reread your post and see if I can remember it all. Thanks for the info!

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3:54 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by dsw3131

For anyone, feel free to steal the info. I don't need credit. Just think it's a "good-to-know" for everyone.

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8:54 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 .. Posted by LKS

Amen!

YUMMY!

9:54 PM, Friday, April 11, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

We haven't had margarine in years. I heard a doctor mentioning that, while we don't want to eat too much butter (if you are trying to eat healthy), butter is much better for than margarine. Our bodies don't even know what margarine and has a hard time figuring out what to do with it. Gross!

Having said that, I do use Splenda every morning so my body is probably still quite messed up :)

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9:55 PM, Friday, April 11, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Derek, That last one was me...I guess I'm going to have to sign up. Angela