Margarine facts for kids

Margarine

Margarine is a popular food spread that looks and tastes a lot like butter. But unlike butter, which comes from milk, margarine is made from plant oils or sometimes animal fats. It's often called an "artificial butter" because it was created to be a cheaper and more widely available alternative.

Margarine is a mix of different ingredients. Besides oils or fats, it can contain skimmed milk, salt, and special ingredients called emulsifiers. Emulsifiers help mix the oil and water parts of margarine so they don't separate.

What is Margarine?

Margarine is a spread that people use for cooking, baking, and spreading on toast. It was invented in the 1800s as a substitute for butter. It's designed to have a similar texture and taste to butter, but it's made in a different way.

How is Margarine Made?

Making margarine usually starts with vegetable oils, like sunflower, soybean, or palm oil. These oils are liquid at room temperature. To make them solid like butter, they go through a process called hydrogenation. This process changes the oils so they become more solid and spreadable.

After the oils are prepared, other ingredients are added. These can include water or skimmed milk, salt for flavor, and emulsifiers. Emulsifiers help keep the oil and water mixed together smoothly. Vitamins, like A and D, are also often added to make margarine more nutritious.

Why Use Margarine?

Many people choose margarine for different reasons. One big reason is that it often has less fat than butter. There are even "low fat" margarines that have even less fat. This makes it a popular choice for those watching their fat intake.

Margarine is also very useful in the kitchen. It's a key ingredient in many baked goods. You can use it to make delicious pastries, fluffy doughnuts, and yummy cookies. Its smooth texture and ability to blend well make it a favorite for baking and cooking.

Images for kids

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  Dutch margarine advertising, 1893

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  Newspaper ad for an American oleomargarine product, 1919. Product made by the American company Swift & Company from by-products of the animal processing business.

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  Postcard of "Incorporating Salt and Working Moisture out of "Swift's Premium" Oleomargarine", undated

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  Partial hydrogenation of a typical plant oil to a typical component of margarine. Most of the C=C double bonds are removed in this process, which elevates the melting point of the product.

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  Cudahy's Delrich brand of margarine used a "color berry" to color its white vegetable-based margarine yellow. This 1948 advertisement demonstrates how to color the margarine inside the package

See also

In Spanish: Margarina para niños