Many people saving own time, making breakfast at a quick fix. What could be simpler, faster and tastier than sandwiches with a delicate creamy spread and a piece of cheese? To prepare them, some housewives buy oil, others buy oil similar to it. taste qualities, but a more favorable price spread. There is another product that is often placed in the same line with the mentioned items. It's about about margarine. But how fair similar comparison? In this article we will look at the difference between spread and margarine.

Definitions

Spread– combined substitute butter, produced on the basis of animal and vegetable fats. It has a particularly soft and delicate consistency. The product appeared on the shelves of Russian stores in the 90s of the last century and was initially called “soft butter”. The cost of the new product was an order of magnitude cheaper than the usual analogue, thanks to which it became widely popular among the population. With the onset of a deep agricultural crisis, the amount of raw materials for making butter decreased significantly. This served as an additional incentive not only for the mass distribution of spreads, but also for the creation of low-grade counterfeits of a scarce product. As a result, the oil substitute began to be considered a cheap counterfeit, and similar attitude remains to this day. By the way, the term “spread” comes from English verb to spread, which means “to spread.” In English-speaking countries, this is the name for any product whose layer can be applied to bread.

Margarine– an emulsion product, a solid cooking fat, which is made on the basis of plant components. It is a surrogate or an inferior substitute for butter. Actively used in culinary: baking and confectionery industries, as well as in cooking homemade baked goods. It is used directly for food much less often. In most countries, including Russia, it is prohibited to write the word “butter” on margarine packaging. It is worth noting that the product was first created in 1860 French chemist by order of Napoleon III himself. The emperor promised a pleasant reward to the one who would come up with a butter substitute intended for consumption by soldiers and the lower strata of the population. The product was patented in 1971, and by the end of the decade it had become widespread in the Old and New Worlds.

Comparison

Let's talk about the composition and production technology of the items in question. If butter is made from milk fat, then plant components are used in its substitutes. In the case of margarine, their amount can reach up to 100%. That is, the content of milk fats in this product is not regulated in any way. Another thing is a spread, which is closer in composition to butter. It must contain at least 15% milk fat. The creamy vegetable spread is rightfully considered the most natural.

Let us add that both products of interest to us are obtained from liquid and solid oils. The latter contain trans isomers that pose a threat to human health. According to GOST, they are present in spreads no more than 8%, while there are no such restrictions for margarine. Therefore, this low-quality surrogate oil should be eaten only in processed form, using it in cooking. Otherwise, the level of cholesterol in the human body will increase, thereby provoking the development of vascular diseases. That is, another difference between the spread and margarine is that the former can be safely spread on bread. Many manufacturers make the product using transesterification technology, which enriches it with positive acids such as Omega-6. This substance normalizes the activity of the cardiovascular system and reduces cholesterol levels.

The amount of total fat in the spread ranges from 39 to 95%. This product is much lower in calories than butter. In addition, it is perfectly absorbed by the body and helps improve metabolism. In the case of margarine, the amount of total fat is at least 20%. Concerning appearance products, the spread may be white or slightly yellowish. Margarine has a more saturated color. Its palette ranges from light to bright yellow.

Let's summarize what is the difference between spread and margarine.

Table

Yesterday I bought butter at the market, my husband attacked me with reproaches, saying that I’m a teapot, I don’t understand butter, and they slipped me margarine!

I felt offended, because I was 160 rubles. I paid about 400 grams for a piece, and today I decided to scour the internet and interview experienced relatives and friends on butter/margarine issues, and this is what I found:

Butter is a natural product made from cow's milk or cream.
Margarine- This is an artificially created product from animal and vegetable fats.

Differences - butter/margarine:

2. If GOST number R 52969-2008 is indicated on the pack, this is butter. However, here too you need to be careful and pay attention to the price of such oil. If a 200-gram pack costs 19 rubles, most likely it is a fake. Real oil should cost at least 30-40 rubles per package.

3. Study the composition of the product on the package. Butter is made only from milk or cream. If the composition contains vegetable fats (peanut, coconut, Palm oil or in general “milk fat substitute”), here is margarine!

4. You can distinguish butter from margarine experimentally, but only at home: leave the purchased pack on the kitchen table for one hour. If drops of water “fog up” appear on it, it is margarine. The same conclusion will be if a piece from a pack dropped into water does not dissolve evenly, but separates into particles.

5. The color of the oil may vary from whitish to pale yellow, but the oil from the same batch should have a uniform color.
The color of margarine is more saturated yellow, but modern margarine producers have learned to lighten margarine by adding a certain percentage of milk to it.

6. Butter has almost no smell. And you certainly shouldn’t feel any odor when you sniff the selected product through the paper packaging.

7. Salt is allowed in butter.

Folk differences - butter/margarine:

Take a stroll through the dairy aisle and you'll see a huge selection of butter and margarine. Moreover, both products are equally popular among the population. Each person has his own opinion that explains his choice. However, not everyone knows what the actual difference between butter and margarine is.

Difference between butter and margarine

Although these products are used for essentially the same purposes, they have little in common. The main factors that distinguish butter from margarine are the method of production and composition. First of all, these products contain fats of different origins.

Butter

Butter lovers are probably aware that it is made from milk. That is, it contains exclusively animal fat. The main ingredient becomes fresh milk or cream. The selected component is foamed to separate the fat. In this case, the liquid hardens.

To make the oil that we buy in stores, it is usually used cow's milk, although sometimes it is replaced by other varieties. Products from sheep or goat milk are also available to the consumer.

The color of the finished oil can vary from white to deep yellow. In fact, the shade does not speak about the quality of the product, but about the diet of the animal from whose milk it was made. Moreover, only one ingredient is required to whip the liquid into a dense mass.

You may have noticed that butter packages are usually labeled as “sweet cream.” Why is this happening? The answer suggests itself. It’s just that the main component of this product is not milk, but cream. In addition, it is pasteurized or heated before churning. This is done to extend the shelf life of the manufactured product. In many countries, such as the USA, it is strictly prohibited to sell oil that has not been pasteurized.

During churning, milk or cream turns into thick paste. At the same time, the process itself contributes to the fact that air enters the mass, making it lighter. This is why butter contains fewer calories than regular animal fats.

When it comes to healthy eating for the whole family, many questions arise. We constantly have to find a compromise between benefits and taste. In addition, fashion healthy eating provokes scientists to more and more new research, and what was considered useful yesterday may today find itself on the list of the most harmful products. Just a couple of decades ago, we calmly ate a bun with butter for breakfast and knew nothing about trans fats. And now there are so many types of oil and its substitutes that not everyone can navigate them. In this article, we analyzed the differences between butter, margarine and spread, and also tried to figure out which of these products should be preferred.

Butter or margarine?

Despite the superficial similarities, there are important differences between the two products. A tablespoon of butter is about 100 calories, 11 grams. fats, of which 7 gr. constitute saturated fatty acids. To put it mildly, a lot, isn’t it? But in olive oil There are no less calories, but it is considered good for the heart? The stumbling block here is the saturated fat, not the number of calories. Excessive consumption of saturated fat increases blood cholesterol levels. High-quality low-calorie margarine and the right spreads contain a significantly lower percentage of fat, including saturated fat. Although these products contain quite a few ingredients, most of them are safe. The most important thing to remember when buying margarine or spread is that the packaging should not contain the words “hydrogenated fats”, “hydrogenated fats” and “partially hydrogenated/hydrogenated fats”, as these words indicate the presence of trans fatty acids in the product, or as they are in Lately commonly called trans fats. If you come across one of the listed words on the packaging, you are holding in your hands a very harmful product, which needs to be put back on the counter. Unfortunately, in Russia this moment The norm for the content of trans fats in food (8% for spreads and 20% for margarine) is several times higher than the similar European norm of 2%.

Other types of oil and its substitutes

• Whipped butter

Never heard of this? But in vain! This product is butter, softened at room temperature and whipped with a mixer with the addition of a small amount of milk or water. He has a very light air texture that makes it easy to spread on bread, and its fat content and calorie content are lower than that of unwhipped butter (approximately 70 calories per tablespoon, 7 grams of fat, including 5 grams of saturated fatty acids). If there is a sandwich with butter, it is better with whipped butter.

• Creamy vegetable spreads

This is a product made from very heavy cream and vegetable oil, preferably rapeseed. In terms of taste, it is very close to butter. Unfortunately, in Russia, spreads are viewed mostly negatively, and the reason for this is the dominance of low-quality spreads on store shelves. But that doesn't mean all spreads are bad. On the contrary, a high-quality spread produced according to European standards is a healthier product than butter or margarine.

• Spreads with stanols and sterols

First, it’s worth explaining what plant stanols and sterols (sterols) are. These are elements of the cell membrane of plants, not large quantities found in some vegetable oils, vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts. It has been proven that when consumed regularly, stanols and sterols reduce blood cholesterol levels. Alas, you can’t find such spreads in Russia in every store, but if you’re lucky, be sure to add them to your regular shopping list.

Discussions among nutritionists about whether butter or margarine is healthier have been going on for decades. Until recently, oil was considered worst enemy. It has been accused of increasing cholesterol levels and risk cardiovascular diseases.

Today public opinion has changed to the opposite. And margarine is already perceived as the source of all troubles and problems. You can often see headlines about the deadly dangers of margarine. What caused this dramatic change of opinion and how scientifically justified is it? Should we really limit oil in our diet to avoid an increased risk of heart and vascular disease? Or is margarine more harmful to our health?

To answer these questions, you need to understand what butter and margarine are, how they differ from each other and consider all the pros and cons of both products.

Butter

Butter is an animal product made from whipped cream from cows. It has a pleasant soft creamy taste. It is used as fat, for sandwiches, making sauces and cream, and in various baked goods. As a concentrated source of milk fat, it is primarily composed of saturated fat and is high in cholesterol. They are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Most people should limit their intake.

One tablespoon of butter contains 33 mg of cholesterol and 7 grams of saturated fat. Whereas nutritionists advise limiting cholesterol intake to no more than 200 milligrams per day, and saturated fat to no more than 10-15 grams.

The health effects of oil largely depend on the diet of cows. Animals that eat grass natural conditions, much more nutritious compared to those found on farms. It contains more:

Vitamin K2. This little-known vitamin may help prevent many serious illnesses, including cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease;

Conjugated linoleic acid. Research shows that this fatty acid may have anti-cancer properties and help reduce body fat percentage;

Butyrate. A short-chain fatty acid found in oil that is also produced by bacteria in the intestines. This compound may fight inflammation, improve digestion, and help prevent weight gain;

Omega-3. Butter produced from domestic cows contains more Omega-3 fatty acids and less Omega-6. This is important because most people consume more Omega-6.

It should be noted that butter, as a rule, is not consumed in large quantities. Therefore the contribution of these nutrients the overall consumption is not large.

What's harmful in oil? Doctors and nutritionists are concerned about its high content of saturated fat and cholesterol. It consists of almost 50 percent of such fats. The rest is water and unsaturated fat.

Not so long ago, scientists argued that saturated fats are harmful to health. But many Scientific research gave conflicting results. As a result, some nutrition experts have begun to doubt that consuming such fats is actually harmful to health and has a significant impact on rates of cardiovascular disease.

Proponents of the popular opinion often point to studies showing that saturated fat increases levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. This is a true statement. Saturated fat increases LDL cholesterol levels. But here, too, not everything is clear.

Some scientists believe that consuming them may have some benefits, including improving blood lipids.

It can increase "good" HDL cholesterol levels and change the size of LDL cholesterol particles from small and dense to larger ones, which are considered higher quality.

There is no conclusive scientific evidence that there is a direct link between eating butter and other sources of saturated fat and heart disease.

The oil also has high level cholesterol, which is associated with one of the main risk factors for heart disease. All of these arguments were based on research showing that high cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease.

It is now clear that moderate intake of cholesterol from food has no effect on significant influence to its blood level in most people. Although it is not denied that too much consumption of foods high in cholesterol can cause its increase.

Discussions on this issue continue in the scientific community. But the problem is no longer so acute.

Margarine

Margarine was first produced in France as a substitute for butter for the army and the lowest classes of the population. It is made from vegetable oils, emulsifiers, salt, flavorings, colors and other ingredients that may improve color, texture and taste.

Modern margarine is made from various types of oils that contain polyunsaturated fats, which can lower cholesterol. It is similar to butter and is often used as a substitute.

Since most vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature, to make them solid they are subjected to special treatment– hydrogenation.

Hydrogenation increases the saturated fat content of the oil, producing unhealthy trans fats as a byproduct. The harder the margarine, the more trans fats it contains.

Today, the transesterification method is mainly used, which gives the same result, but without the formation of trans fats.

Simply put, modern margarine is a highly processed food product made from vegetable oils with the addition of other ingredients, including vitamin supplements.

The health benefits of margarine depend on what vegetable oils it contains and how it is processed.

Most types of margarine contain a lot of polyunsaturated fat. Exact amount depends on what vegetable oils were used for its production.

For example, soybean oil margarine may contain approximately 20%.

Polyunsaturated fats are generally considered healthier than saturated fats. Hence the conclusion is drawn that such fat is more beneficial for preventing the risks of heart disease.

Research has shown that replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat reduces this risk by 17 percent.

Contains plant phytosterols. The vegetable oils themselves from which margarine is made contain these compounds. They are believed to have an effect on cholesterol levels, increasing high-strength lithoproteins and reducing low-strength lithoproteins. But most studies conducted on this topic have not found any significant association with the presence of phytosterols and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The main harm of margarine is associated with the presence of trans fats. In previous technology it actually contained a lot of them. They are formed as a by-product during the hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils. The new hydrogenation method makes it possible to completely eliminate their formation or have a minimum content. In addition, in many countries, including ours, standards clearly limit their availability.

Speaking about the benefits of margarine, it should be noted that:

It contains more polyunsaturated fats, which are considered more beneficial for human health;

Enriched with beneficial vitamin and mineral supplements;

Less caloric compared to oil;

The harm of margarine may include:

Increased Omega-6 content.

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