Thread: History of Oleo (margarine) vs Butter

jmcquown wrote:
> "Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not
> always the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita
> consumption of margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of
> butter). Times have changed for the better, though. Today, per capita
> consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including vegetable
> oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about 4.2 pounds.
> Research studies have shown that the shift within populations around the
> world - from the highly saturated fat content of butter to vegetable
> oil-based margarines - have contributed significantly to the reduced
> risk of heart disease. Check out the timeline below to learn more about
> the history of margarine."
>
> http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
>
> Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs
> butter (or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted
> butter, so I have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is
> talking about.

I have to admit that the margarine I can buy these days is better than
the margarine that my mother tried to foist on our family when I was a
kid. They made it more palatable by making it taste more like butter. I
can handle small amounts of it, but in most cases I would rather have
nothing on bread and vegetables than to use margarine. I do keep a tub
of it on hand for Buffalo wings because I think it is better with Franks
sauce than (salted) butter. I also use it to grease cookie sheets. A tub
of margarine lasts us more than a year, so our per capita consumption is
less than one pound per year. I suppose there are lots of people who doe
use it because there always seems to be more margarine for sale in the
grocery store than butter, though there are fewer brands of butter
available than margarine and I have no idea how often they re-stock the
butter.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> I have to admit that the margarine I can buy these days is better than
> the margarine that my mother tried to foist on our family when I was a
> kid. They made it more palatable by making it taste more like butter.

It could be that you're confusing the two main types
of margarine. The cheapest type is made from animal
fat, chiefly beef fat. That may have been what your
mother was buying. None of the familiar advertised
brands are made that way.

Good margarine is made from vegetable oils, with
flavor additives. The cheap stuff has flavor
additives too, but they seem to do a better job
with them in the more expensive margarines.

jmcquown wrote:
> "Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not
> always the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita
> consumption of margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of
> butter). Times have changed for the better, though. Today, per capita
> consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including vegetable
> oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about 4.2 pounds.
> Research studies have shown that the shift within populations around the
> world - from the highly saturated fat content of butter to vegetable
> oil-based margarines - have contributed significantly to the reduced
> risk of heart disease. Check out the timeline below to learn more about
> the history of margarine."
>
> http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
>
> Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs
> butter (or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted
> butter, so I have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is
> talking about.
>
> Jill

Uh, IMO, with few exceptions, a switch toward margarine is NOT an
improvement. Of course, a site called margarine.org might just be
a wee bit biased.

--
Jean B.

Jean B. wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> "Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not
>> always the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita
>> consumption of margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of
>> butter). Times have changed for the better, though. Today, per capita
>> consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including
>> vegetable oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about
>> 4.2 pounds. Research studies have shown that the shift within
>> populations around the world - from the highly saturated fat content
>> of butter to vegetable oil-based margarines - have contributed
>> significantly to the reduced risk of heart disease. Check out the
>> timeline below to learn more about the history of margarine."
>>
>> http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
>>
>> Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs
>> butter (or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted
>> butter, so I have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is
>> talking about.
>>
>> Jill
>
> Uh, IMO, with few exceptions, a switch toward margarine is NOT an
> improvement. Of course, a site called margarine.org might just be
> a wee bit biased.

I certainly prefer butter over margarine. We were never served butter
except on holidays. That was the only time mother ever served dinner rolls,
too, and she always forgot to set the timer so the rolls always burned. She
was never a huge fan of cooking. It's a standing joke in our family, "don't
forget the rolls!"

Speaking of rolls, here's a very nice dinner rolls recipe from the 1978
edition of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook. You can make the dough well
ahead of time and pop them into a pan to bake at the last minute.

Refrigerator Rolls

6 to 6-1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1/2 c. butter, softenend
2 c. hot water
1 egg
salad oil

Early in Day or up to 1 Week ahead:
1. In large bowl, combine 2-1/4 c. flour, sugar, salt & yeast. Add butter.
With a hand-mixer at low speed, gradually beat in 2 c. hot water (120
degrees). Add egg and increase speed to medium. Beat 2 minutes,
occasionally scraping the bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough
additional flour (about 2-1/2 cups) to make a soft dough.

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and
elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape into a large ball and place in a large
greased bowl, turning dough so all is greased. Cover with a towel and let
rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

3. Punch down dough and push edges of dough to the center. Turn dough over
and brush with salad oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and
refrigerate, punching dough down occasionally, until ready to use.

Up to 2 hours before serving:

4. Remove dough from refrigerator. Grease a 15X10 open roasting pan. Cut
the dough into 30 equal pieces; shape into balls and place in pan. Cover
with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (again about 1-1/2
hours).

5. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden
brown.
Brush rolls with melted butter to glaze the tops. Carefully remove from pan
and serve immediately. Makes 2&1/2 dozen rolls.

Jill

I think it's pretty well established that oleo/margarine/spreads
are worse for your health than butter, which is worse for your
health than (most) unprocessed vegetable oils.

A recent datapoint on the first of these is that C-reactive protein is
73% higher than average in the upper quartile of trans-fat
consumption. Could just be a coincidence, but it doesn't sound good.

Steve

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> I have to admit that the margarine I can buy these days is better than
> the margarine that my mother tried to foist on our family when I was a
> kid. They made it more palatable by making it taste more like butter.
> I can handle small amounts of it, but in most cases I would rather
> have nothing on bread and vegetables than to use margarine. I do keep
> a tub of it on hand for Buffalo wings because I think it is better
> with Franks sauce than (salted) butter. I also use it to grease
> cookie sheets. A tub of margarine lasts us more than a year, so our
> per capita consumption is less than one pound per year.

Thanks for the idea of greasing to use up margarine! I was going to make
banana bread today (it'll have to wait until tomorrow, though) and that's a
*perfect* way to use it. I'll just have to do a lot of baking to use the
two tubs up my brother bought. :~)

kili

"jmcquown" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> "Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not always
> the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita consumption of
> margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of butter). Times have
> changed for the better, though. Today, per capita consumption of margarine
> in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including vegetable oil spreads) whereas butter
> consumption is down to about 4.2 pounds. Research studies have shown that
> the shift within populations around the world - from the highly saturated
> fat content of butter to vegetable oil-based margarines - have contributed
> significantly to the reduced risk of heart disease. Check out the timeline
> below to learn more about the history of margarine."
>
> http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
>
> Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs
> butter (or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted
> butter, so I have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is
> talking about.
>
> Jill


There's a little more to the butter/margarine wars than the simple outline.
The main obstacle was the colored Margarine tax that made butter colored
margarine prohibitive.

I remember a margarine mixer we had designed to spread the color packet and
make the margarine look like butter.

See below:

Dimitri

http://www.fee.org/publications/the-...e.asp?aid=4188

In the following decades the federal government kept up its attack on
margarine-and by extension, on poor consumers-by twice amending the 1886 Act
to tighten the screws on the industry. An amendment in 1902 targeted the
production of artificially yellowed margarine. The amendment imposed a
ten-cent tax on (butter-colored) margarine and slashed the tax on the
uncolored variety. In response, producers began experimenting with various
vegetable oils that would give their product the desirable yellow color but
would escape the new tax.

By World War I, all-vegetable-oil margarines (made from peanut, corn seed,
hazelnut, and other oils) dominated the margarine market. The industry's
latest act of ingenuity was met in 1931 by a new amendment to the 1886 Act,
which closed the loophole for naturally yellow margarine by taxing all
yellow margarines. Production was stopped.

But the besieged margarine industry picked itself up and struck back. There
was no law against adding yellow coloring to margarine at home. So the
manufacturers provided yellow coloring packets with their margarine. With
uncolored margarine safely under the tax radar, market share began to climb
again, as Depression-era consumers warmed to margarine's value right through
World War II-all the while wondering "why don't they just make the margarine
yellow at the factory?"

By the late '40s producers had begun to process domestic oils-corn seed,
soybean, and others-into margarine, winning the support of farmers groups
and labor unions for the repeal of the state and federal regulations on
margarine production and consumption.

Years of lobbying would be needed to dislodge these interventions, including
marches and demonstrations by housewives carrying placards with slogans
like, "We Want Yellow Margarine Tax Free!," and signature-collection drives
on cards reading: "Dear Mr. Congressman, Who comes first . . . the consumer
or the butter lobby? Please remove the unfair restrictions on margarine."

Finally, in 1949 and 1950 Congress narrowly voted to repeal the tax on
colored margarine and President Truman signed the new Margarine Act into
law. By 1955 every state but Minnesota and Wisconsin had repealed its
anti-margarine color laws, with Minnesota holding out until 1963 and
Wisconsin-"the Dairy State"-not relenting until 1967.

And so ended the dairy industry's 80-year war on margarine and America's
consumers, especially the poorest among them.

Dimitri wrote:
>
> There's a little more to the butter/margarine wars than the simple outline.
> The main obstacle was the colored Margarine tax that made butter colored
> margarine prohibitive.
>
> I remember a margarine mixer we had designed to spread the color packet and
> make the margarine look like butter.

My sister remembers mixing the color into the margarine,
but I don't. I was too little, or maybe not even born yet.

There's other food events which mark our lives. For example,
in high school I mentioned to a friend of mine that root beer
used to contain safrole, but it was banned because it is
weakly carcinogenic. "Oh, that's what happened! I remember
root beer used to taste really good, and then it changed."
I didn't recall when the taste of root beer changed, but
he remembered it clearly and had wondered what happened.

What other food events define our lives? I don't think
the disappearance of Mother's cookies quite rises to the
same level as coloring margarine or the day root beer died.
What else does? I suppose the disappearance of Liederkranz,
if you were a big fan of that cheese.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liederkranz_cheese

I can't remember ever having eaten that cheese. I've eaten
plenty of limburger, and quite like that cheese.

And if I recall correctly, genuine Italian prosciutto wasn't
imported into the U.S. until the 1970s or 1980s, when the
strict U.S. import laws were relaxed.

jmcquown wrote:
> Jean B. wrote:
>> jmcquown wrote:
>>> "Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not
>>> always the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita
>>> consumption of margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of
>>> butter). Times have changed for the better, though. Today, per capita
>>> consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including
>>> vegetable oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about
>>> 4.2 pounds. Research studies have shown that the shift within
>>> populations around the world - from the highly saturated fat content
>>> of butter to vegetable oil-based margarines - have contributed
>>> significantly to the reduced risk of heart disease. Check out the
>>> timeline below to learn more about the history of margarine."
>>>
>>> http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
>>>
>>> Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs
>>> butter (or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted
>>> butter, so I have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is
>>> talking about.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>
>> Uh, IMO, with few exceptions, a switch toward margarine is NOT an
>> improvement. Of course, a site called margarine.org might just be
>> a wee bit biased.
>
> I certainly prefer butter over margarine. We were never served butter
> except on holidays. That was the only time mother ever served dinner
> rolls, too, and she always forgot to set the timer so the rolls always
> burned. She was never a huge fan of cooking. It's a standing joke in
> our family, "don't forget the rolls!"
>
> Speaking of rolls, here's a very nice dinner rolls recipe from the 1978
> edition of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook. You can make the dough well
> ahead of time and pop them into a pan to bake at the last minute.
>
> Refrigerator Rolls
>
> 6 to 6-1/2 c. all purpose flour
> 1/2 c. sugar
> 2 tsp. salt
> 2 pkgs. active dry yeast
> 1/2 c. butter, softenend
> 2 c. hot water
> 1 egg
> salad oil
>
> Early in Day or up to 1 Week ahead:
> 1. In large bowl, combine 2-1/4 c. flour, sugar, salt & yeast. Add
> butter.
> With a hand-mixer at low speed, gradually beat in 2 c. hot water (120
> degrees). Add egg and increase speed to medium. Beat 2 minutes,
> occasionally scraping the bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough
> additional flour (about 2-1/2 cups) to make a soft dough.
>
> 2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and
> elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape into a large ball and place in a large
> greased bowl, turning dough so all is greased. Cover with a towel and let
> rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
>
> 3. Punch down dough and push edges of dough to the center. Turn dough over
> and brush with salad oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and
> refrigerate, punching dough down occasionally, until ready to use.
>
> Up to 2 hours before serving:
>
> 4. Remove dough from refrigerator. Grease a 15X10 open roasting pan. Cut
> the dough into 30 equal pieces; shape into balls and place in pan. Cover
> with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (again about 1-1/2
> hours).
>
> 5. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden
> brown.
> Brush rolls with melted butter to glaze the tops. Carefully remove from
> pan
> and serve immediately. Makes 2&1/2 dozen rolls.
>
> Jill

My mom (unfortunately) used margarine. Therefore, for better or
for worse, I didn't discover the joys of bread (and rolls, etc.)
and butter until I was 20 or so. I remember even in the early 80s
reading that margarine was not good for people.

--
Jean B.