What's with margarine?

[Andy M.]

...And what ingredient could be cheaper than water?

Air. They whip air into it to make it look like more.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Air. They whip air into it to make it look like more.

Touché!

Except that air doesn't increase the net weight. But it probably saves the expense of manufacturing a package that makes it look larger.

 

[Addie]

Having grown up with margarine, I will take butter every day. There are only two choices with Butter. Salt free or with salt. The only thing that affects butter is the feed. The majority of farmers plant fields of clover. It makes for a sweeter product. For the winter when the fields are covered with snow, they feed them a mix of alfalfa along with hay. When you read the ingredients on the box of butter, "Fresh cream, salt." Then read the list of ingredients on the margarine. Too many to list and most you can't pronounce. You will nevr convince me that margarine is good for man.

 

[FluffyAngel]

I was told in Nursing school it was because margarine can have the same effect on your arteries as plastic building up plaque, etc., etc... I can't remember all the details now.

I didn't finish my thought, was kind of interrupted then forgot, so I will finish now - for my own piece of mind. As I was saying, effect on the arteries blah blah blah. Anything in excess has it's dangers. Good old butter included(however I am a freak butter fan - i can't even tell you how much). There is actually a type of packing material peanuts that are safe for consumption but I'm not snacking on them anytime soon, without being stranded in some God forsaken deserted place trapped with no food or water and delirious. I bet those packing peanuts which are so biodegradable that they are safe for consumption might do some damage if you tried to put them in a casserole & cook 'em. Point being, yes margarine is dangerous in the same way that butter is. If used in excess. Which I do use butter a little too much myself. My grandmother used to only buy margarine because she thought it was healthier - but - the family would just use double the amount trying to get that "butter flavor & texture" that can only be obtained with true butter. She was trying to do good to the family but probably could have saved a ton of money just buying real butter and offering it with caution and in small portions. Fat tastes and feels different on the tongue. It's not just the taste, but the texture you can feel with butter and how it reacts with other ingredients. And I agree that margarine is different than it used to be. It does seem like the ratio has changed to more water.

 

[taxlady]

I eat butter. I won't have margarine in my house. A doctor described it this way on some TV show: margarine is a non-food. If we hear that trans fats are bad for you, next week, margarine won't have trans fats. If we find out that Omega 3 fatty acids are good for us, then next week, it will be in the margarine. It's just whatever the latest nutrition fad that's going.

 

[Claire]

OK, I skimmed over all of the entries on this, and somehow, somewhere I missed anyone saying that, at least when I was a kid, margarine was considerably less expensive than butter, and, as an aside, salad dressing (aka "Miracle Whip", but we never got that brand name) cheaper than Mayo. That's why I grew up on those products.

 

[Addie]

OK, I skimmed over all of the entries on this, and somehow, somewhere I missed anyone saying that, at least when I was a kid, margarine was considerably less expensive than butter, and, as an aside, salad dressing (aka "Miracle Whip", but we never got that brand name) cheaper than Mayo. That's why I grew up on those products.

It is cheaper than butter. That is why my family used it and I had to mix it in the big brown bowl. Margarine came about due to WWII. Butter was rationed. The dairy industry was up in arms and convinced the government that it shouldn't be sold with the coloring in it. It would cut into the sales of butter because it was so much cheaper than butter. It wasn't until after the war and butter was no longer rationed, that you could buy margarine with the color in it.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I eat butter. I won't have margarine in my house. A doctor described it this way on some TV show: margarine is a non-food. If we hear that trans fats are bad for you, next week, margarine won't have trans fats. If we find out that Omega 3 fatty acids are good for us, then next week, it will be in the margarine. It's just whatever the latest nutrition fad that's going.

I'm in complete agreement with you. I don't eat margarine, either.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

It is cheaper than butter. That is why my family used it and I had to mix it in the big brown bowl. Margarine came about due to WWII. Butter was rationed. The dairy industry was up in arms and convinced the government that it shouldn't be sold with the coloring in it. It would cut into the sales of butter because it was so much cheaper than butter. It wasn't until after the war and butter was no longer rationed, that you could buy margarine with the color in it.

After WW2 Rickets in kids was a big worry because of rationing. The Gov at the time passed a law that made margarine and bread producers add vitamins etc too their products.This stopped the problem.

 

[Addie]

After WW2 Rickets in kids was a big worry because of rationing. The Gov at the time passed a law that made margarine and bread producers add vitamins etc too their products.This stopped the problem.

I was one of those kids. To this day I am still anemic and my body seems to resist absorbing the necessary nutrients. Including iodine. It is one of the reasons I never stopped drinking milk. I remember the doctor telling me that I needed to drink all my milk or all my bones would just melt. I was about five then. To this day, I will have a tall glass of cold milk with my meals. Even when I eat out at a restaurant. I love the look on the face of the waitress when she asks if anyone would like a drink. Everyone else orders a beer, martini, etc. And then it is my turn. "I'll have a nice tall glass of milk." Then during the meal I usually order a second glass.

 

[Alix]

We've sort of gotten away from the OP's original question. As interesting as all our opinions are, we really should try to answer the question without getting too far afield.

I'll reiterate that margarine's are not created equally and thanks to Barbara for reminding us about the tub margarine not being good for baking! Definitely look for the baking margarine in blocks or squares, and again, look at the ingredient label for the proportions of the ingredients. The higher the content of vegetable oil the better off you will be. I have found that Parkay works well for baking and strangely, Safeway's generic brand is also very good. Depending on what I am baking I will use half margarine, half butter. I'm not sure what the prices are like where you live, but here, margarine is about 1/3 the price of butter.

Butter gets saved for toast and for finishing dishes here. I bake so much that we'd be broke if I used butter for everything. I have to admit, I wouldn't anyway because some things just don't bake as well with butter. I have even (gasp of horror!) chosen to use lard to make some things as it gives a better result!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I was one of those kids. To this day I am still anemic and my body seems to resist absorbing the necessary nutrients. Including iodine. It is one of the reasons I never stopped drinking milk. I remember the doctor telling me that I needed to drink all my milk or all my bones would just melt. I was about five then. To this day, I will have a tall glass of cold milk with my meals. Even when I eat out at a restaurant. I love the look on the face of the waitress when she asks if anyone would like a drink. Everyone else orders a beer, martini, etc. And then it is my turn. "I'll have a nice tall glass of milk." Then during the meal I usually order a second glass.

Addie I forgot the milk that was given free to every child in school till Thatcher the milk snatcher stop it.

 

[GLC]

There is actually a type of packing material peanuts that are safe for consumption but I'm not snacking on them anytime soon, without being stranded in some God forsaken deserted place trapped with no food or water and delirious.

Will Biodegrade Themselves Packing Peanuts - Manufactured from corn by die extrusion.

Will Biodegrade You White Cheddar Cheetos - Manufactured from corn by die extrusion.

 

[Andy M.]

Will Biodegrade Themselves Packing Peanuts - Manufactured from corn by die extrusion....

Just add some powdered cheese and you have cheap Cheetos!!!

 

[Addie]

Addie I forgot the milk that was given free to every child in school till Thatcher the milk snatcher stop it.

Thanks for the reminder. I used to think it was a big deal for a turn to pass out the milk.

 

[taxlady]

No free milk when I went to school, but it was subsidized.

 

[Addie]

Come to think of it, the upper grades did not get the milk. Only grades one and two. It used to be passed out at ten a.m. We also went home for lunch. Keep in mind folks, I am way older than most of you. A lot of you were still in school when I was starting my family. I am the mother of children going into their later years of middle age. In less than five years, my oldest will be collecting her retirement. Milk deliveries to your home was made with a horse and wagon. And the knife guy still made his rounds with a horse. My mother had an icebox. There was also a tinsmith. He repaired your thin aluminum pots and pans. So my memories go back a bit further than yours.

 

[GLC]

I'm not that far back. Our milk was delivered at dawn in glass bottle by truck. But that service faded by the mid-50's. But sharpeners still did come around for a while. I don't specifically remember whether milk was free, but I remember having to keep up with one's "milk money," so I suppose it was not.
Now, I don't remember much real butter at home in the 1950's, only margarine. I presume my mother would have been accustomed to margarine as a teen during WWII.

Butter only became short early in 1943 and was rationed from March 43 to the end of 1944. But that doesn't mean butter was freely eaten earlier int he war. There was considerable pressure/motivation to conserve for the benefit of the troops.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I'm confused of the topic and margarine and Cheetos and packaging material.

And oddly, nobody can agree on whether butter is more healthy than margarine, or the converse.

 

[Addie]

Well, the original question was why did her cookies sometimes turn out all right with margerine and sometimes not. How we got to Cheetos, I have no idea.