Margarine was developed to be a substitute for butter. The margarine market forms part of the wider oils and fats market, which includes a range of edible fats used for direct consumption, for cooking or in baking etc. It is great as a table spread.
Margarine is the earliest and most successful of the designed food staples. Made from vegetable oils, it appears to be more healthful, as a plant derived food.
It’s certainly cholesterol free, and vegetable oils contained more unsaturated fatty acids than butter. In general, the more solid the margarine, the more hydrogenated fat it contains and the softer or more liquefied the margarine, the less hydrogenated fat.
Spreadability, particularly of the soft, tub form is margarine’s unique functional advantage. Physically, margarine is a water in oil emulsion, where the oil phase consist of both liquid oil and crystalline fat at room temperature.
Margarine
