Let's figure out how these products differ and how they affect the body.

Oil

This is a natural product. To obtain butter, it is churned in butter presses: due to the high rotation speed, they release concentrated milk fat.

According to GOST, butter must contain at least 72.5% fat. Most of them are saturated, so many consider this product to be harmful: it is assumed that such fats increase the level of “bad” cholesterol. And it clogs blood vessels and can cause a heart attack or atherosclerosis.

This is not true: just recently, an international team of cardiologists analyzed data from 1.3 million people and found no link between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. Fats can clog a vessel not because you ate oil, but because you have bad heredity or an unhealthy lifestyle. On the contrary, cholesterol from cream strengthens the immune system and protects against infections.

Butter can be used for frying, although this is not very convenient: at temperatures above 150 °C it begins to burn.

Margarine

The word “margarine” has almost become synonymous with the word “poison,” and this is not without reason.

Until 2018, by law, this product could contain up to 20% industrial trans fatty acids - these substances cause. However, on January 1, amendments were made to the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union: now they should not be more than 2% in margarine.


Margarine contains few useful substances, but it contains almost no milk fat: the product will fit perfectly into your menu if you have a tendency to atherosclerosis.

Just do not heat it above 180 °C: at this temperature, margarine begins to release aldehydes that are hazardous to health.

I remember a television program in the early 90s, in which a young journalist dealt with the question: “How is margarine made, and is it healthier than butter?” I don’t know what served as a more significant informational reason for television people back then - the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, which was then gaining momentum in our country, or the general concern about filling refrigerators with cheaper products. One way or another, a young man walked the streets and asked the same question to different people: “What do you think is healthier – margarine or butter?” One old woman then told him: “Of course, butter, son!” “Why, grandma?” “Because I make it myself!” – it sounded proud.

At first glance, this is not a very logical answer, but the grandmother meant that she knows what this oil is made from, that is, she is confident in its quality. And in fact, why on earth were people, accustomed to natural, healthy, so familiar butter, forced to impose a cheap surrogate?

It turns out that margarine owes its origin to the French Emperor Napoleon III, as well as, of course, to the development of organic chemistry. In the 60s of the 19th century, this philanthropic emperor established a prize for inventing a method for producing a new edible fat. Needed a butter substitute. The goal, of course, was not concern for healthy way the lives of their subjects, but the need to provide cheap products to the army and the poor. Obviously, the chemist Mege-Mourier received the prize, because it was he who became known as the inventor of margarine, or oleomargarine.

A Russian cookbook from the late 19th century describes the process of creating artificial butter as follows: “Margarine was prepared from the best beef fat, and with the best neatness and legibility. This product was processed with an equal amount of sour milk, resulting in solid fat."

Naturally, in the pursuit of profits, production then began to acquire features that are very familiar to us. They learned to replace high-quality raw materials with cheaper ones. The fat of other animals was used, which was of low quality, stale and even contaminated. Subsequently, there was a tendency towards the introduction of vegetable oils into the starting material, which, due to their low cost, ultimately became the main starting product for the production of margarine.

In the 20th century, margarine began to be preferred not only because of its cheapness, but also under the influence of the anti-cholesterol campaign. The fact is that, being a product of plant origin, margarine does not contain cholesterol. Particularly noticeable was the imposition of margarine on consumers as a substitute for butter in the 60s of the last century, when scientists discovered the mechanism of formation of cholesterol plaques.

However, later information began to appear that margarine was not nearly as harmless as it had previously been described. Ordinary margarine is produced by heat treatment of vegetable oil in the presence of a catalyst, which leads to a side effect - the formation of so-called trans fats (or rather, an increase in their amount compared to the original product - vegetable oil). Studies have shown a connection between the content of trans fats in food and the development of coronary disease. And the controversy broke out with renewed vigor.

So, grandma was right? So, is butter healthier? In fairness, it should be noted that modern margarine production uses high-quality raw materials and manufacturing methods that minimize the content of harmful substances, while simultaneously saturating margarine with vitamins.

When deciding which product to choose for your family, let's use common sense and our own taste. At the same time, there are well-known dietary and culinary rules for the use of fats in cooking.

Fat intake should be limited.

Vegetable oil (liquid, natural) is very healthy, but you can’t live without animal fats either. For example, eating 30 grams of butter per day is good for preventing cancer.

There are certain culinary techniques for using fats:
It is better to fry in vegetable oil or with the addition of butter.
A small amount of butter should be consumed in its natural form, without overheating it, that is, on a sandwich or in porridge.
And margarine is indispensable in baking.

For many years now, the debate between nutritionists has not stopped: what is healthier than margarine or butter? Both products have their supporters and their opponents.

We are all consumers, we all want to buy healthy products. But the food industry is a gold mine for food manufacturers, so they spare no expense on advertising their products.

They claim that their product is the best, healthiest, and most delicious. This information is implanted into our heads from the pages of newspapers, TV screens, and advertising posters. This is how myths arise about proper nutrition. Having succumbed to these statements, we do not really listen to the needs and demands of our body, but simply buy products that are “fashionable” at that moment in time.

Margarine and butter are among the most popular products on our table. Some prefer butter, others convince that margarine is healthier and better absorbed by the body.

Let's forget for a while the advertising claims of manufacturers, and try to figure out this issue ourselves, using only scientific facts and research by nutritionists. First, let's study what properties margarine has and how it is useful.

Nutritional properties of margarine

The biggest disadvantage of margarine is the presence of trans fats in its composition. They are obtained by melting liquid vegetable fats and turning them into a solid product. This is exactly how manufacturers make margarine. These trans fats make margarine tastier and extend its shelf life. But, according to opponents of this product, trans fats are very harmful to human health.

However, biochemists assure that in Lately The issue with trans fats is being successfully resolved. Hard varieties of margarine contain the most of these harmful substances. There are much fewer of them in soft varieties. Therefore, nutritionists recommend consuming a small amount of soft margarine per day.

In addition, the product is made from plant materials. This means that its composition is high in mono- and poly-saturated fats, and there is absolutely no harmful cholesterol, which butter is so rich in. In addition, butter contains a huge amount of saturated animal fat. Their excess provokes the appearance of atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction.

But regular consumption of small amounts of margarine helps reduce blood cholesterol levels. Now let's look at the beneficial properties of butter.

Nutritional properties of butter

Butter is a fat emulsion obtained by processing heavy cream. The product contains 80-85% fat. Of these, almost 60% are saturated fats, which contribute to an increase in the level of bad cholesterol and accumulate it on the walls of blood vessels and arteries.

But the fat one dairy product has its positive qualities. For example, it contains vitamins D and A, proteins, and a high content of mineral salts: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium.

Doctors recommend eating 30 grams of butter every day to prevent cancer. To reduce the harm from eating butter, do not increase the recommended intake, eat it spread on bread, or add to porridge

However, nutritionists do not recommend getting carried away with frequent eating of sandwiches with butter. This food is very high in calories: a 100 gram piece of butter contains as many as 750 calories.

Well, as we have already said, this product, made from cow's milk, contains a lot of saturated fats, which are harmful to health.

So, what is better for health, butter or margarine? In resolving this issue, one should be guided by common sense, moderation and taste preferences your family.

The most important thing to remember is that eating fat should be limited.
Many have solved this issue by abandoning these products altogether and replacing them with vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is of course very useful. But the body cannot live without butter, and margarine is indispensable in baking.

There is a third option - spreads

Spread is butter and soft margarine rolled into one, as it consists of a mixture of vegetable and milk fats. Choose this product according to the percentage of animal fats indicated on the packaging. The higher this percentage, the closer the product is to butter and vice versa.

Also, when purchasing, read the ingredients carefully. The most useful spreads include vegetable fats from sunflower seeds. The main thing is that exotic palm and coconut oils are not used in the production of the product.

Of course, what product will be on your dining table is up to you to choose. To keep your diet healthy, you just need to eat in moderation. Excessive consumption of any product, even the healthiest one, will not add health. This also applies to butter and margarine.

In addition, if animal fats are contraindicated for your health, you can easily replace butter with margarine. Margarine can be easily replaced with a light spread. If your health allows, it is best to use all of the listed products in your diet, only in moderation.

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:

1. The words “natural”, “environmentally friendly” are not yet an indication that this is oil. “Light butter”, “Sandwich butter”... is essentially margarine. The phrase “Butter” must be written. Also in favor of butter are words like “Cow butter” or “Made from cream.”

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 even a “dairy fat substitute”), you have 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:

1. Butter should be applied to the bread, and margarine should be spread.
2. At home, melt butter and margarine separately. As it hardens, the butter will solidify into a uniform mass - ghee, and the margarine will separate into the fatty part and a layer of milky water.
3. Standing at the refrigerator counter, run your finger along the edge of the package, pressing lightly: the cooled butter will be harder and the edge of the packaged bar will feel hard under your finger. Chilled margarine or spread is much softer; the edge of the package will be crushed under your finger.
4. Frozen butter chips and breaks, but margarine remains plastic and is easy to cut and spread.
5. The butter should not splatter or crumble from the refrigerator. When cutting into a thin layer, the butter should curl:

This effect will not work with margarine. If the oil ripples and crumbles, it means there are artificial additives in it.
6. Oil always contains cholesterol!
7. A piece of butter in the mouth will melt evenly without a trace, and the margarine in the mouth will smear and stick to the palate.
8. Butter leaves a pleasant creamy aftertaste, while margarine leaves a nasty, unnatural aftertaste.
9. In the cold, margarine does not harden like butter, but when room temperature margarine holds its shape worse than butter.
10. Buy homemade butter from someone in the village, then buy store-bought butter and margarine in the store. Then try option 1, after options 2 and 3, and draw conclusions))

So, what I bought from my grandmother meets all the requirements specifically for butter, and its “butter” looks more like margarine...
When he comes, I’ll teach him... let’s see which of us is a teapot...

The debate about which is better, butter or margarine, has been going on for years, and probably won't end anytime soon. Proponents of the oil claim that it tastes better and that it does not cause any harm, provided that it is not abused.

Proponents of margarine claim that margarine is healthier for the heart because it is made from vegetable oil instead of an animal product. But who is right?

There is indeed a difference between butter and margarine, but both products have their pros and cons.

Pros and cons of oil

Butter is a product of natural origin, made from cream, which is whipped until the mass reaches a solid consistency. One tablespoon of oil contains 30 mg of cholesterol and 7 g of fat, which is high in saturated fatty acids (the daily intake of which should not exceed 15 g). Both cholesterol and saturated fatty acids are bad for your arteries.

What to avoid: Oils that have very high levels of saturated fatty acids. This level may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so read the packaging carefully.

If you like the taste of butter but want to limit your consumption, choose creamed butter, which has half the saturated fatty acids and cholesterol. You can also buy butter that has been pre-blended with canola or olive oil. In this case it becomes more useful than regular oil- the content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol in it is almost the same as in churned butter.

For baking and cooking:

Butter is best suited for baking, as it contains a lot of fat (80%). As a result, the baked goods are tender and airy. Creamed butter or butter with added vegetable oils will not give the same result as regular butter, so it is not recommended to use them for baking. But they are perfect for all other types of cooking.

Pros and cons:

Butter benefits from being ideal for baking.

Oil loses in that it has high levels of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids

Pros and cons of margarine

Margarine, of course, is not of natural origin. It is prepared by adding hydrogen to . The result is a solid or semi-solid mass resembling oil. Many margarines contain hydrogenated fats, which should be avoided because they reduce the level of good cholesterol or HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and increase the level of bad cholesterol LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), thereby increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.

What to avoid: Don't buy margarine in sticks - most hard margarines have the highest level of hydrogenated fats, about 2g per tablespoon (Ministry Agriculture The USA generally does not recommend purchasing products containing hydrogenated fats).

What to pay attention to:

Look for a package labeled “soft margarine” - this type of product is less hard and usually does not contain hydrogenated fats.

For baking and cooking: Margarine is not recommended for most baked goods due to its low fat content - only 35%. The rest is water. Margarine can only be used if it is specifically called for in the recipe. If you choose to use margarine in a recipe that calls for butter, the result will be that the dough will spread and burn. However, margarine is great for all other types of cooking.

Pros and cons:

Margarine (soft) benefits from the fact that it does not contain cholesterol, has low levels of saturated fatty acids and does not contain hydrogenated fats.

Margarine loses in that it cannot be used for baking.