What is the difference between butter and margarine?

picqero

Butter is an animal product, usually made from cow's milk. Margarine is basically a vegetable product, though some brands contain animal fats as additives. Dec 02 04, 1:14 AM

shawn888

First of all, butter, of course, is made from cream, produced by cows. Water, milk solids, and — often — salt make up the rest. The amount of salt in salted butter ranges from 1.5% to 3%. Margarine is made from a vegetable oil, although when it was developed in 1869 by Hippolyte Mèges-Mouriés in France, it was based on beef fat (suet) flavored with milk. Vegetable oils are liquid at room temperature, but a process called hydrogenation was developed in the early 1900s that makes them solid at room temperature. Most margarine today is made with corn oil or soybean oil. Like butter, margarine is 80% fat and 20% water and solids, of which about 3% is salt. It is often flavored with skim milk or a synthetically produced chemical compound that mimics the flavor of butter. It is sometimes fortified with vitamins A and D to match the nutritional make-up of butter, and includes salt, artificial color, and preservatives. Most solid fats do not melt suddenly at a precise point, but do so gradually over a range of 10 to 20 degrees. There are different compounds with different characteristics in most fats, and these melt at different temperatures. So instead of turning instantly from a solid to a liquid, certain compounds melt at a lower temperature, weakening the overall structure (think of butter getting soft at room temperature). Eventually, all of the compounds melt and you are left with a liquid. Dec 02 04, 1:20 AM

shawn888

The melting point of butter is between 90°F and 95°F (32°C and 35°C). The melting point of margarine appears to be a hair warmer, at 94°F to 98°F (34°C to 37°C). But margarines can be formulated to have melting points ranging from 91°F to 109°F (33°C to 43°C). Many of the higher-melting-point margarines are manufactured for the baking industry. The presence of salt lowers the melting point of both butter and margarine. Spreads do not have a specific amount of fat in them (some are as much as 50% water), and their melting points are all over the map. Because they are so inconsistent, they are not reliable for cooking. Nothing in the vegetable-oil/margarine kingdom can match the flavor of butter. Butter is not well suited to frying, because the milk solids burn at a low temperature. The milk solids can be removed by clarifying the butter, though, which makes it a tasty and indulgent medium for frying. Margarine, again, with 20% mystery ingredients, is also not a great choice for frying. But in cooking tasks, most recipes let you use butter or margarine interchangeably, and with recipes that do specify butter exclusively, people who prefer margarine often use it anyway. http://www.ochef.com/864.htm Dec 02 04, 1:21 AM

xfacilitatorx

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh cream. It consists of an emulsion of water and milk proteins in a matrix of fat, with over 80% being fat. It is used as a condiment and for cooking in much the same ways as vegetable oils or lard. Modern margarine can be made from any of a wide variety of animal or vegetable fats, and is often mixed with skim milk, salt, and emulsifiers. Margarine is a generic term used to indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes. In many parts of the world, margarine is now the best selling table spread, although butter and olive oil also command large market shares. It is used as an ingredient in the preparation of many other foods. Margarines high in mono- or poly-unsaturated fats, which are made from safflower, sunflower, soybean, cottonseed, or olive oil, are said to be more healthful than butter or other types of margarine. Mar 16 06, 7:52 PM