What is margarine for baking. What is the difference between margarine and butter and why it should not be eaten

Margarine today is used by housewives not only for baking, but also as a substitute for sandwiches. Is it worth eating? What does quality margarine taste like, and how much harm does it do?

Margarine, whose composition is constantly changing, appeared in France when Napoleon ordered the creation of a product that would be cheaper than butter and would satisfy the price and quality of the middle class. From there, this artificial fat spread throughout Europe and today occupies a large niche in food production.

Margarine: composition and production process

This product is based on vegetable oil, in addition, it contains animal fats and milk. The oils used in the production of margarine must go through a refining process, so they must have a neutral taste and smell. It is the fatty base that provides the plasticity of the product. Milk gives margarine a creamy taste, for this it can be fermented. But still, the amount of milk to give a creamy taste is not enough, so flavorings are used. In order to obtain a stable emulsion, an emulsifier is introduced into the mass, and a dye is added to give color. Of course, not without salt and sugar.

Stages of margarine production:

• First, the fat base is prepared, it is created in such a way that its melting point is about 33 degrees, then this composition is heated and a dye is added to it.
• Milk is prepared separately with the addition of all soluble components (salt, sugar, flavorings), then the two compositions are mixed into a coarse suspension.
• After that, the suspension enters a special apparatus that turns this composition into an emulsion that can hold its shape.
• The margarine then cools and crystallizes.
• The last stage is packaging and packaging.

Today there is another kind of margarine - spread. It is made for sandwiches and remains soft even after cooling. In terms of composition, the spread is more useful than margarine, its composition is regulated by law, the spread should contain no more than 8% trans fats, but margarine does not have such standards, therefore it is not always possible to control its quality.

Margarine: types

Three types of margarine are mainly produced:

• The hard (cooking) margarine most often used for baking, it has an unattractive appearance (does not contain dyes) and contains a lot of animal fats.
• Sandwich margarine, which includes a mixture of animal and vegetable fats, is very popular. They are most often replaced with butter due to the relatively low cost.
• Vegetable margarine is the most useful of all available types today. It is made from vegetable fats (soybean, cottonseed, olive), carries the smallest amount of fatty acids and is free of cholesterol. Palm-based margarine is considered the healthiest because it does not contain trans fats.

and benefit

When heated, the saturated acids that make up margarine undergo changes and become not entirely useful for humans, so you cannot replace all fats in your diet with margarine.

Margarine, whose composition provides a stable structure, is very convenient to use in cooking, which is what housewives all over the world do. Dishes with a high content of margarine are fatty, oils give a more pleasant taste, but make the food less healthy.

Those who replace butter with margarine in the hope of losing weight are partly mistaken. This is due to the fact that the number of calories in these two products is almost the same, but the ratio of saturated ones is different. Trans fats increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis, so margarine is not advisable for people with heart disease.

Nutritionists advise replacing margarine with any vegetable oil.

Margarine can be safely called a "butter substitute". This product not only looks like butter, but also performs approximately the same functions. Most margarine is used by confectioners, bakers and ice cream makers. A significant share of the production volume is also used for baking homemade pies - about 10%.

Why is margarine so popular? First of all because of the price. It was precisely its cost that butter did not suit the French emperor Napoleon III. Then he promised a reward to anyone who could invent a cheaper analogue.

This man was the chemist Mezhe-Mourier, who came up with a way to get solid fat from vegetable oil.

What is margarine made from?

The main component is vegetable oils (sunflower, palm, rapeseed and others. What harm can margarine do if it is based on such a natural product?

This is how manufacturers often respond to questions about product safety.

The fact is that vegetable oils undergo a chemical process called hydrogenation. During this process, the unsaturated fats found in vegetable oil become saturated by the addition of hydrogen molecules. All this is done to give the oil hardness. And after such processing, vegetable oils can no longer be called natural. By the way, in addition to vegetable fats, margarine can also contain animals, but their percentage is less.

In addition to oils, an obligatory component of margarine is water (possibly mixed with milk). Margarine also contains various emulsifiers (the safest of them is lecithin), salt, dye (usually beta-carotene), preservatives (most often E202) and flavors. Quite often, sugar and starch can be seen in the composition.

Harm of margarine to human health.

Despite the unnatural names of such components as emulsifiers, dyes and flavors, they are by no means the main danger. The main threat comes from those same vegetable fats that have undergone hydrogenation. As a result, trans fats are formed, which are unanimously recognized as harmful to humans.

Trans fats have the greatest effect on the cardiovascular system. With their help, cholesterol rises in the blood, and atherosclerotic plaques form on the vessels. You can also find information that trans fats provoke cancer. But the increase in excess weight as a result of the use of tarns fats has already been scientifically proven.

True, American scientists did this on monkeys, but it is obvious that trans fats produce a similar effect on humans.

A few tips for choosing margarine.

Even if you know what margarine is made of and how dangerous it is to health, it will still be difficult for you to completely refuse it. But, following some rules, you can minimize the harm of margarine.

GOST R 52179-2003- look for just such a sign on the package with margarine. A product manufactured according to this standard is considered to be of the highest quality.

Be aware that the harder margarine contains more trans fats. In this regard, buy a soft product whenever possible.

Often the harm to the product increases due to improper storage. Foil packaging reduces the exposure of the product to light and humidity. Yes, margarine in foil is more expensive, but the risk of purchasing low-quality goods is reduced.

Much has been said about the dangers of margarine. But it is still added to confectionery and other foods. Why?

Today it is considered perhaps the main culinary evil. But people forget that he saved the lives of thousands of people who would have been in danger of starvation when dairy products were unavailable.

It all started like this: Napoleon III announced that he would pay well the one who invented a substitute for butter, available to ordinary people. Many scientists tried to synthesize a similar product, but it was only at the end of the 19th century that Ippolit Mezh-Mourier succeeded. The novelty had an unusual pearl tint, was very cheap and was not capricious in storage. Actually, these features alerted potential buyers. So the first consumers of margarine were French soldiers, who could not be picky about food.

Then hard times came for the world, and already civilians became consumers of margarine products. Gradually, the hunger passed, and margarine was still added to confectionery, butter and other foods.

At the end of the 20th century, advocates of healthy eating began to talk about harmful trans fats, and the product fell out of favor with the mass buyer.

Indeed, research confirms the link between the consumption of trans fats and the development of heart disease, infertility and other ailments in humans. Many modern manufacturers have significantly reduced the content of harmful molecules in margarine. And some even produce a product without trans fats in the composition. Therefore, it is more popular not so much because of the greater benefits for the body, but because of the pleasant and familiar taste, and also because of the myths that have taken root in society.

So is margarine really bad? Let's try to figure it out.

Few people can answer what margarine consists of. There is even a myth that it is produced from oil. Probably, this fable appeared because of someone's comment about the taste of the product, and then was fixed in the mass consciousness as a truth.

Ideas for food from petroleum products were found in dystopian writers, such as Harry Harrison. Fantasists believed that in the 21st century the population of the Earth would increase to such an extent that nature would be destroyed and food would be scarce.

Today, everything is not so bad: margarine and other oil-based delicacies are not offered to customers.

This product is an emulsion of water and fat. Therefore, it is also called cooking oil. Today, various modified oils are used for production: vegetable, coconut, palm, olive, cottonseed, etc. In some cases, animal or milk fats are added.

In America, they often take for the base, and in Europe -. Auxiliary ingredients: salt, spices, flavors, sugars, emulsifiers. In Russia, compliance with regulations is controlled by law.

There are several types of margarine with the following markings:

• MT is a solid used in the food industry;
• MTS - cooking oil, suitable for puff pastry;
• MTK - suitable for creating creams and soufflés;
• MM - a fairly soft product, good for sandwiches;
• MFA / MZHP - liquid substances used for deep-frying and baking bread and rolls.

Ordinary consumers use only table margarine, which can be easily spread on bread. Some even argue that it is in no way inferior in taste and benefits to butter. This type of margarine is divided into milk and cream.

Don't forget about quality

The cheaper the product, the worse it is. Low cost indicates expired, low-quality or not very useful raw materials. For sandwiches and homemade pastries, it is better to buy table margarine at an adequate cost.

Margarine made from modified soy can cause severe allergic reactions.

Many do not like the taste of palm oil (a bit like laundry soap), although only a faint shade of palm oil is usually felt in the final products.

Lactic

Paradoxically, this particular product does not contain milk or even a hint of it. Usually, whale oil derivatives are used for its manufacture. It contains a lot of natural nutrients. But health benefits can probably come from vitamins and microelements with which manufacturers artificially enrich their products. These are vitamins A, E and PP and group B, phosphorus, calcium and choline, sodium and magnesium.

Milk margarine is almost 99% fat, and there are also some proteins in the composition.

Calorie content - about 770 kcal per 100 g.

Professional confectioners believe that this variety is ideal for creating culinary products. Used for making bread, various buns, confectionery cream. At home, milk margarine is suitable for baking homemade cookies and dessert creams. In addition, you can simply make delicious sandwiches with it.

Creamy

It includes vegetable oils and animal fats. Pasteurized cow's milk is also used in the production. The composition should include no more than 25% butter. So overall, this is a fairly high-quality, edible product.

The chemical composition is also quite decent. For example, a lot of vitamin E, vitamins of group B, A, PP. Creamy margarine contains potassium, magnesium and phosphorus, choline and magnesium.

Calorie content per 100 g is about 743 kcal, containing up to 82 g of fat.

The product is suitable for baking, making sandwiches, thick creams.

Harm

The main harm of margarine is the presence of trans fats. But the thing is, these compounds are practically non-existent in modern products that you can find on the shelves. Therefore, the use in adequate amounts does not harm the body and is not the cause of the formation of cancerous tumors, the development of infertility and other ailments that the product is accused of.

However, margarine is very high in calories, so abuse can cause obesity, and not necessarily in the form of fat folds in problem areas. After all, fat is also deposited on the internal organs, while a person often remains relatively slender.

Obesity, in turn, leads to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, deterioration of mental abilities, hormonal disruptions, depression and infertility.

Baked goods and confectionery products with cooking oil also cannot cause serious harm on their own. Of course, if you eat a cake a day, then health problems will definitely appear.

Is there any benefit

Margarine contains a lot of vitamins and minerals that the human body needs daily. In addition, the product is rich in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. So yes, it can be useful.

Of course, margarine cannot be attributed to diet food, but it gives a lot of energy, and therefore helps to quickly satisfy hunger and relieve fatigue. In addition, if the product is made from high-quality vegetable fats, it does not increase the level of bad cholesterol - (excess cholesterol is considered a harbinger of many serious diseases).

How to choose and store

• Do not buy a product in paper packaging, only in foil - it does not transmit light and odors.
• Do not take cheap margarine - not the most healthy products could be used for its preparation.
• It is advisable to buy a butter substitute without flavors and emulsifiers.
• Store only in the refrigerator, but not longer than 3 months.
• If margarine has a sour, rancid or metallic taste, it's time to throw it away.
• The color of the bar should be even over the entire surface, without yellow smudges or gray spots.

Gray and brown shades indicate violations in the production process. "Marbling" or "striping" - about improper storage and uneven cooling.

Margarine versus butter

Obviously, butter is healthier. It contains more vitamins, minerals, natural milk fats. But if dairy products are not produced in your region, but are brought exclusively from other regions, there is a risk of buying spoiled butter. And margarine practically does not deteriorate, and its cost is still lower.

There is another point regarding production. For example, in the Altai Territory, a pack of delicious natural butter weighing 180 g costs about 60-80 rubles. Whereas in many other regions for this price you can buy only spread or cooking oil.

Using margarine as a dietary butter substitute is a bad idea. Their calorie content is approximately equal, so losing weight will not work. Margarine can be eaten if you are trying to observe Great Lent. But in this case, it is necessary to choose products in which only herbal ingredients are present.

So, if you choose between products according to the degree of usefulness - definitely oil. And if you like the taste of margarine better, then eat it. But do not forget that both options are very fatty, and you should not lean heavily on them.

It is advisable to eat no more than 1 tbsp per day. l. butter or margarine. In the case of oil, this portion will bring certain benefits. If we are talking about margarine, then one spoon will not cause any significant harm.

Margarine is a product based on vegetable oil, water, emulsifiers with the addition of flavors. As a solid cooking oil, margarine is widely used as an ingredient in many dishes.

From the consumer's point of view, margarine can be seen as an ersatz for butter. Margarine is also often referred to as butter in colloquial speech and in hidden advertising (for example, "Light butter"), however, in most countries it is illegal to put the word "butter" on margarine packages by law.

Modern margarine can be produced from various types of vegetable fats, both refined and additionally hydrogenated, it is also possible to introduce animal fats. To give high taste qualities, various flavoring additives are introduced into its composition: milk powder, whey, salt, sugar, flavorings and other food additives.

Recently, the words “margarine” and “spread” can be found on the packaging. Sellers often claim they are one and the same. The production of these products is very similar, but regulated by different regulations. In spreads, the use of hydrogenated fats is limited and the content of trans-fatty acids is regulated, and in margarine these parameters have almost no legal restrictions.

Three main types of margarine

• Hard, usually uncolored margarine for cooking or baking, with a high content of animal fat.
• "Traditional" margarines for spreading on toast with a relatively high percentage of saturated fat. Made from animal fat or vegetable oil.
• Margarines high in mono- or poly-unsaturated fats. Made from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), sunflower, soybean, cottonseed or olive oil, they are clearly healthier than butter or other types of margarine due to their significantly lower saturated fat content and total absence of cholesterol.

Many of today's popular "smudges" are a mixture of margarine and butter, something that has long been illegal in the US and Australia, among other countries. These products were created to combine the characteristics of low price and easy-to-spread artificial butter with the taste of the real thing.

Useful properties of margarine

Margarine. It is based on hydrogenated vegetable oils, water, emulsifiers and flavors. In many countries, margarine is the most traded of all dietary fats. In addition, it is widely used in cooking and in a latent form is part of many products.

The basis of margarine production technology is still the catalytic hydrogenation of unsaturated fats. When liquid vegetable oils are hydrogenated, the so-called lard is obtained, which is then used as the main component of margarine.

Spreads and melted mixes. Spread (read "spread") is a "soft butter", a food product containing a mixture of vegetable and milk fats. It smudges easily, even after cooling. According to GOST Russia, spreads are divided into three types:

• Creamy vegetable oils contain more than 50% milk fat (they are the closest to natural butter);
• Vegetable and creamy contain from 15 to 49% milk fat;
• Vegetable fat does not contain milk fat (in fact, pure margarine).

The difference between the spread and margarine is that the content of hydrogenated fats is limited in the spread. In margarine, there is practically no such restriction.

It is very important which vegetable fats are used to make the spread. Fats from a mixture of palm and coconut oils contain almost no trans isomers, but hydrogenated vegetable oils already contain from 16 to 26 percent trans fats.

Most of us constantly use margarine during cooking, as well as a standalone food product. In a crisis, price plays an important role - margarine is much cheaper than butter.

Dangerous properties of margarine

Trans fats have been the subject of scientific debate for a long time. Some scientists believe that trans fats do not pose a particular danger to the human body, while others argue that trans fats cause significant harm to our health.

By acting on cell walls, trans fat molecules make them hard. In turn, the hardening of cell walls increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, trans fats increase the level of "bad" cholesterol in the blood serum, reduce the body's defenses, and also adversely affect the quality of sperm in men.

Instead of margarine, doctors advise consuming traditional vegetable oils and butter, but within reasonable limits. You should also carefully read the labels of finished products (baking, cookies, chips, confectionery, semi-finished products and others) to see if they contain hydrogenated, that is, those very dangerous trans fats that transmit

Margarine- edible fat obtained by emulsifying a mixture of vegetable oils and animal fats that have undergone certain processing (hydrogenation, refining), with fermented milk or water, followed by cooling and mechanical processing of the emulsion until a product of the required consistency is obtained.

In terms of calories, taste, smell, appearance and consistency, margarine is similar to butter. Its chemical composition is close to that of butter. The digestibility of margarine is 97-98% and is equal to the digestibility of butter and lard.

Margarine is widely used in the confectionery, bakery and other food industries, as well as in catering establishments and home cooking for the preparation of dough products, hot and cold dishes, and is used for sandwiches.

Margarine "Special" sandwich Rosglavzhirmaslo Gorky oil and fat plant

For the production of margarine in the USSR, vegetable oils (sunflower, cottonseed, sesame, etc.) and animal fats were used as the main raw materials: butter (not lower than the 1st grade), rendered pork, beef, whale and other fats (not lower than the highest varieties). Vegetable oils were used in natural refined and hydrogenated form. In addition to fats, natural and skimmed milk (fresh and canned), natural fresh pasteurized or dry cream, as well as table salt, beet sugar, flavoring and flavoring agents, food colorings, vitamins and emulsifiers were used. Purified phosphatides, as well as preparations obtained from densified glycerol and fatty acids, were used as emulsifiers.

Table margarine "ERA" (Soyuzmargarinprom, 1973)

The production of margarine consisted of the following main operations: preparation of fats and milk, mixing of the raw materials provided for in the recipe, emulsification of fats with milk (or water for dairy-free margarine), cooling, emulsion processing, packaging and packaging of the finished product. The industrial production of margarine in the USSR was mechanized. Margarine plants were equipped with equipment that allows the entire production process to be carried out in closed, continuously operating apparatus, subject to all necessary sanitary and hygienic conditions.

Margarine

For the production of margarine, vegetable oils, as well as liquid (at normal temperature) animal fats (whale, fish) were subjected to hydrogenation (treatment with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst) to acquire a greasy or solid consistency. In order to purify, remove impurities and smell, vegetable oils, as well as hydrogenated fats, were subjected to refining (purification). At the same time, mechanical and alkaline cleaning, hydration (removal of protein and mucous substances), washing, decolorization, deodorization (removal of aromatic substances) and filtering of fats were carried out. The quantitative ratio of various fats in the mixture prepared for the production of margarine fluctuated within the limits established by the recipe, depending on the melting point and consistency of the mixture. Dyes, vitamins and emulsifier were introduced into the fat mixture. Milk for the manufacture of margarine was used fermented with special types of lactic acid bacteria, some of which enrich milk with B vitamins. Salt and sugar were added to fermented milk. Milk gives margarine the taste and aroma of butter, and also increases its shelf life..

In the process of emulsifying fats with milk (water), the latter is distributed in the form of tiny balls in the fat mass, forming a strong non-separating emulsion. Cooling the emulsion was intended to turn it into a dense mass, which was then subjected to mechanical processing to make it homogeneous.

Margarine. Glavraszhirmaslo Ministry of Light and Food Industry of the USSR (Artist E. Miniovich, 1952.)

Depending on the raw materials used for its manufacture and the technology of the process, margarine was divided into the following types: milk, cream, dairy-free and powdered (dry). Milk and cream margarines, depending on the ratio of fats in the raw mixture and flavoring substances added during its manufacture, were in turn divided into chocolate and confectionery margarines, and milk margarines were also divided into animal and table margarines.

The quality of margarine had to meet the requirements of GOST 240-57.

Margarine

According to organoleptic indicators, margarine had to meet the following requirements: the taste and smell were clean, well-defined, corresponding to the taste and smell of butter, and for dairy-free margarine, the color had to be uniform throughout the mass, for uncolored margarine - from white to light yellow, for dyed - light yellow or yellow; consistency at a temperature of 15 ° dense, homogeneous, plastic; the cut surface is shiny, dry in appearance.

The quality of margarine was assessed by organoleptic indicators using a hundred-point system. In accordance with the data of the organoleptic evaluation, margarine is divided into the highest and the 1st grade. The distribution of points was made as follows: taste and smell - 50, texture and appearance - 25, color and color - 10, salting - 5, packaging - 10 points. The scoring was carried out according to the GOST 240-57 table. Depending on the amount of points received, margarine was assigned to the corresponding grade. The quality score for premium margarine was to be at least 93 points, incl. in taste and smell - at least 44 points, and for the 1st grade - 89 and 41 points, respectively.

Dairy animal margarine

Margarine was not allowed to be sold with a score for taste and smell below 41 points or with a total score below 89 points; with a taste of bitterness or paint; with a greasy, rancid, metallic, fishy or other foreign taste and smell, as well as with a taste of stearin; a pronounced salty or sour taste and smell or a pronounced taste of vegetable oil; with flowing moisture, with a floury, curdled consistency; moldy or contaminated.

Composition of margarine (in %)

The packaging of margarine in cardboard boxes, as well as plywood drums, was not allowed for sea, river and mixed rail-water transportation, as well as for transportation associated with reloading from broad gauge to narrow gauge and vice versa, and for deliveries to the Far North and the Arctic.

Dairy animal margarine

The net weight of margarine had to be the same in all boxes of the batch. Margarine in small packages, wrapped in parchment, was produced in net weights of 100, 200, 250 and 500 g. Deviations from net weight are allowed for packaging in 100, 200, 250 g ± 1.5%, for packaging in 500 g ± 1, 0%. Packaged margarine was packed in plank, plywood or cardboard boxes. At the bottom of the barrel or the end side of the box, a stamp was applied indicating: the name of the manufacturer, the name of margarine, its variety, net and gross weight, production date, serial number, place and number of GOST.

Plank box used for packaging margarine (Lviv Zhirkombinat)

The label of the packaged product should have indicated: the name of the manufacturer, the name of the margarine, the variety, the net weight, the date of issue, the composition of the margarine (the date of issue of the margarine was affixed by the composter).

It was necessary to store margarine in refrigerated and darkened rooms or refrigerators, with constant circulation and air supply, at a temperature of +2 to -2 ° and a relative humidity of 75-80%. In warehouses, boxes and barrels were stacked at a distance of 50-70 cm from the outer walls. When storing margarine, it was necessary to systematically inspect the container; in case of mold on the surface, it was necessary to thoroughly clean it with clean rags. For long-term storage in a warehouse, boxes and barrels should be turned over every 10-15 days.

For packaged margarine, the guaranteed shelf life at temperatures from +4 to +10°C was set to no more than 30 days. In the store, margarine could be stored for no more than 3 days in summer, and no more than 5 days in winter. For stores where products are stored in cold chambers at temperatures below 8°, winter storage periods were applied throughout the year.

Margarine "Special" sandwich Soyuzmargarinprom MPP USSR Moscow Margarine Plant