The oil used is most often vegetable, but a mixture of animal and vegetable oils is sometimes used. Margarine must contain 80 percent fat.
This spread was first made by a Frech chemist in response to a request by Napoleon III to discover a substitute for butter.
During the 1870s, margarine was introduced in the United States. Within a short time, dairymen sought legislation restricting margarine’s sale in an effort to slow the progress of margarine’s inroads into the butter market. In 1886, they succeeded in getting such a law passed. Among other things, this law eventually included a high tax on margarine’s artificially colored yellow. It wasn’t until 1950 that federal taxes on margarine were dropped. Since then, most similar state laws have disappeared.
Although margarine is primarily made up of fat, it is always fortified with vitamin A and often with vitamin D. Margarine yields 36 calories per teaspoon.
In recent years, the controversy over cholesterol has involved margarine because vegetable oil margarines are lower in cholesterol than is butter.
Today, margarine is sold in two forms: solid sticks and whipped. Each solid margarine stick is ¼ pound. Whipped margarine has the advantage of being spread able even when very cold. Since the air beaten into this margarine increases its volume, whipped margarine must be used by weight rather than measurement.
To store margarine, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for a few weeks or in the freezer for longer periods of time.
