What is Margarine?

From time to time, not so reliable information about food appears on Facebook. Remember the story of the male and female pepper? So, the wave of the moment is Margarine.

First of all, particularly I don’t consume margarine. I prefer butter, without a doubt. If you do not like it, all good. If you like, that’s ok too. Regardless of what you prefer to consume, in both cases: balance is the key, that is, don’t eat in excess and you’ll be fine.

It may seem like a simple and even common question, but after all what is margarine?

What is Margarine?

In Brazil, Normative Instruction 66/2019 of the Ministry of Agriculture define:

Product with a minimum fat content of 10% and a maximum of 90%, in the form of a stable plastic or fluid emulsion, mainly of the water-in-oil (W/O) type, composed of water, oils or fats of animal or vegetable originwhich can be added to other ingredients;

The definition given by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is very similar, but the main difference is that American margarine must have at least 80% fat, while Brazilian margarine must have at least 10%.

Is emulsion, that is, the mixing of substances that normally do not mix. In this case, it is water in oil/fat. Butter is also an emulsion.

Margarine has French origins

The development of Margarine is credited to the chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès (in mid-1868-1869) when mixing animal fat with milk under stirring (churning), basically. The process is a little more complex, but that’s the essence.

At the time of its invention, it was believed to be made up of margaric acid. A type of fatty acid with a very large structure formed by 17 carbons, discovered by Michel Eugène Chevreul years before. What we call “fat” or lipids It is made up of several fatty acids.

But with advances in science and technology, it was seen that margarine was actually a mixture of palmitic acid (previously unknown) and stearic, which are other very common types of fatty acids.

In the case of margarine, the motivation came from the French government, Napoleon III (this is the nephew of the original) I wanted an alternative to serve as cheaper food for the armed forces and the poor population. Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès was the one who managed to create a product with the desired characteristics of consistency, flavor and price.

A Margarine e hydrogenated vegetable fat They share their story a lot. The search for products to replace animal butter and lard (beef and pork) has always existed. Whether for economic or market reasons.

In the middle of the 19th and 20th centuries, the invention of hydrogenated vegetable fat and techniques for refining/purifying vegetable oils. Increasing the possibilities of using the product.

Popularity also increased because of history and changes in formulation (use of vegetable oil), during the great American depression (1930s) and World War II due to lack of supplies and rationing. Not to mention the marketing, it was sold as something healthy because it has no cholesterol unlike butter. In the end, vegetable oil has no cholesterol.

Advertisements like this were quite common.

Formulations vary depending on the manufacturer. But it is generally a mixture of hydrogenated and/or interesterified vegetable oils (manipulation of the chemical structure), water and emulsifiers. Other ingredients such as vitamins may enter.

What is Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat?

In essence, it involves the transformation of an oil (liquid) into a semi- or solid state. This is done by modifying the original chemical structure of the oil using hydrogen. The process can produce the famous trans fatsbut with greater control of the stages and more modern techniques it is possible to reduce their production.

He said that hydrogenated fat and margarine go together, as they are made with the same raw material. They have differences, but they were developed as substitutes for other, more expensive fats. And today this relationship still exists, margarine is cheaper than butter.

In English, hydrogenated fat is called shortening because of its interaction with the other ingredients. Fat has the ability to lubricate, weaken or break/decrease the structure of the other components of the food to achieve the desired characteristic.

Well-buttered (or vegetable shortening) pie dough has that crumbly, easy-to-eat texture precisely because of the fat. It interfered with the interaction of gluten, which in this case would not be interesting if it was worked on too much.

Fat trans

In mid-June (2015), the FDA changed its guidelines and no longer classifies fat trans as safe for human consumption. The change is justified due to evidence linking this type of fat with heart disease.

Over the next three years, the industry must remove fats from its formulations trans artificial. Remember: they occur naturally in some animals, such as ox and cow. Therefore, products derived from these animals also contain fat.

What is Interesterified Fat?

It is a process that takes place between fats and vegetable oils to change the structure of the triacylglycerol molecules: it is formed by a gligerol molecule with three fatty acid molecules. To promote this change, enzymes and/or catalysts can be used.

By changing the order of the fatty acids present in triacylglycerol, you change the characteristics and properties of the fat itself. This process is being used more than hydrogenation to avoid the production of trans fat.

How is Margarine used?

The use is very wide. Where butter is used, technically it could be substituted. You and I consume it whether we want it or not. Be it savory, sweet and especially puff pastries. Here in Brazil, puff pastry is rarely made with butter for several reasons. It is economic (main), technological (differences in fat content between brands) and climate (here is very hot).

For anyone who has visited large confectionery or bakery stores, you have seen these types of margarine specific for fermented or non-fermented puff pastries. And in the case of hydrogenated vegetable fat: fried food. Again, fried portions rarely use oil. They don’t burn as easily and help with the texture of the final product.

Both are an alternative for those following a vegetarian or vegan diet, when the products are not made with ingredients of animal origin.

Currently, there is a transition from hydrogenated vegetable fat for the palm vegetable fat which has the desired characteristics for many products. And I believe that the scenario is likely to change a lot in the coming years because of the FDA’s changes.

Very long; I did not read

• She’s older than you and me combined! Born in mid-1860!
• It is of French origin.
• No, it was not created to fatten animals.
• But for the armed forces and poor population of France.
• It can be made with fat of animal and/or vegetable origin.
• It is not necessarily vegetarian and/or vegan. It can be, if it is made without ingredients of animal origin.
• Original formulation modified in the USA because of the American depression and war (rationing and lack of supplies).
• American industries will have to change the formulation to remove the fat trans artificial. The FDA gave a period of 3 years for the transition, starting in 2015.
• There is fat trans natural in animals (ox and cow) and some plants.
• Both margarine and hydrogenated vegetable fat are present in various products we consume.

Bibliography

• DAMODARAN, S.; PARKIN, Kirk L. ; FENNEMA, Owen R. Fennema’s Food Chemistry, Fourth Edition (Food Science and Technology). New York: 2008. (Português)
• McGEE, Harold. On food and cooking: the science an lore of the kitchen. New York: Scribner, 2004. (Portuguese | English)
• AKOH, Casimir C.; MIN, David B.Food Lipids: chemistry, nutrition and biotechnology. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2002
• SIMPSON, Benjamin K. et al. Food Biochemistry and Food Processing. Hoboken: Wiley, 2012.
• BELITZ, H.D.; GROSCH, W. Food ChemistryFourth Edition. Springer, 2009.
• CAVENDISH, Thaís Araújo et al. Fatty acid composition of margarines based on hydrogenated or interesterified fat. Science. Technology. Food., Campinas, v.30, n.1, p. 138-142, Mar.2010.
• GHOTRA, Baljit S.; DYAL, Sandra D.; NARINE, Suresh S. Lipid shortenings: a review. Food Research Internationalv. 35, issue 10, 2002, p. 1015-1048.
• CLARK, Paul. The Marketing of Margarine. European Journal of MarketingVol. 20 Iss 5 pp. 52-65, 1986.
• MAPA: Normative Instruction No. 66, of December 10, 2019. Technical regulation of margarine identity and quality.
• MAP: Ordinance no. 372, of September 4, 1997. Technical regulation on the identity and quality of margarine.
• FDA: Title 21: Food And Drugs – Chapter I – Food And Drug Administration – Food For Human Consumption: Margarine.
• FDA: Requirements for Specific Standardized Margarine (Title 21, Volume 2, Revised as of April 1, 2018; CITE: 21CFR166.110)
• FDA: FDA Cuts Trans Fat in Processed Foods.
• AOCS: Giants of the Past – Hippolyte Mège (1817-1880) and Margarine
• AOCS: Giants of the Past – Michel Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889)