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Don’t let the margarine take you off the bread – especially not if it was made with a lot of love. You can easily do this at home with a trio of ingredients: Here you can find out how you can make margarine yourself!

Margarine – vegetable fat spread

Germans consumed around five kilos of margarine per capita in 2014. Whether pure on freshly baked bread or as a basis for sausage, cheese, or jam sandwich is up to personal taste. Margarine is particularly popular with vegans: the fat spread consists mainly of vegetable oils and water – dairy products such as those used to make butter are not needed here.

If you want to make margarine yourself, you can choose between different oil variants – depending on how intense the vegetable fat spread should taste in the end. Above all, olive, linseed, and rapeseed oil are suitable for the production of margarine, as they have an optimal mixture of fatty acids.

Margarine is so healthy

“good” margarine contains up to 70 percent monounsaturated fatty acids. The body needs these fats for the metabolism and the elasticity of the cell membranes. About half of this percentage consists of polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are not produced by the body itself and must therefore be ingested through food in order to be involved in important metabolic processes.

Anyone who reaches for margarine from the supermarket should pay attention to the label “hydrogenated fats”: These can be unhealthy trans-fatty acids that can arise during the chemical hardening process of the margarine. It’s healthier to make the margarine yourself – that way you know for sure what’s in it! Nadine Burck from the blog dreierleiliebelei has a great and simple recipe up her sleeve for all margarine fans!

Make margarine yourself

The ingredients for 200 grams:

  • 50 grams of cocoa butter
  • 150 g rapeseed oil
  • a pinch of salt

The preparation:

  1. Slowly melt the cocoa butter over a bain-marie at medium temperature and remove it from the heat as soon as it is liquid.
  2. Now stir in the rapeseed oil and salt and pour into a sealable bowl and refrigerate until the margarine is firm.

We will tell you all the information and tips you need to know about margarine. Because this healthy alternative has become indispensable in the household. You probably use them every day.

In most families, margarine is needed primarily as a spread or for baking. She is also healthy. Because this consists mainly of vegetable oils and fats.

How healthy is margarine?

You will find lots of information and tips on margarine. But which ones are correct? We’ll tell you. This is an industrially produced fat spread. It serves as a substitute for butter and lard. It consists of water, sour whey, emulsifiers, natural aromas, and vitamins A, D, and E. Vitamins are particularly useful in combating spring tiredness. In addition, the fat content of these is usually eighty percent, reduced-fat specimens correspondingly less, around forty percent.

Margarine is a good alternative

The margarine in the Stiftung Warentest performs well. From a nutritional point of view, this is made from vegetable oils and is, therefore, healthier than butter. In the test, a total of ten margarine products performed better than butter. As a result, they contain fewer saturated fats and lots of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The testers were particularly impressed by the margarine with rapeseed, sunflower, and linseed oil. A disadvantage of the butter alternative is the palm fat it often contains. How healthy or unhealthy this is is a matter of controversy. What is certain, however, is that palm fat has been criticized for its sustainability. But not all types of margarine contain this fat.

1) Roast with full-fat margarine

Have you ever wondered which is better, butter or margarine? As is well known, this question is often a matter of taste. Since it can handle more heat, you can use the full-fat margarine for frying. But pay attention to their fat content. Because half-fat kinds of margarine with only forty percent fat are not suitable for frying. So if you want to do something for your health, even when roasting, you might pay more attention to the ingredients. If polyunsaturated fatty acids are on the menu, that’s very good. We also have instructions on how to fry a steak for you.

2) Cooking with healthy alternatives

You can also use this spread to refine sauces and soups. The taste of potatoes can also be enhanced with it. You can also use them for all kinds of vegetables. It doesn’t necessarily have to be vegetables stewed in butter. Because with the healthy butter alternative, your food tastes just as good and is definitely healthier. It is also suitable for vegetarian food without hesitation, as it does not contain any animal components. And in some cases, unlike butter, it’s vegan. But we also have tips for you on how to use butter.

3) Use baking margarine

There are different types of margarine. Baking margarine has special properties for baking. Because it has a smooth consistency for shortcrust pastry and is a tip for yeast dough. You can also whip them up and use them for the batter. If you want to make pastries out of puff pastry, use stretch margarine. Because their largely constant consistency is ideal.

Butter or margarine – what should you put on your bread? We will introduce you to the advantages and disadvantages of the two spreads and look at the sustainability of butter and margarine.

For years, nutritionists have been grappling with the question of what is healthier – butter or margarine? In fact, the question is not that easy to answer, as both spreads have their advantages and disadvantages.

Butter or margarine: which is healthier?

Butter:

One of the most commonly cited disadvantages of butter is its high cholesterol content. If you have too much cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the arteries and increases the risk of heart and circulatory problems. However, the Federal Center for Nutrition states that the body can counteract excess cholesterol by producing less of its own cholesterol.
In contrast to margarine, butter contains a lot of naturally occurring vitamins A, D, E and vitamin K, which, among other things, strengthens the bones. These vitamins often have to be added artificially to spreadable vegetable fat.
Butter contains a high amount of saturated fat, especially those with medium chains. These are said to increase the level of “bad” LDL cholesterol in the body. That is why it recommends covering only up to ten percent of the fat requirement from saturated fatty acids.

Margarine:

The cholesterol content of margarine is much lower than that of butter. However, the vegetable fat is often artificially hardened and therefore contains many unhealthy trans fatty acids, which you should avoid if possible.
Margarine contains less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat. They are said to strengthen the heart and circulation.
When it comes to margarine, you are spoiled for choice: it comes in full-fat and half-fat variants and is based on various vegetable fats.
The plant sterols found in some oils are said to lower cholesterol levels when consumed in a certain amount on a daily basis. Not every margarine naturally contains sterols – if they have been added artificially, this must be stated on the packaging.
Margarine is made from various vegetable oils. It is best to buy products with rapeseed or linseed oil, as these contain a particularly large number of omega-3 fatty acids.

There are different types of margarine from full-fat to half-fat margarine. Not all varieties are suitable for cooking or baking. Therefore we have an overview of varieties and uses for you

What types of margarine are there?

Margarine is often used as a good alternative to butter. But margarine is not just margarine, because there are different types. These usually differ in their fat content and the spectrum ranges from full fat – to half-fat margarine and more. Accordingly, different types of margarine are suitable for different purposes.

Use half-fat margarine as spread fat

Half-fat margarine has about half the fat. For this purpose, the margarine is produced chemically modified and water is added for the missing fat. Therefore, low-fat margarine is only suitable as a spread, e.g. for people who want to lose weight in a healthy way, but do not want to do without their beloved butter. However, half-fat margarine is not an alternative to baking or cooking.

Use margarine for cooking and baking

If you want to cook or bake, be sure to use margarine instead of low-fat margarine. Because half-fat margarine does not dissolve like butter when heated, but flakes and separates into its chemical components. In addition, the high water content ensures that it splashes when frying. Consequently, those with half the fat content are completely unsuitable, especially for greasing when baking or as a substitute for butter in the frying pan. Consequently, use butter or full-fat margarine when baking cakes or cookies. The same applies to cooking.