Butter vs Margarine: A tale of two fats

You no doubt already know your customers are keen to eat natural foods these days - and they’d be hard-pressed to find one as pure as butter.

Butter’s simple ingredients belie the complex compounds that make up its flavor, and this is why margarine manufacturers have never been able to recreate butter’s taste, despite many years of trying.

Here's why: 

• Butter’s flavor is near-impossible to imitate because its complex combination of flavor compounds occur naturally.
• Some of those compounds are only released when heated, giving cooking and baking the buttery flavor consumers know and love.
• Butter melts at a normal body temperature, which is why it delivers that excellent round mouthfeel and flavor your customers prefer. Margarine doesn’t melt at that same temperature, which is why it leaves a lingering, greasy after-taste instead.
• It’s now accepted that saturated fats have a more neutral effect on cholesterol, as opposed to trans fats, which increase ‘bad’ and reduce ‘good’ cholesterol. This solidifies the renewed belief that butter has its place in a balanced diet.

These stark differences between butter and margarine come down to the ways in which they’re made.

• Butter is made from cream derived from milk – and nothing else. It’s really that simple. And with the aid of modern machines, the traditional butter-making process has become faster, with a more consistent production, which in turn means a more consistent product for you to create with in your own kitchen or bakery.
• Margarine is made from vegetable oil that has gone through a hydrogenation process, resulting in the presence of unhealthy trans fats. It also has to be artificially colored and flavored.