Butter or margarine?
What is healthier, what tastes better?
What is better for baking, boiling or frying?
Are you team butter or margarine?
Some prefer to smear margarine on breakfast or snacks, for others it has to be bread and butter or even the butter board - or do you already know the TikTok trend of caramelized butter with onions?
Opinions also differ when it comes to baking, searing or greasing.
Many people think margarine is healthier than butter, but is that really true?
Butter vs Margarine: What's the Difference?
butter | margarine | |
|---|---|---|
Purpose of use | Spread, roast, bake, cook | Spread, roast, bake, cook |
manufacturing | from milk (cow, sheep, goat) | industrially produced from vegetable and animal refined oils |
fats | saturated fat | unsaturated fatty acids/trans fatty acids |
calories | about 9 kcal/g | about 9 kcal/g |
durability | open about 2 weeks, unopened see best before date | open about 6 weeks, unopened see best before date |
You can also freeze butter to extend its shelf life, and you can even make butter yourself with a butter churn.
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Do you prefer butter or margarine to your bread?
© Joerg Beuge/Imago
Is margarine really healthier than butter?
It depends on the quality of the products
There is no general answer as to whether margarine is healthier or butter.
Because it depends above all on the quality of the products, especially on the ingredients.
Plant margarine is actually healthier than butter for people with elevated blood lipid levels,
Edeka
knows .
However, the supermarket chain points out that you should check whether only plant-based nutrients are actually included.
According to the report, however, butter is easier to digest and harmful trans fats that may be contained in margarine do not yet have to be labeled according to
Edeka
.
Chip.de
also reports that it matters what you want to use butter or margarine for:
Half-fat margarine:
less fat, not suitable for frying or baking
Vegetable margarine:
contains more healthy, unsaturated fatty acids, suitable for baking and roasting from a fat content of 70 percent
Sweet Cream Butter:
good for cooking, especially sauces
Raw milk butter:
gentle production, special taste
According to the report, when buying both butter and margarine, you should pay attention to organic production and the ingredients, especially emulsifiers and hydrogenated fats should be avoided.
Did you know that Rama is actually not margarine at all?
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Butter or margarine on bread, baking sheet or in the pan?
The pros and cons of butter
Butter contains saturated fatty acids:
on the one hand, the human body needs the messenger substances for the nervous system, as the
AOK
reports, on the other hand, it can increase cholesterol levels, which according to the report can lead to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
The
Federal Center for Nutrition
therefore recommends eating butter in moderation.
Valuable ingredients in the butter: According to the
AOK
, vitamins A, D and E as well as potassium, calcium and phosphorus
are particularly found in types of butter made from milk from cows fed on pasture grass and green fodder (alpine butter, pasture butter, mountain farm butter) .
According to the report, the omega-3 fatty acid content of butter also increases with high-quality feed - in contrast to feeding with corn and/or concentrated feed.
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Although the saturated fatty acids contained in butter are important messenger substances for the nervous system, they can also increase cholesterol levels.
© velkol/Imago
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Butter or margarine on bread, baking sheet or in the pan?
The pros and cons of margarine
Margarine contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids:
the good fats can lower cholesterol levels.
Each type of oil has different advantages. According to the
AOK
, margarine made from linseed and rapeseed oil contains a higher proportion of polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, while margarine from sunflower oil contains omega-6 fatty acids.
Valuable ingredients in the margarine:
Vitamins A, D, K and E are added to the margarine, as the
AOK
informs.
According to the report, there are even margarines that contain plant sterols and thus lower the cholesterol level - but only recommended for people with elevated cholesterol levels and in consultation with a doctor.
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Margarine made from linseed and rapeseed oil contains a higher proportion of polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, while margarine made from sunflower oil contains omega-6 fatty acids.
© YAY Images/Imago
To make margarine taste like butter, additives such as flavorings, gelatin or preservatives are often added.
In order to achieve the consistency of the spread, on the one hand the unsaturated fatty acids can be lost and on the other hand harmful trans fatty acids can be produced, which can have a negative effect on the gastrointestinal tract, as
Chip.de
reports.
List of rubrics: © Joerg Beuge/Imago
