From: sbhattac@wissel.GBA.NYU.EDU (Shankar Bhattacharyya)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: Re: butter vs. margarine
Date: 14 Aug 92 01:55:13 GMT
Organization: NYU Stern School of Business


In article <92226.27763.6175190@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM> 6175190@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM writes:

>>In article <1992Aug11.192808.12186@athena.mit.edu> adrothst@athena.mit.edu (And
>Butter
>>seems to have less fat than margarine, but it does have some cholesterol.

>Have been reading this thread and this sentence has bothered me from the
>beginning. This group as a whole probably doesn't need this caution and it
>may not apply here but casual readers should make note as I believe there is
>a common misunderstanding about labeling in this country (US).
>
>Butter and margarine are generally 100% fat. Granted, of various types, but
>the statement "Butter seems to have less fat than margarine..." could be
>misunderstood. My 2$ worth. :-)

You are entirely correct about that. It could easily be overinterpreted.

But butter *does*, typically, have rather less fat than margarine. I'll try
and elaborate, and I suspect that there will still be room for
misunderstanding, because while the statement is technically correct, most
people are not likely to know enough about the context in which they make
judgments about this.

Butter contains more than just fat. It contains protein. It contains
lactose. And it contains a fair bit of water. Margarine, on the other hand,
is made from dry (i.e. pretty much moisture-free) oils, and then a small
amount of water is added in and emulsified, to keep the mixture plastic.
There is no protein (traces aside), there is no lactose, and the water
content is *typically* lower than for butter.

The net result is that a gram of butter contains less fat than does a gram
of most margarines. So, for equal weights, butter will usually have less
fat.

However, let's not get all complacent about this.

This is confounded by several things.

First, American labeling rules do not specify serving sizes for things
yet, so people claim whatever the hell they want for a serving size. This
will change before the end of the year, when serving sizes will be
legislated for a vast range of foods. They will be required to have
some bearing on reality.

Second, some products which people regard as if they were margarine are
not hydrogenated. They are emulsions of entirely unhydrogenated fats
and water. I think the stuff sold as "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
is one of those, though I would not want to swear to that as a specific
example. In any case, such things exist in the US. These things tend to
have rather a lot of water in them, so they may well have less fat than
there is in an equal weight of butter. Again, I speak not of a specific
product, but in general terms, of products of this type.

Still, it is not all tha likely, since they still have to contain at least
80% fat by weight, under the law. All margarines do, in the US.

Third, lost of butter and margarine type products have air whipped into
them. If a serving is then stated by volume, as, say, "1 tsp", you have
absolutely no idea what you are comparing to what. That, too, will change
by the end of the year.

Fourth, when you talk to people about the amount of fat, some people will
mean amount of fat by weight, and some will mean percent of calories from
fat, and the two groups talk, by and large, entirely at cross-purposes,
with not enough common ground to make sense to one another. That is an
argument I do not wish to join again. But the two groups do not
communicate.

Someone mentioned ghee. Ghee is butter from which most of the protein and
water have been removed, and much of the lactose is gone as well, as a
consequence of the cooking process, so ghee is almost all fat. It is,
without exception, and without doubt, higher in fat than butter, and higher
in fat than most margarines, both in terms of weight, and in terms of
percent of calories from fat.

Finally, I have no opinion on the matter of which is better for your
health, though neither does your body much good.

- Shankar