Margarine

Introduction

"Mixtures and emulsions packaged with dietary fats of animal and vegetable origin, different from butter and pork fat, containing more than 2% moisture and a fat content not less than 80, have the generic and obligatory margarine denomination. % "

Margarine is an emulsion of water in oil; more precisely it is formed by a lipid fraction, an aqueous fraction and some minor constituents (dyes of natural origin, antimicrobials, emulsifiers and preservatives). The aqueous fraction consists of water or milk (in Italy it is not allowed to add this ingredient), while the lipidic fraction contains vegetable oils and fats, including peanut oil, corn germ, grapeseed oil, soy oil, sunflower, rapeseed. The mixtures of usable fats are the most disparate; some may be composed of one or two components, but the use of several oils and fats is not uncommon. The choice depends on the cost, the quality and the type of margarine to be produced.

The margarines on the market are all of vegetable origin, while those containing animal fats go by the name of oleomargarines and are used only in industry, especially in the pastry one.

Since the oil and water are liquid at room temperature, to obtain the semi-solid consistency typical of margarine it is necessary to perform a chemical hydrogenation operation. Based on the number of saturated double bonds, more or less compact margarines will be obtained. Hydrogenation takes place by blowing into special tanks, equipped with heating shirts, hydrogen gas and using nickel as a catalyst. Alternative techniques to traditional hydrogenation are intersesterification and fractionation.

Traditional preparation

The two phases are prepared (aqueous and oily): on the one hand the water and all the other water-soluble ingredients (sodium chloride, citric acid, tartaric acid and phosphoric acid ...), on the other hand the oil previously added to emulsifiers, hydrogenated and brought to melting temperature. These two phases are then combined and heat emulsified; the subsequent cooling will lead to an emulsion of solid consistency. The final kneading operations are aimed at making the product homogeneous and improving its spreadability. The cooling phase is also fundamental, which causes the crystallization of the emulsion giving different characteristics depending on the speed of the process ..

In margarine we have a prevalence of palmitic and stearic acid, which derive respectively from the saturation by hydrogenation of palmitoleic and oleic acids present in vegetable oils.

Homemade Margarine

Homemade Margarine - Vegetable Butter

Classification

• Monoseme margarines (if they come from a single plant species, for example maize margarine, peanut margarine, etc.);
• Polyseme or mixed margarines (if derived from a mixture of vegetable oils).

Monoseme and polyseme margarines constitute the so-called table margarines, ie those present at the supermarket and intended for daily consumption.

From the product point of view, they are distinguished:

• Table margarines.
• Industrial or confectionery margarines: may also contain animal fats, including fish oil.
• Dietary margarines: characterized by a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids, therefore a little more liquid.
• Light margarines with reduced fat content, in which there is a change from a lipid percentage of 80% or more to 60 - 62%.
• Light margarines with low fat content (only 40 - 42%).

Legislation

• Free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, not exceeding 1%
• Fatty substance not less than 80%
• Absence of fats deriving from milk or hydrocarbons of mineral origin (synthetic oils)
• Absence of catalyst traces

Adding is allowed:

• Antimicrobial additives (sorbic acid and its salts)
• Antioxidants, emulsifiers, thickeners
• Natural dyes (such as curcumin, carotenes, annatto)
• Sodium chloride, as a conservative substance but also as a flavor enhancer (in northern Europe salted margarines are consumed in Italy that do not meet the taste of consumers)
• Neoesperidina DC, as a flavor enhancer

Analysis

The analyzes that are carried out on margarine concern exclusively the ascertainment of legal requirements, since, being able to be prepared with very heterogeneous mixtures of substances, there are no specific analytical indexes. This operation is performed by gas chromatography of fatty acids and sterols, exclusively for the control of monoseme margarines.

For this type of product and for all others, however, a check will be carried out on the moisture content and any traces of nickel (which we have seen to be the catalytic catalytic catalyst).

Butter or margarine?

From a nutritional point of view, butter is a more genuine food than margarine and contains less trans fatty acids. This aspect, associated with the lower content of palmitic acid (a molecule that promotes the synthesis of cholesterol), makes butter a less cholesterol-lowering food than margarine. The butter also contains the mineral salts and vitamins typical of the starting milk.

Today, it is also possible to find margarines "without hydrogenated fatty acids" (with a negligible content of trans fatty acids); not only that, we can also find margarines fortified with plant sterols and omega-three, both with positive effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, but also with Vitamin D, which in addition to the known effect on bone health could contribute to the reduction of cardiovascular risk . These new generation products can be considered a sort of "revenge of margarines" which in this way become a better food than butter in terms of metabolic impact and cardiovascular health. However, the doubt remains as to the quality of the oils used in their production, which at least in theory cannot ignore the use of a certain percentage of coconut and palm oils. More generally, the solidity of margarine requires, for physical reasons, the presence of a certain amount of saturated fatty acids. Therefore, in the absence of added functional molecules (omega-three, sterols, vitamin D, Vitamin E etc.) it is questionable to consider a non-hydrogenated vegetable margarine better than butter, also in consideration of its highly elaborate nature (extraction and chemical refining of the oils, interesterification with chemical catalysts etc.).