New margarine for baking

[chrisandcindy55]

Can anyone explain why older recipes using butter or margarine are not the same when using margarine manufactured today and also what should the margarine be replaced with that will work today?

[Kitchen Witch]

Years ago we were able to buy "real" margarine that you could easily substitute for butter in any recipe. Times have changed, everything is different, now the government has their nose in everything that has trans-fats or fats in it. Oils are used - making up well over 65% of the margarines made today.
That is the reason we are butter people in my house.
That plus the fact that margarine is one step away from becoming plastic - which you can judge for yourself - read the post - Butter VS Margarine (use the search).
You cannot bake with today's so-called margarines and have anything turn out the way you want.
Depending on the recipe - if baking - you can use applesauce in place of fats - or you can just use butter in place of margarine.

[lvdkeyes]

Like you, KW, I haven't used margarine for so many years I can't even remember the last time I bought any.

[Kitchen Witch]

Where I live - we were able to purchase a decent margarine up till about 8 or 9 years ago - it still wasn't like in the good ol' days - but it was decent and it didn't taste too bad if you added it to taters or veggies - but you had to watch your baking with it. So I gave up. Let them process is one more time and make plastic out of it - it'll be around forever because it won't recycle.

[Luvtokuk]

Today’s margarines don’t include as much animal fat as the margarines of old did. At least not in this country. Consumers demands for spreadable products are largely responsible for that, as well as governmental regulations for reducing certain fats in commercially prepared foods. Because many of today’s margarines contain stabilizers, usually protein based, they tend to burn easily when used in frying and other cooking methods. You can find margarines suitable for cooking and baking at professional restaurant/baker supply stores but if you want to get anything from your local super market that’s fit to cook with you’ll have to do a lot of label reading/interpreting.

[Kitchen Witch]

Let’s take a step back in time.

Butter is an edible emulsion of butterfat, water, air, and sometimes salt - made from the churning of cream; used as a spread as well as in baking and cooking. Basically made from dairy and salt.

Margarine was the inexpensive alternative to butter - made from oil or a combination of oils through a process called hydrogenation which helps the animal/vegetable oils emulsify - animal or vegetable oils (corn oils, sunflower oils, soybean oils, etc.) Years ago - it was primarily beef fat (oleo - during WWII butter was scarce as well as expensive and oleo was the best substitute.)

Margarine is to be at least 80% fat, derived from animal or vegetable oils, or the blend of the two. Approximately 17% is liquid - either pasteurized skim milk, water of soybean protein fluid. The remaining percentage is salt which is added for flavor.

In the 1960’s tub margarine and vegetable oil spreads were starting to hit the markets - and it’s been down hill since. The animal fats have been eliminated in most cases and now margarine is no longer the margarine we know from years ago. The processes they have come up with for making margarine have changed dramatically - it’s more of a chemical process than a food process - number one reason we stick to butter.

[lvdkeyes]

I remember my using Allsweet margarine for baking. I am not sure why, but I am guessing she thought it tasted more like butter than other brands of margarine.

[Kitchen Witch]

Most of those old favorites (brands) are long gone - and they were all good - compared to today's lousy margarine. they really should not call today's "slop" margarine at all.