A friend recently asked me:What is Oil?And although the term may not be the best known, the answer is simple.
Oleo is a plant-based spread made from refined vegetable oils and water. It is often whipped to emulsify and can be spread in the refrigerator. Also known as margarine, it was developed to taste like butter and can be used in many recipes as a butter substitute.
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I know you've heard of margarine, and chances are you have some in the fridge right now.
But maybe you don't know exactly what's in that tub. And that's okay!
That's what this post is about. So let's dive into the oil together.
Is it Oil Butter?
In short, no.
Oleo is not butter, but it is a substitute for butter. The proper name is oleomargarine, although most of the time it is simply called margarine. And where butter is made from whipped cream, oleo is a combination of skim milk powder or whey products, vegetable oil, salt, and (usually) yellow food coloring.
The three main ingredients go through a serious blending process to ensure it comes out smooth.
And it's during this churning and mixing that manufacturers add the yellow dye to make it look more like real butter.
Fans of the oil claim that it is a healthier alternative to real butter. However, at 80% fat and artificially manufactured, many people disagree.
Whether it's healthy or not, there's no denying that it's a popular butter substitute.
In many cases, if you can make something with butter, you can also make it with oil.
But the world already had butter. So why did people feel the need to do oil painting in the first place?
Let's find out.
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What is margarine? Brief history
I don't normally talk about the history of recipes in my posts. However, oleo actually has a fascinating backstory that is just too funny not to share.
It all starts with a competition…
Margarine (oil) was created in 1869 in France when the country was suffering from a severe butter shortage.
Napoleon III held a nationwide competition, offering a very tempting prize to anyone who could solve the butter shortage problem.
Sign In Hippolyte Mège-Mouries, a chemist who specialized in food experimentation. he he used hydrogenation to create an alternative to butter.
Margarine is a mixture of oils and water, but it was first made from beef tallow and milk. And through the hydrogenation process, introducing hydrogen into the heated oil, the mixture became an emulsion.
Napoleon III declared Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès the winner, gave him his prize, and went ahead with his idea.
The food quickly spread across France and then the rest of Europe. People loved it wherever it went, until it came to America, that is.
Oil in America
The first mass production of oil occurred at the Oleo-Margarine Manufacturing Company in New York.
The company made oleo and marketed it as "real butter" at a much lower price. They also added yellow dye to the oil to make it look like butter.
This angered both butter makers and dairy farmers. So they turned to Congress to fix the problem.
This led to all sorts of problems with oleo:
- The Oleomargarine Act of 1886 taxed any butter contaminated with oil at two cents per pound.
- Some states have banned oil altogether.
- Wisconsin, for example, banned all yellow I oil ostensibly to prevent manufacturers from marketing it as butter.
Many thought it would probably put companies out of business. He did not do it; it only led them to be more creative.
They did not stop making oil; they just stopped making yellow oil.
Believe it or not, they used red dye and produced pink oil instead! (Wisconsin's prohibition ended in the 1960s; unfortunately, oleo rosé died out with it.)
Today, the name "oleo" may be less well known, but everyone still knows margarine.
And under that name, the oil is still going strong, even though it's no longer pink.
Oil vs. Butter (What's the difference?)
As mentioned, oil gets its color from an artificial dye. Without it, it would be milky white.
But that's not the only difference between oil and butter.
The main difference is the type of fat that each one contains.
The difference in fats
- Most butter is all-natural and made from whipped milk.. That means it's high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
- Oleo, on the other hand, comes from vegetable oil. Therefore, it is higher in monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and trans fat.
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are preferable to the saturated fats in real butter.
That is why so many people claim that margarine is healthier than butter.
However, the trans fats in oil are not so good for you. Also, oil is highly processed, while butter is natural.
Also, the chemical composition of fats leads to another difference between the two:
- Butter is hard and can sit at room temperature without melting.
- Margarine is much softer and melts faster.
Can oil be substituted for butter?
Oil is an excellent substitute for butter, which is why it was originally created. The two are practically interchangeable in most recipes. However, oil is not the best choice for certain recipes, such as certain cookies and cakes that need the stability of butter to maintain structure.
It's common to find recipes that tell you to use "real butter."
Sometimes it's about structure, and sometimes it's about flavor. Butter does taste richer, after all.
Structure-wise, I've used oil instead of butter in a few cookie recipes; for the most part, it's hard to tell the difference.
You may notice that the dough feels softer and the cookies spread out more than usual.
So the quick and easy answer to this question is Yes. You power substitute oil for butter, even in baked goods and fried foods.
However, you may not get the results you want from every recipe.
