The best margarine on the market

Margarine has come a long way in the last quarter-century. A really long way. Although its history is chequered and its reputation sometimes poor, margarine has proved to be a life-saver for some, and a budget-saver for many.

Its name comes from the Greek word for pearls, and it was discovered because Napoleon wanted an alternative to butter. Originally, it was made from an oil that was derived from butter and other animal fats, mixed with a small proportion of vegetable oils. European makers did their best to make it taste and look like butter.

Research, trial and error, market forces and demands from consumers ensured that margarine gradually became a mixture of a number of oils, milk solids, water, and some food acids, with the animal fat component disappearing altogether.

Between 1871 and 1873, margarine appeared in the USA, manufactured by a company in New York. Its popularity did not grow overnight. There was a lot of controversy about its colouring - yellow colouring was banned, and bootleg yellow margarine was not uncommon.

By 1941, most of the wrinkles of this controversial substance were ironed out by legislation, and several firms started manufacturing. The trade names of some are still around: Fleischmann’s is one.

Until 1960, margarine was hard and solid, and sold wrapped like blocks of butter. The Sixties saw the introduction of margarine in tubs, with the added ingredient of soft vegetable oils, mostly corn oil.

America celebrated the 125th anniversary of the first US patent for margarine in 1998.

The problem these days lies in the multitude of choices available. Tub, squeeze pack, spray or pat? Full-fat, light, or fat-free? With or without trans fats? There's olive oil, flaxseed oil, canola oil, and cotton. And there's marg made with yogurt, plant sterols, and added vitamins. And there are mixtures of butter and margarine.

Plant sterols are added because they are understood to absorb cholesterol.

Depending on which country you live in, the laws that cover food manufacturing and the cultural tastes of consumers, margarine brands have become almost synonymous with their ingredients.

Who doesn't recognise the names: Flora, Nuttelex, Meadowlea, Crisco, ETA, Ultima, Becel, TableLand, Olive Grove, Vetta, Miracle, Vita Lite, Nuvel, Fleischmann's, Benecol, Promise and Country Crock?

Margarines have so many ingredients it would take an article about three times this length to analyse and organise them. But it is possible to broadly outline what you should be looking for in a margarine, so that you can find an optimal balance between taste, efficiency as an ingredient, and health concerns.

The most contentious ingredients in margarine are the fats and their origin, the additives that make it spreadable or solid, the preservatives that delay rancidity, and colourings.

The inclusion of trans fats is controlled in most countries. Although it is not illegal to include trans fats, if they are present they must be recorded on the label. In America it is quite legal to record very small quantities as zero.Trans fats are the ones to be avoided for health reasons.

The colouring these days is mostly natural, derived from Beta Carotene, so it's not such a worry.

According to your family food culture, practices, cuisine and health, you can choose the oils from which your margarine is made, because there are many: soybean, corn, sunflower, peanut, safflower, cottonseed and canola are a few.

You can avoid the ones with milk solids for those with a milk allergy. Peanut oil can be poisonous to some.

Calcium, Vitamin D, Omega oils and a few other additives are included in some margarines. Decide whether you want these.

So you can get a tub that's made of a mixture of oils, without milk solids, with a bit of salt, including beta carotene, without trans fats, without calcium or vitamin D.

Or you can choose a tub that's made with milk solids and sunflower oil, with a touch of canola, coloured with annato (which is a butter derivative) that has some trans fats and salt but includes calcium and omega oils.

The combinations are endless.

Some people prefer not to read the label because it's overwhelming to decipher the meaning of the table and the list of ingredients. Some people are alarmed when they find out exactly how many processes and chemical changes margarine goes through before it lands in their shopping cart.

The easiest way to choose the best margarine in the country for you is this: determine the tastes and health concerns of all the people in your family. Try to narrow these down to a maximum of two different brands. Try to find a balance between taste, ingredients, processes, and that most crucial of things: price!

If you think this out carefully, is is possible to choose the very best margarines on the market for you.