"Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not always
the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita consumption of
margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of butter). Times have
changed for the better, though. Today, per capita consumption of margarine
in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including vegetable oil spreads) whereas butter
consumption is down to about 4.2 pounds. Research studies have shown that
the shift within populations around the world - from the highly saturated
fat content of butter to vegetable oil-based margarines - have contributed
significantly to the reduced risk of heart disease. Check out the timeline
below to learn more about the history of margarine."

http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html

Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs butter
(or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted butter, so I
have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is talking about.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
> "Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not
> always the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita
> consumption of margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of
> butter). Times have changed for the better, though. Today, per capita
> consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including vegetable
> oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about 4.2 pounds.
> Research studies have shown that the shift within populations around the
> world - from the highly saturated fat content of butter to vegetable
> oil-based margarines - have contributed significantly to the reduced
> risk of heart disease. Check out the timeline below to learn more about
> the history of margarine."
>
> http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
>
> Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs
> butter (or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted
> butter, so I have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is
> talking about.

I have to admit that the margarine I can buy these days is better than
the margarine that my mother tried to foist on our family when I was a
kid. They made it more palatable by making it taste more like butter. I
can handle small amounts of it, but in most cases I would rather have
nothing on bread and vegetables than to use margarine. I do keep a tub
of it on hand for Buffalo wings because I think it is better with Franks
sauce than (salted) butter. I also use it to grease cookie sheets. A tub
of margarine lasts us more than a year, so our per capita consumption is
less than one pound per year. I suppose there are lots of people who doe
use it because there always seems to be more margarine for sale in the
grocery store than butter, though there are fewer brands of butter
available than margarine and I have no idea how often they re-stock the
butter.

Dimitri wrote:
>
> There's a little more to the butter/margarine wars than the simple outline.
> The main obstacle was the colored Margarine tax that made butter colored
> margarine prohibitive.
>
> I remember a margarine mixer we had designed to spread the color packet and
> make the margarine look like butter.

My sister remembers mixing the color into the margarine,
but I don't. I was too little, or maybe not even born yet.

There's other food events which mark our lives. For example,
in high school I mentioned to a friend of mine that root beer
used to contain safrole, but it was banned because it is
weakly carcinogenic. "Oh, that's what happened! I remember
root beer used to taste really good, and then it changed."
I didn't recall when the taste of root beer changed, but
he remembered it clearly and had wondered what happened.

What other food events define our lives? I don't think
the disappearance of Mother's cookies quite rises to the
same level as coloring margarine or the day root beer died.
What else does? I suppose the disappearance of Liederkranz,
if you were a big fan of that cheese.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liederkranz_cheese

I can't remember ever having eaten that cheese. I've eaten
plenty of limburger, and quite like that cheese.

And if I recall correctly, genuine Italian prosciutto wasn't
imported into the U.S. until the 1970s or 1980s, when the
strict U.S. import laws were relaxed.

jmcquown wrote:
> Jean B. wrote:
>> jmcquown wrote:
>>> "Although it has been around for over a century, margarine was not
>>> always the preferred tablespread in the U.S. In 1930, per capita
>>> consumption of margarine was only 2.6 pounds (vs. 17.6 pounds of
>>> butter). Times have changed for the better, though. Today, per capita
>>> consumption of margarine in the U.S. is 8.3 pounds (including
>>> vegetable oil spreads) whereas butter consumption is down to about
>>> 4.2 pounds. Research studies have shown that the shift within
>>> populations around the world - from the highly saturated fat content
>>> of butter to vegetable oil-based margarines - have contributed
>>> significantly to the reduced risk of heart disease. Check out the
>>> timeline below to learn more about the history of margarine."
>>>
>>> http://www.margarine.org/historyofmargarine.html
>>>
>>> Note, I didn't simply provide a link and I'm not selling margarine vs
>>> butter (or calendars). Butter is better And you can buy unsalted
>>> butter, so I have no clue what that poster questioning saltiness is
>>> talking about.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>
>> Uh, IMO, with few exceptions, a switch toward margarine is NOT an
>> improvement. Of course, a site called margarine.org might just be
>> a wee bit biased.
>
> I certainly prefer butter over margarine. We were never served butter
> except on holidays. That was the only time mother ever served dinner
> rolls, too, and she always forgot to set the timer so the rolls always
> burned. She was never a huge fan of cooking. It's a standing joke in
> our family, "don't forget the rolls!"
>
> Speaking of rolls, here's a very nice dinner rolls recipe from the 1978
> edition of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook. You can make the dough well
> ahead of time and pop them into a pan to bake at the last minute.
>
> Refrigerator Rolls
>
> 6 to 6-1/2 c. all purpose flour
> 1/2 c. sugar
> 2 tsp. salt
> 2 pkgs. active dry yeast
> 1/2 c. butter, softenend
> 2 c. hot water
> 1 egg
> salad oil
>
> Early in Day or up to 1 Week ahead:
> 1. In large bowl, combine 2-1/4 c. flour, sugar, salt & yeast. Add
> butter.
> With a hand-mixer at low speed, gradually beat in 2 c. hot water (120
> degrees). Add egg and increase speed to medium. Beat 2 minutes,
> occasionally scraping the bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in enough
> additional flour (about 2-1/2 cups) to make a soft dough.
>
> 2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and
> elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape into a large ball and place in a large
> greased bowl, turning dough so all is greased. Cover with a towel and let
> rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
>
> 3. Punch down dough and push edges of dough to the center. Turn dough over
> and brush with salad oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and
> refrigerate, punching dough down occasionally, until ready to use.
>
> Up to 2 hours before serving:
>
> 4. Remove dough from refrigerator. Grease a 15X10 open roasting pan. Cut
> the dough into 30 equal pieces; shape into balls and place in pan. Cover
> with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled (again about 1-1/2
> hours).
>
> 5. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden
> brown.
> Brush rolls with melted butter to glaze the tops. Carefully remove from
> pan
> and serve immediately. Makes 2&1/2 dozen rolls.
>
> Jill

My mom (unfortunately) used margarine. Therefore, for better or
for worse, I didn't discover the joys of bread (and rolls, etc.)
and butter until I was 20 or so. I remember even in the early 80s
reading that margarine was not good for people.

--
Jean B.