Butter or margarine, a difficult decision when making the purchase because their similarities can cause confusion among supermarket customers. For this reason, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has decided to break down both products with their nutritional values, types and recommendations. However, it has left a harsh final note encouraging you to buy an item that is a true reflection of the Mediterranean diet.
In breakfasts, pastries or to cook certain dishes, the use of butter or margarine is increasingly common in Spanish homes. Some very similar products in their preparation but with great differences in origin, ingredients or flavor, which have led the OCU to come out and choose between what it considers to be the healthiest for consumption.
Characteristics and values of butter
Starting with butter, the one that historically has the most weight, it comes from milk fat obtained from whipping cream. With more and more varieties that provide less fat, where light stands out, some are added up to 2% salt content. In addition, the use of ‘easy to spread’, which has a process by which it becomes more liquid, has grown, while Spain has two Protected Designation of Origin (from Soria and from l’Alt Urgell and La Cerdanya).
As regards its nutritional composition, butter provides mainly saturated fats while lactose from milk sugar has barely a trace, so it may be suitable for intolerant people (it is recommended to consult a doctor). Finally, it is a strong source of fat-soluble vitamins A and D, which ends up giving one (the two worst), given its high content of said fats.
Characteristics and values of margarine
For its part, margarine has its history as a substitute for expensive butter in France in the 19th century. Today, it is made with vegetable fats, it has hardly any milk fats, and it can also have aromas of butter and colourings. In addition, in its different denominations the most common in supermarkets is the three-quarters that contains between 60 and 62% fat.
Different classes apart, margarine generally provides mostly fats that do not have cholesterol, while those that contain oils can provide vitamin E and omega-3. In these, the OCU recommends buying those made with seed oils since they are unsaturated fats and, therefore, more beneficial for cardiovascular health. All these features give these products a .
The best… use olive oil
Therefore, given all this, the OCU favors margarine slightly, especially if it contains omega-3, although it values light butter positively. In any case, it encourages the consumption of these products in light proportions, no more than 10 grams, and occasionally, both in breakfasts and in pastries or cooked to brown foods.
Virgin or extra virgin olive oil is much healthier and the flagship of Spanish gastronomy
The consequence of all this is that the institution, in full analysis of these products, transcribes a plea in favor of olive oil. Both virgin and extra virgin, this golden liquid, the flagship of the Mediterranean diet, is rich in essential fats and lower in saturated fat, making it healthier than butter or margarine.
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