Margarine
MARGARINE, the name, first given by Chevreul, to an artificial substitute for butter, made from beef and other anima ats, and sometimes mixed with real butter. The name ' butterine " has also been used. Artificial butter, or " margarine-mouries," was for some years manufactured in Paris according to a method made public by the eminent chemist Vlege-Mouries. Having surmised that the formation of butter contained in milk was due to the absorption of fat contained n the animal tissues, he was led to experiment on the splitting up of animal fat. The process he ultimately adopted consisted n heating finely minced beef suet with water, carbonate of jotash, and fresh sheep's stomach cut up into small fragments. The mixture he raised to a temperature of 45 C. (113 F.). The influence of the pepsine of the sheep's stomach with the icat separated the fat from the cellular tissue; he removed ;he fatty matter, and submitted it when cool to powerful lydraulic pressure, separating it into stearin and oleomargarin, which last alone he used for butter-making. Of this fat about the proportions of 10 Ib with 4 pints of milk, and 3 pints of water were placed in a churn, to which a small quantity of anatto was added for colouring, and the whole churned together. The compound so obtained when well washed was in general appearance, taste and consistency like ordinary butter, and when well freed from water it was found to keep a longer time. Margarine is a perfectly wholesome buttersubstitute, and is now largely used, but the ease with which it may be passed off as real butter has led to much discussion and legislative action. (See ADULTERATION.)
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
