The Invention and Evolution of Margarine

The invention of margarine dates back to 1869, when French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès created it in response to a challenge issued by Emperor Napoleon III. Napoleon III sought a cheaper and more stable substitute for butter to provide for the armed forces and the lower classes, as butter was both expensive and perishable. Mège-Mouriès, drawing on his background in chemistry and food science, developed a product made from beef tallow. This substance, a form of animal fat, was readily available and cost-effective, making it an ideal base for the new butter alternative. He named his creation “oleomargarine,” a term derived from "oleum," meaning oil, and "margarites," the Greek word for pearl, reflecting the product’s pearly appearance. The name was later shortened to margarine, which has since become a staple in households around the world.

After patenting his invention, Mège-Mouriès attempted to commercialize margarine in France, but he faced significant challenges. The French market was slow to embrace the new product, partly due to cultural preferences for traditional butter and partly because of the dairy industry's resistance to a competitor. In 1871, facing limited success in his home country, Mège-Mouriès sold the patent to the Dutch company Jurgens. This company, which would later merge into Unilever, saw the potential in margarine and began to develop and market it more aggressively. Around the same time, a German pharmacist named Benedict Klein founded the first margarine factory in Germany, producing brands like Overstolz and Botteram, further establishing margarine’s presence in Europe.

Margarine’s composition evolved significantly over time. While it was initially made from animal fats, by World War I, manufacturers began incorporating vegetable oils, such as cottonseed and soybean oils, into the recipe. This shift not only improved the product’s texture and flavor but also made it more accessible to a broader audience, especially during periods of butter scarcity. The Great Depression and World War II, in particular, saw a surge in margarine consumption as these economic and global challenges made butter more expensive and harder to come by.

Despite its growing popularity, margarine faced significant opposition from the dairy industry, leading to a series of legal battles and stringent regulations. In the United States, some states enacted laws requiring margarine to be dyed pink, making it less appealing and ensuring that it could not be easily confused with butter. These laws were part of a broader effort by the dairy lobby to protect the butter market. However, as time passed and consumer preferences shifted, margarine became more widely accepted. Its affordability, longer shelf life, and versatility in cooking and baking have ensured its place as a popular butter substitute in many households today.
The Invention and Evolution of Margarine

Ancient history of butter

History of butter
Butter is made churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is essentially a fat of milk. Butter is used as a spread and condiment, as well as in cooking applications.

Butter started in Mesopotamian some where between 9000 and 8000 before century. At that time butter was made from sheep or goat’s milk.

For ancient Greek and Rome butter is considered a food fit for barbarians. In Northern Europe, butter was also used to prevent kidney and bladder stones.

The ancient dwellers of India relating to butter making, dating back to 1500-200BC when Hindus of that time gave young married couple a ‘bridal feast’ consisting of milk, honey and butter.

Until the 19th century, majority of butter was made by hand.

In 1860s, first butter appeared in United States. Now a days margarine is taken over butter consumption due to less expensive and perceived as being healthier.
Ancient history of butter

History of margarine

The impetus for the development of margarine came in the 19th century when people throughout Europe and the United States began moving from the farm to city, abandoning the tradition of making butter.

Emperor Napoleon III took great interest in the production and improvement of the French food supply. He was particular interested in finding a cheap butter substitute to conform as closely as possible to butter’s physical and chemical characteristics. Margarine was invented in France in 1869 by the French chemist-turned-business man, Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès.

The word ‘margarine’ was first used by Mège’s teacher, Michael Eugene Chevreul, around 1813.

Margarine was cheap, as the French government had hoped, but the early variants were not flavorful. Some governments required margarine to be white so consumers would not mistake it for butter.

Production started at Poissy in about 1872-73. In 1889 Otto Monsted established England’s first margarine plant in an old hat factory in Godley, Manchester. Demand was so great that he had to erect a new factory in Southall near London.

In England, margarine which was imported from Holland was first sold under the name Butterine. This name was dropped in 1887 after parliament passed the first Margarine Act.

The Mège patent in the USA, issued in May 1874, was purchased by the United States Dairy Co., which hired Henry A. Mott to improve in Mège’s method. A number of US margarine patents were issued in the following years. Many of these suggested the use of lard or vegetable fats instead of oleo oil.

In 1902 Normann announced that he had hardened a liquid fat buy hydrogenating it with a catalyst. After the invention of hydrogenization, in the 1930s, German processor created margarine from cottonseed, soybean, safflower, canola, sunflower, palm, peanut and other vegetable fats, thus making a product that was acceptable to vegetarians.

In 1947, margarine manufacturers replaced coal-tar dyes with beta carotene from carrots, a colorant that received homemaker’s approval.

In 1938 margarine makers added vitamins A and D to their product. This coupled with other improvements in production made margarine a more tasty product.
History of margarine 

History Margarine in United States

History Margarine in United States
Oleomargarine was invented un 1867 by the French chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mouriez, who entered a contest sponsored by Napoleon III.

The contest awarded a prize for anyone who found a satisfactory butter substitute to be used by the navy and the poor.

Mege-Mouriez used margaric acid, a fatty acid component he derived from finely minced beef.

Margaric acid was in fact isolated by Michael Eugene Chevreul in 1813. Chevreul named the product “margaric” because the lustrous pearly drops of the product reminded him of the Greek word for pearl – margarites.

Mege-Mouriez knew he needed to find a name for his product in order to differentiate it from butter. He came up with the word “oleomargarine” because so much of his product consisted of margaric acid.

The prefix “oleo” was taken from the Latin word oleum, which is a name for beef fat, the principal ingredient used.

The word “oleomargarine” was later simplified to “margarine”. Margarine was first introduced in the United States when Mr. Paraf opened the Oleo-Margarine Manufacturing Company in New York City in 1873.

The product was not an immediate success since it was considered a poor man’s butter. Even though its price was much cheaper than that of butter it was considered an inferior product. In addition, new laws were enacted to restrict consumption of margarine.

New York was the first state to enact an outright ban on the use of the product in 1884. This law was struck down by the courts a year later. Congress then got into the act and passed the Margarine Act of 1886, which is imposed tax of 2 cents a pound on margarine and required a manufacturers and dealers to be regulated by licenses.

Margarine consumption didn’t really expand until World War II, when butter was relatively scarce due to rationing and margarine was plentiful.

As a result, per capital consumption of butter declined from 17 pounds in 1940 to 10 pounds in 1948.

At the same time, per capita consumption of margarine rose from 2.4 to 6.1 pounds.
History Margarine in United States

Modern History of Margarine

Modern History of Margarine
The history of margarine is a prime example of applied technology meeting changing needs and desires of the consumer. Margarine was invented as a cheap substitute for butter so that the poorer elements of society could have some spread on their bread.

Margarine was developed after Napoleon 111 offered prize for a process that would produce a butter substitute. At that time the butter was in short supply in France.

Mege-Mouries was awarded the prize in 1870 for his product oleo-margarine; within a few months, it was known as margarine.

Mege-Mouries first prepared his margarine by the emulsification of beef oleo with milk. Mege-Mouries patented margarine on 1869 he response to a prize offered at the Paris World Exhibition of 1866 for the development of a substitute for butter.

Later other animal and vegetable fats were found to be satisfactory for the preparation of this product.

In the United States, margarine was first made largely from oleo oil, but by 1933 more than 60% of the margarine was made from coconut oil.

Before that in the United States, margarine production began in 1875 but was immediately confronted with a hostility which, understandably, had its origin in dairy interest.

Although no from evidence seems to have been presented that margarine was harmful, it was initially prohibited in Missouri in 1881.

From 1934 on, coconut oil was replaced in increasing proportions by hydrogenated domestic oil (principally cotton seed and soya oils); at the present time practically no coconut oil is used in margarine production in the United States.

In 1975, the world production of margarine was about 5.7 million tones in relation to a total oil and fat production of 40 million tones.

This total margarine volume was reached after a 10-fold increase between 1875 and 1925 and two 2-fold increase during the periods 1925 to 1950 and 1950 to 1960.

In 1973, world consumption was about 25% higher than that of butter whereas the consumption of both products was almost equal in the European Community (EC) countries.

This fast growth was made possible by a number of technical developments and innovations in the field of raw material utilization and processing and also by product diversification.

Some margarine manufacturer use all- hydrogenated vegetable oils to produce their product, while others use blends of all hydrogenated vegetables oils; these latter products have a greater temperature range of plasticity.

Margarine is made thoroughly mixing, or churning, melted fat with cultured skim milk. After cooling to solidify the margarine it is kneaded and blended into a homogenous mass.

Salt are added, and the product is then packaged. Optional ingredients include emulsifying agents, vitamins A and D, sodium benzoate, and color.

Practically all margarine produced in the United States now contains vitamins A to the extent of 9,000 to 15,000 USP units.

Margarine is subject to regulation. It must not contain more than 16% moisture, nor more that 10% butter fat.

It may not contain preservatives but may contain cooling matter, emulsifiers and antioxidants that are permitted by the regulation.

All table margarine must contain 760 – 940 IU/oz of vitamin A and 80 – 100 IU/oz of vitamin D.
Modern History of Margarine

History of Palm Oil

History of Palm Oil
The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a native of West Africa. It is also found in Central and East Africa and Madagascar in isolated localities with a suitable rainfall. It has been traded overland, since archeological evidence indicates that palm oil was most likely available in ancient Egypt.

The British Industrial revolution created a demand for palm oil for candle making and as lubricant for machinery. In the early nineteenth century, West African farmers began supply a modest export trade, as well as producing palm oil for their own food needs. After 1900, European-run plantations were established in Central Africa and Southeast Asia, and the world trade in palm oil continued to grow steadily, reaching a level of 250,000 tones (metric tons) per annum by 1930.

The oil palm was first introduced to Southeast Asia in 1848, when four seedlings from West Africa, were planted in the botanical gardens in Java. One Belgian Engineer noticed that palms grew here more quickly and bore a richer fruit that counterpart in the Congo. This help the palm oil industry grow quickly in Sumatra and Malaya. This rapid expansion came not only because of growing confidence in oil palm but also because of the grave postwar problems of the rubber industry.

The invention of the hydrogenation process for oils and fats in 1902 created the possibility of Western employment of palm products as, for example, in the making of margarine. Yet hydrogenation was more useful for liquid oils like groundnut, palm kernel, and coconut oils than form palm oil.
History of Palm Oil

History of Margarine

Food History
The first margarine went to the market, the sales is very low. Somehow it looked and tasted like lard. Its original name was discovered by the person name Michel Eugene Chevreul in 1813.

It was in 1869 Louis Napoleon 111 offered special prize for anybody that can make a substitute for butter, which would suitably for use of army and lower class caste.

Margarine naturally appears white due to forbidding of artificial coloring agents. Ban on coloration became common at that time around the world for nearly 100years.

Post war and after great depression, margarine coloring restrictions were lifted. Modern margarine producer has made a lot of changes. Modern margarine can be made from variety of animals or vegetable fats .
Food History