Things you should know about the popular blue band margarine

After my post on the difference between Butter and Margarine, some people are still confused about the popular Blue Band Brand.

Let me help us further expatiate.

Blue Band comes mainly in two variants:

1.The light blue cover which is a low fat Spread and is clearly labelled as "Spread".

2. The dark blue cover which is clearly labelled as "original" and of high fat contents.

None of the above is a butter, but MARGARINE made from processed vegetable oils and other ingredients (please read my previous post carefully to know how to identify the difference between margarine and butter).

1. The blue band with the light blue cover is a low fat spread which the company labelled as "spread" on the container. This means that it is only meant for spreading on bread.

Apparently, because of its very delicate and sensitive low fat nature, the company uses emulsifiers to bind the low fat, water and other constituents together to prevent separation.

As a result of using the emulsifiers, the Spread for bread variant is very stable and does not easily melt at high temperatures. This is why it is not suitable for cooking. When using Blue Band Spread for bread for cooking, it will not melt like the original variant, hence the recommendation to solely use it for Spreading on bread only.

2. While on the other hand, the blue band with the dark blue cover is a high fat variant which the company labels as "original. It is made of over 80% vegetable oils and other ingredients. It can be used either as a spread, for cooking and for baking. This variant can easily be melted on heat and adds more flavour to your cooking.

But summary is that both blue band variants are not butter but margarine and both are consumable.

PLEASE NOTE THAT:

Butter is made of fatty cream of cow’s milk; is a natural food product and has more flavourful taste, contains saturated fat and natural cholesterol; it is expensive; and can easily spoil when it is not properly stored in refrigerator.

Butter can be bought from the fridge or freezer section of any good supermarket.

On the other hand,

Margarine is made from processed refined vegetable oils; has neutral taste, contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat and is cheaper than butter.