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It all started with a contest instituted in 1869 by Napoleon III (1808-1873). At that time, France was engulfed in a complicated economic crisis and lacking in various foodstuffs. Butter became so scarce that the government decided to challenge scientists to find a substitute for it. The winner was the chemist Hipollyte Mergé-Mouriès, with a mixture based on ox tallow, cow udder and milk, gaining a pearly tone – hence the name, which comes from the Greek margaron, or “pearl whiteness”. Soon after, in 1871, the first factory of the new product appeared in Holland. It didn’t take long for all of Europe to start using margarine on a daily basis, even with butter again in abundance.
“With the discovery of hydrogenation, a process in which liquid oil becomes semi-liquid, margarine became a perfect ally in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases”, says nutritionist Ana Célia Amaral Ayres Dellosso, from PUC-SP. Today, margarine is produced from vegetable fat and milk, plus flavorings, pigments, stabilizers, antioxidants, preservatives and chemical preservatives.