# Do you call margarine butter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140 "2003-03-30T02:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/21 "2003-03-30T14:40:13Z")
In our house, it’s “butter” as a generic category term and “real butter” to refer to, er, real butter. I keep them both on hand because some recipes specify one or the other as opposed to saying “butter or margerine”. Personally, I’d rather eat butter, but my cholesterol says otherwise. Stupid cholesterol. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/22 "2003-03-30T15:23:30Z")
In this instance, I’m in complete agreement with **FairyChatMom** , especially the bit about cholesterol. My mother’s side of the family has always called refrigerators “iceboxes”, and I did too, until I made a deliberate effort to train myself to call them “fridges” starting about 15 years ago. It’s just one of those family idiosyncracies that get passed down, generation to next generation. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/23 "2003-03-30T15:53:45Z")
**FairyChatMom** and **Lynn** , you might find these interesting reading, since you mentioned cholesterol: > **[American Heart Association](https://www.heart.org?identifier=4776)** > > Learn more about the American Heart Association's efforts to reduce death caused by heart disease and stroke. Also learn about cardiovascular conditions, ECC and CPR, donating, heart disease information for healthcare professionals, caregivers, and... [http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNotes/Food\_Guide/Trans\_Fats.htm](http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNotes/Food_Guide/Trans_Fats.htm) Now, of course I’m not telling you to go out and stuff yourself with butter. 🙂 But if you’re concerned about cholesterol and heart disease, they’re worth a perusal. Our family uses butter and butter alone. We’re healthy, although we’re not drowning ourselves in it either. Too much of either margarine or butter wouldn’t be good for you. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/24 "2003-03-30T18:26:56Z")
I call margarine “butter,” and I call butter “real butter.” ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/25 "2003-03-30T22:30:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by little lighthouse \* > \*\*In my household, we use margarine, but we call it butter, even though it’s margarine. > Is this okay? Am I warping my children into thinking they’re eating butter when it’s really margarine? If they were to eat butter, can they tell tell the difference? Will they end up years later on the psychs couch because of this? \*\* I’m here to beam a ray of hope into your life and, hopefully, guide you through these tricky shoals. (Sorry…got carried away, there, but it’s cute username :)) I grew up in a household that never saw a stick of real butter in it. We had margarine, occasionally called oleo-margarine when Mom was feeling pedantic, but generally referred to as butter. I think I was probably about 13 before I learned there was a completely different substance that went by the same name. I can now, proudly, say that I A) can tell the difference, B) have forgiven my mother for deceiving me so cruelly, all those years, and C) have _never_ been on, or even near, a psychiatrist’s couch. (I’m fast and devious.) So, fear not for the welfare of the little® lighthouses (flashlights?). Just teach them to be devious, because, well…lighthouses are wonderful, but…well…face it, you’re just not fast. In our current household, consisting of me and my GF, we keep both butter and margarine on hand. I vastly prefer butter, but for years I stuck with margarine. Then I saw the research **zweisamkeit** linked to, indicating that we’ve been fooling ourselves that margarine is better for us, and instantly switched. My GF, on the other hand, can’t stand the taste of butter, and actively seeks out the margarine that tastes _ **least** _ like butter. That’s some _seriously_ nasty stuff, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/26 "2003-03-30T22:58:19Z")
In my house, there is no margarine, and when I eat in restaurants, I will go out of my way to request “real butter.” I hate margarine, and I can tell the difference instantly. If I ask for butter at a friend’s house and am given margarine, I don’t make a stink, I just don’t eat it. So I guess I consider it a misdemeanor. Calling Miracle Whip “mayonnaise”, on the other hand, ought to be punishable by at LEAST six months in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/27 "2003-03-30T23:12:12Z")
Mayonnaise itself should be punishable by at least six months in prison. That stuff is an abomination. ---
**Author:** ![little\_lighthouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea666f/32.png) [@little\_lighthouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_lighthouse)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/28 "2003-03-31T01:36:17Z")
**Davebear** , it’s nice to hear you turned out fine despite the margarine deceit that was forced upon you as a lad! On the subject of mayo, in our household we always have both Hellmann’s (mine) and Miracle Whip-yuck!- for the hub. I suceeded in the A1 transformation- no more Heinz57 in my fridge, but we still have the mayo/salad dressing duo! ---
**Author:** ![Canadagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Canadagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/29 "2003-03-31T01:47:08Z")
Well, I don’t eat butter **or** margarine, so I really don’t care what the heck you call it. I think it’s horrible to ruin a perfectly good piece of bread by spreading solidified lard product on it. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/30 "2003-03-31T19:27:14Z")
In my house, butter is butter, and margarine is inedible. Newish research on trans fats is showing that margarine is unhealthy and should be avoided entirely. > [@](#): > > 1997: A Boston-based Nurses Health Study concludes that the key to reducing the risk of heart disease is not so much total fat intake as it is the type of fat consumed. **The artificial fats known as trans fats, found in fast food, doughnuts, crackers and margarine, are much riskier than saturated fats, found in marbled beef, butter and cheese.** The American Heart Association announces it will continue to encourage people to reduce their total fat intake to 30 percent of calories. > > 2002: The Institute of Medicine reports that \*\*no amount of trans fat is safe. \*\* > {emphasis mine} From [_“Fats are Back”_](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/12/FD212586.DTL) ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/31 "2003-03-31T20:55:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*Nope. > > It’s Oleo. > > Blame my mom. \*\* In my family, oleo was margarine in stick form. When you said you needed oleo, that means you were going to cook with it and wanted it in a box. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/32 "2003-03-31T21:01:15Z")
I use margerine and call it butter. I used to be a butter snob too but as I got older my usage changed. I would never consider using either item on something that wasn’t really hot and I use it quite sparingly so I really can’t tell the difference. If I was one to eat slices of cold bread and butter it would be different. ---
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/33 "2003-03-31T21:02:43Z")
I happen to have a copy of an annual report of the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth from the 1930’s. It lists how many convicts there were for each crime. There were two that year in the fed pen for selling oleo under the description of “butter”. So be careful! I think they should call it “I Can’t Believe It Costs As Much As Butter.” ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/34 "2003-03-31T21:11:20Z")
[Bugs Bunny] You realize, of course, this means war? [/Bugs Bunny] [holds up fingers positioned in a sign of the cross] Such conflation is viewed by Danish legal authorities as felonious criminal conduct carrying exceptionally harsh prison penalties. Mothers teaching that margarine may be called butter have their children taken away from them. Chefs using margarine have their touqes inserted elsewhere, _sideways_. Using the word margarine along with butter in the same sentence has resulted in newspaper offices being burnt down. Any questions? [runs to kitchen and hugs fresh unopened pound of butter] ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/35 "2003-03-31T21:29:51Z")
If I’m at a cafe and receive margerine when I ask for butter, I ask if they have any real butter in the joint. I don’t allow margerine in my house. ---
**Author:** ![Honeydew\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Honeydew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honeydew_1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/36 "2003-03-31T21:54:01Z")
Butter is called (oddly enough) “butter” … we don’t allow anything else into the house so the word “margarine” probably sounds Hungarian or something lol… PS what is Miracle Whip and why’s it got such a bad rep? ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/37 "2003-03-31T22:31:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rhino’sHoney \* > … PS what is Miracle Whip and why’s it got such a bad rep? I refer you to one of my earliest [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=35389&highlight=mayonnaise+combat). Miracle Sh!t and real Mayonnaise have nearly nothing in common. It is why the word Mayonnaise nowhere appears on the label of Miracle Sh!t. PS: Margarine, believe it or not, was invented by of all people, THE FRENCH. Just one more reason to avoid using it. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140/38 "2003-04-01T03:50:56Z")
I only use butter, so it’s never a problem. \<-- I’m sure my location has _nothing_ to do with my purchasing habits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-call-margarine-butter/165140.md?page=1)