Margarine Freedom in Quebec
For 21 years, Quebec made sure margarine didn't resemble butter too much. Lighter or darker, as long as the chemical alternative didn't dupe consumers after the real stuff. This policy also allowed the province to retain such an influential dairy industry. But earlier this week, the Cabinet decided margarine could now be any color—even a gold buttery one.
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2 Comments:
Minnesota had a similar law up into the early 1960's. You could buy margarine, but it was white, and came with a yellow color pellet which was kneaded into the "oleo".
srhcb at 3:54PM on 07/12/08
I remember my Grandma Dawson (in Ottawa) mixing a big tub of white oleo with something very yellow - I don't know if it was a pellet or food coloring, but it didn't come out looking anything like pale butter. She was feeding an army of people and I'm sure I must have had some unawares, but I would rather eat dry toast than slather that horrible stuff - even when I was a very little kid. Mom never could get me to eat oleo! Back in those days, she always "buttered" the bread for all sandwiches, and I could tell immediately if she didn't use real butter, and the sandwich was traded or tossed. I'm not sure if she bought it because it was more affordable, or they thought it was healthier. I think a combination. Thankfully, she used butter for baking and some cooking. My siblings couldn't tell the difference, which always amazed me.
PerkyMac at 4:30PM on 07/12/08