(2209) Margarine or Butter or Oil, Oh My!
Kiersten Mangold
King George
NO PHOTO WAS AVAILABLE

Abstract


Purpose

The purpose of my project is to find out which fat, butter, margarine, or canola oil, is the healthiest of the three. Also to find out if the different fats affect how the brownie bakes.

Method

To complete my experiment I found a brownie recipe and baked that same recipe three times. Each time the only thing I changed was the type of fat I used, from butter, to canola oil, and then margarine. I baked them all in the same sized pan for the same amount of time. Once they were finished baking I measured to see how much they rose.

Results

The results of my experiment were that the brownies made with butter were the greasiest and they rose 3.2 cm. The brownies made with canola oil were more rich than the others and they rose 3.5 cm. The brownies made with margarine were more cake-like than the other brownies and they rose 4 cm.

Conclusion

I found out that butter and margarine have less fat than canola oil, but the canola oil is the healthiest. This is because the fat in margarine is trans fat, and trans fat lowers the level of good cholesterol, and raises the level of bad cholesterol. Margarine is also manufactured using nickel, which can be toxic if it's eaten in large amounts. The fat in butter is saturated fat, which increases the risk of heart disease. Canola oil may have most fat but the fats that it contains are monounsaturated fat, which lowers the level of bad cholesterol. It also contains other unsaturated fats that are healthier types of fat. Canola oil also does not contain any trans fat or cholesterol.