Substitute Foods

Substitute foods mimic their traditional counterparts: margarine as butter; nondairy products as milk, cream, and cheese; or extruded soybean mixes as bacon, beef, poultry, or fish. But although substitute food products may resemble their traditional counterparts, they are also likely to be composed of substances from totally different sources. The substitutes are partitioned and restructured, whereas the traditional foods are intact.

In the past, substitute foods were frequently developed as inexpensive replacements for more costly primary foods. An example is a cheese replacer. However, in recent years, substitute foods have been introduced and promoted for health reasons associated with reducing the intake of saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. Examples are nonfat frozen desserts, egg replacers, and reduced-calorie baked goods.

On occasion, a substitute food, first launched as an inexpensive replacer, has become more expensive than its traditional counterpart. An example is margarine, originally offered as an inexpensive substitute for butter. But later it was promoted as more healthful than butter, and some special margarines became more expensive than butter (Sanford 1968).

Margarine as a Paradigm

Margarine was the first successful substitute food. A search for a butter substitute began in the early 1800s, and commercial production of margarine was launched in 1873.

Normally, the predominantly unsaturated oils used in margarine manufacture would soon oxidize and turn rancid when exposed to air. But the process of hydrogenation employed in its manufacture modifies the oils and makes them more saturated and durable. The raised melting point improves the fat’s consistency and color for the deep-frying of foods, and it protects both the fats and the foods made with them from developing off-flavors. These qualities made hydrogenated oils suitable for the manufacture of margarine and other solid shortenings and for use in numerous processed foods.