Tag: Butter vs spread

By law in the United States, any product labeled 'butter' must contain at least 80% milkfat, a key detail that immediately separates it from soft spreads. This critical legal distinction hints at the fundamental truth: soft spread is not the same as butter, though many people mistakenly use the terms interchangeably for various reasons.

By legal definition, products labeled as butter or margarine must contain at least 80% fat. This explains why a product with a lower fat percentage, such as 40%, is specifically named a 'fat spread' and consists of an emulsion designed to mimic traditional spreads with less fat.

A single tablespoon of a 60% fat vegetable oil spread contains approximately 76 calories. However, the total calorie count for vegetable oil spread is not a fixed number and varies significantly based on its fat percentage, brand, and type.