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Margarine being "one molecule away from plastic" (or being in any way related to the manufacture of) is just plain nonsense. Plastics are composed of long molecules called polymers (whose ingredients may include polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, acrylic, silicone, and urethane), while margarine is an emulsion of naturally processed vegetable oil, water, salt, vitamins, and other functional ingredients that ensure the safety and quality of the finished product. Emulsions consist of two or more ingredients that naturally do not remain blended or in suspension; and need added ingredients to keep them together; think of it like oil and water. Other types of emulsified foods that you may eat include deli meats and salad dressings. There is no chemical similarity between the two.
Both butter and margarine contain fats, which are basically groupings of the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The difference is how those atoms are bonded together. (Naturally occurring fatty acids generally have one "cis" orientation, meaning both hydrogen atoms are on the same side as the carbon atoms. Trans-fatty acids, logically, have a "trans" orientation, meaning that at least one hydrogen atom is opposite the carbons. Essentially, the molecules making up both butter and margarine contain the same atoms, just in different configurations. Margarine has much more in common chemically with butter than it does plastic.
In any case, being "one molecule away" is a totally meaningless expression. Many items in nature are chemically similar to one another, but that doesn't make them similar in appearance or effect. It's not the molecules that a substance is made of that defines it, but rather how those molecules are arranged. I suppose one might say that hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, is one atom away from water, H2O, but even this is meaningless. That extra oxygen atom changes the properties of the substance dramatically. Stick your finger into a bottle of pure hydrogen peroxide and you will quickly experience the effect of that extra oxygen.
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http://www.preparedpantry.com/printable2.html
Can I Substitute Butter for Shortening?
Speaking of substitutes, the question came up this week, Can I substitute butter for shortening in my cookie recipes?
The answer is a qualified yes. We have substituted butter in many of our recipes and believe butter makes a tastier, healthier cookie. (Shortening and margarine are made with hydrogenated fat and most of us would like to reduce hydrogenated fat in our diets.)
Your cookies will turn out a little differently if you substitute butter for shortening. Shortening makes a cookie that is crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle. Butter makes a cookie crisper throughout. Because of the moisture in butter, cookies made with butter tend to spread more during baking.
If you need to, you can counteract some of the spread and crispness in the butter cookie with the addition of an extra egg. Whole eggs or egg yolks give cookies a cake-like texture. So try your favorite recipe with butter instead of shortening and bake a few of the cookies. If they turn out too crisp or too flat, add an egg and try again.
