5 Ways to Make Use of Blue Band Margarine

Blue Band is common in Africa, it is almost a basic staple to most. We mostly use it for spreading bread and nothing further. Well, in this post we will go to depths on how to make the best use of it because it is already in your pantry.

What if I told you, there are other ways to use Blue Band that are not spreading on bread, or using empty containers to soak steel wool on the window sill? I just love how this country has some unwritten rules that we all follow religiously.

Blue Band is a margarine, obviously. It is commonly known as BB and it is the one thing we all used to swear by in high school, just like prisoners with instant noodles.

BB is not just margarine, It is a distinct margarine. I mean there are other good brands like Prestige and Gold Band, but somehow Blue Band stands out, it is the mainstream and it is the universal name for referring to margarine.

Let’s get into the different scenario use cases of Blue Band, as always, this is not a sponsored post. In fact, I actually don’t keep or use BB in my kitchen anymore, so there will be both compliments and criticisms in this post.

Table of Contents

1. Spreading on Bread

Unlike the Western world which uses butter to spread on bread or toast, we use our trusty margarine and Blue Band specifically. Yes, Prestige and Gold Band are good too, but there’s something special about BB, I just can’t explain it.

Let’s face it, most of us are budget shoppers, margarine is the best option when you want a fat spread. Butter is just costly.

Also even if butter was affordable, we are so much accustomed to the Blue Band roots as it still ties us to the nostalgic childhood.

As a kid, I would normally open the bread slices, and if they didn’t have both BB and jam, I would literally shred everything and start crying, wow what a troubled child – My parents.

2. Cheap Butter Substitute

Butter is ridiculously expensive here, especially compared to the same amount of margarine. For instance, at the time of writing, 500g butter costs KSh 900 while 500g margarine is just KSh 280.

If margarine can do much of what butter can( of which it does), then margarine specifically Blue Band is indeed a cheap substitute. Just use it the same way you would use butter, the catch is, it doesn’t taste as good as the actual butter.

But hey, it gets the job done at a fraction cost and doesn’t require special storage conditions like refrigeration. Butter does.

3. Baking

Baking mostly calls for butter and for reasons discussed including cost, it can be hard to get your hands on, hence you are welcome to use margarine.

In fact, some recipes turn out better with margarine than with butter. A good example is cookies, yeah so if you making cookies, try using margarine, and turns out softer while butter makes them hard.

However, I wouldn’t recommend using Blue Band for any sort of baking. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. If you really have to use margarine for baking then Prestige brand is your best option; in terms of results and even cost purposes.

Again, why are we bashing Blue Band while it is the subject topic? Well, well, well. I’m glad you asked. Prestige is better for baking purposes as it is more neutral and doesn’t have that Blue Bandy flavor, smell, and taste.

4. Boiling Pasta

Certainly, while it’s generally advised not to add oil to boiling pasta, many folks still do so, myself included. I don’t do it anymore because I wanna get on the good side with Italians.

When “I was a bad boy”, I realized vegetable oil made the spaghetti clump to each other and constantly ended up with messy ropes” until I realized adding margarine was a thing! Since then spaghetti came out cooked individually, and that was refreshing.

Depending on how you cook your spaghetti, if you were using any oil then consider trying Blue Band maybe you’ll like it.

While we are on the topic of pasta, check out: Review: The 5 Best Spaghetti Brands in Kenya

5. Making Porridge

To add a creamy touch to your uji porridge, a spoonful of Blue Band comes in handy, it just stretches the flavor, adds warmth, and improves overall smoothness.

I have tried adding the different brands of margarine, Prestige, and Gold Band, and…None of them come remotely close to Blue Band, I don’t know the science but that is a fact.

If I could use Blue Band for only one thing strictly, I would be no doubt adding it to my porridge! If you haven’t tried it, you should…and I mean you should right now.

Kenyan Porridge, Comprehensive Recipe

And if you are feeling adventurous you might check out this other post on butter and ugali, the same mechanics as margarine to ugali!

I Tried Adding Butter & Salt to Ugali