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Portions and preparation · USDA nutrition

Margarine calories per cup: 775–1,606 across all 3 named USDA examples

Across all 3 named USDA examples, a cup contains 775–1,606 calories. Each included example lists 224 g for that measure. The same household label can carry a different gram weight elsewhere in USDA data.

Portion calculator

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Choose a source measure or enter the weight you ate.

Preparation and portion

Named measures come from this exact source record.

Estimated for 1 tablespoon · 14 g

48calories

Margarine, light

Protein
0 g
Carbs
0.2 g
Fat
5.3 g

These values scale the selected reference food by weight. Ingredients, preparation, and portion size can change your meal’s estimate.

FoodData Central Survey Foods (FNDDS) · FDC 2710162 Full nutrition profile →

Compare all 3 food records, nutrition tables and USDA sources

The 3 exact records in this guide report 48–100 calories in the records' own listed source servings and 346–717 calories per 100 grams. Those are observations from named database records—not a universal range or an estimate of an unseen plate.

Match my meal

Start with the description closest to what you ate

For Margarine, begin by separating “Margarine, light” from “Margarine, tub.” Choosing a card filters this source set; it does not infer the portion or fill in ingredients the chosen description does not name.

Showing all 3 linked records.

Equal-weight view

How margarine records compare at 100 grams

All 3 cited records are shown at the same 100-gram weight. The source servings may differ.

  1. Margarine, light 346 kcal
    346 kcal
  2. Margarine, tub 533 kcal
    533 kcal
  3. Margarine, stick 717 kcal
    717 kcal

Shared basis: 100 g · kilocalories

What this page compares

Named source records, not one universal meal

This guide keeps 3 named USDA records in view: 3 direct matches. All sit within “Margarine.” The exact descriptions remain the unit of comparison; the familiar heading is only the doorway into the evidence.

Why these records appear together: The deterministic grouping rule “normalized first description segment” placed these 3 records together under the exact grouping key “margarine.” That rule determines membership before any nutrition result is read.

For Margarine, this page can compare 3 named records from FDC 2710162 through FDC 2710160. It cannot observe which preparation was eaten, recover unnamed additions, or supply the eaten grams.

Read the shared calculation, provenance, and uncertainty method →

Editor’s decision brief

The three facts to carry into the table

Carry the denominator, exact identity, and strongest observed contrast into every number below.

Portion

A shared 14 g comparison anchor

Equal source weights make the selected Margarine serving totals easier to compare, but the eaten portion still has to be measured or estimated.

Composition

371 kcal separates the fixed-weight endpoints

The lower endpoint is “light”; the higher is “stick.” This isolates density, not ingredient causation.

Discriminator

165 mg sodium gap per 100 g

Of protein, fiber, and sodium, the strongest normalized contrast is between “light” (586 mg) and “stick” (751 mg).

Observed source examples

Three landmarks inside this source set—not universal endpoints

These 3 records each use a 14 g serving. Their serving calories compare equal weights within this set. They do not define a calorie range for every margarine; match the preparation and adjust to your portion.

Important: “Lower” begins with Margarine, light; “higher” ends with Margarine, stick, using each record’s own source amount. Those labels order this selected set only—they are not endpoints for every margarine meal.

Full comparison

Compare every selected FNDDS record

For Margarine, serving columns preserve each record’s own listed amount, while calories per 100 g hold weight constant. A dash means the cited record does not supply that field; it does not mean the nutrient is absent.

On smaller screens, focus the table and scroll horizontally to read every column.

USDA records selected for the Margarine nutrition guide
Exact source record Match Source amount Calories kcal / 100 g Protein Fiber Sodium USDA
Margarine, light Direct name match 14 gUSDA reference amount 48 kcal 346 0 g 0 g 82 mg FDC 2710162 ↗
Margarine, stick Direct name match 14 gUSDA reference amount 100 kcal 717 0 g 0 g 105 mg FDC 2710159 ↗
Margarine, tub Direct name match 14 gUSDA reference amount 75 kcal 533 0 g 0 g 94 mg FDC 2710160 ↗

Portion analysis

Serving total and calorie density answer different questions

Every selected record uses a 14-gram source amount, so serving-weight differences do not explain the calorie spread inside this set. Their own source servings run from 48 calories for “light” to 100 for “stick.” At a fixed 100 grams, “light” is 346 calories and “stick” is 717—a fixed-weight separation of 371 calories. For Margarine, the serving view answers “how much is in the database portion?”; the 100-gram view answers “how concentrated is the matched record?” Neither reveals how many grams were actually eaten.

The scaling rule: multiply a per-100-gram value by eaten grams ÷ 100. The arithmetic is exact; the result is only as defensible as the record match and portion estimate.

Preparation analysis

The long description carries the evidence

The published descriptions distinguish forms such as “light”, “stick”, and “tub”. The source formulations contain 6 distinct ingredient codes; examples that appear in only part of the set include margarine-like, vegetable oil spread, 60% fat, tub, with salt, margarine-like, vegetable oil spread, 60% fat, tub, with salt, with added vitamin d, margarine-like, vegetable oil spread, approximately 37% fat, unspecified oils, with salt, with added vitamin d, and margarine, regular, 80% fat, composite, stick, with salt. On this Margarine page, those rows make the records inspectable, but they are not a controlled experiment: they cannot tell us that one named input, by itself, caused a nutrient difference.

Database precision is not meal certainty. Retain the exact description beside the number so later corrections remain possible.

What changes the comparison

Four drivers worth checking before choosing a record

The family label “Margarine” cannot resolve the differences between Margarine, light and Margarine, tub. The four checks below identify the record wording, source weight, and formulation evidence that can.

  1. 01

    A shared source weight

    Every selected record uses 14 grams. Inside this set, serving-calorie differences therefore reflect the published composition rather than a change in source weight.

  2. 02

    The words that split the family

    Representative record-level distinctions include “light”, “stick”, and “tub”. Those phrases are evidence for choosing a record, not decorative subtitle text.

  3. 03

    Formulation evidence, with limits

    6 source-input codes appear across the selected records. Their presence and listed weights describe USDA formulations, not finished plated proportions.

  4. 04

    The unresolved plate

    Even “Margarine, light” leaves the eaten grams and unnamed oils, sauces, toppings, substitutions, or leftovers unresolved. Preserve those Margarine unknowns for correction instead of converting them into false precision.

Record matching

Match identity first; scale quantity second

Read the source name as a sequence of decisions. First confirm that margarine is the right meal family. Then resolve the phrases that actually separate this set—“light”, “stick”, and “tub”—before comparing gram weight. If a package, menu, or known recipe provides a closer first-party description, prefer it and keep this USDA record as a transparent fallback.

A practical matching checklist

  1. Read the complete Margarine source description, including preparation and additions.
  2. Compare the listed source weight with the amount actually eaten.
  3. Prefer a current package or restaurant source when a specific branded item is known.
  4. Record toppings, sauces, cooking fat, sides, and substitutions that the selected description does not name.

Decision support from the exact records on this page

Turn source data into a better next decision

These conclusions and reading paths are computed from 3 exact records behind Margarine source-record guide. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.

Equal-weight result

Margarine, tub is higher in calcium per 100 g

Margarine, tub reports 21 mg versus 3 mg for Margarine, stick: a 18 mg difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

These listed servings have equal weights

3 listed servings each weigh 14 g

The 3 records with a listed serving weight on this page each use 14 g. Their serving totals therefore compare equal weights, even if the household labels differ. Match the preparation and adjust the weight to the amount you eat.

Record identity is part of the estimate

Distinguish “Margarine, light” from “Margarine, tub”

These are separate USDA records with separate formulations or survey descriptions. Match preparation, additions, and the named household amount before borrowing either record’s nutrients.

Inspect the underlying evidence

Contextual knowledge graph

Follow the relationship that matches your question

For Margarine source-record guide, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.

A formulation detail that separates records Margarine, regular, 80% fat, composite, stick, with salt

USDA input 4610 appears in 1 of 3 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 65–65 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.

Follow this evidence path Put the observed spread in corpus context Calcium: density and serving context

In this page’s records, calcium runs from 3 mg in Margarine, stick to 21 mg in Margarine, tub, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path Put the observed spread in corpus context Potassium: density and serving context

In this page’s records, potassium runs from 18 mg in Margarine, stick to 45 mg in Margarine, light, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path Inspect an exact record Margarine, light

Open the full nutrient table, household measures, formulation inputs, and FoodData Central 2710162 citation for this exact record—not a name-level average.

Follow this evidence path Check another exact record Margarine, stick

Open the full nutrient table, household measures, formulation inputs, and FoodData Central 2710159 citation for this exact record—not a name-level average.

Follow this evidence path 3 records share this broad food family Sauces, fats & condiments: broader category context

Margarine, light and Margarine, stick, plus 1 more are assigned to Feast’s Sauces, fats & condiments editorial category. Use the category page to compare nearby foods at a broad level; keep the exact USDA descriptions on this page for record-level decisions.

Follow this evidence path Put the observed spread in corpus context Calories: density and serving context

In this page’s records, calories runs from 346 kcal in Margarine, light to 717 kcal in Margarine, stick, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path