Hard Fats As Additives In Palm Oil And Its Relationships To Crystallization Process And Polymorphism

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The application of palm oil in fat-based product can be inappropriate due to its low crystallization rates and formation of crystalline clusters in post-processing stages. The adjustment of these properties can be achieved with the addition of hard fats, which are low-cost industrial products resulting from the process of total catalytic hydrogenation of liquid oils. During the crystallization of palm oil, these components can act as preferential nuclei in a crystalline ordering process, and may induce or stabilize specific polymorphic habits. The present work evaluated the addition of hard fats from palm kernel (PKO), palm (PO), soybean (SO), cottonseed (CO) and crambe oils (CR), at concentrations of I g, 3 g, and 5 g/100 g of oil blend, on the crystallization behavior of palm oil. The study involves the crystallization kinetics, thermal behavior and polymorphism. The addition of hard fats provided a significant decrease of the induction time for nucleation in all blends, except with PKO. All blends showed a preference for crystallization in the polymorphic habit beta', but blends with SO and CR, however, formed a miscellany of beta' + beta crystals. Adding hard fats to palm oil increase its compatibility for uses in formulations of cocoa butter alternatives and fat-based products. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.63211631170Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESP [Proc. 2009/53006-0