Bakery shortenings prepared by hydrogenation contain high levels of trans fatty acids, which are considered to be risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The shortenings prepared from mango kernel and mahua fats have no trans fatty acids. Mahua fat was fractionated by dry fractionation to obtain a high-melting fraction (10% yield, Mh1). Mango fat was fractionated by two-stage solvent fractionation, separating about 15% high-melting fraction (Mk1) in the first stage, followed by 40% stearin (Mk2) in the second stage. The formulation containing 80% Mh1 and 20% of mango middle stearin fraction (Mk2) showed melting characteristics and onset and enthalpy of crystallization similar to those of commercial hydrogenated shortenings designed for cakes and biscuits. The formulation suitable for puff pastry shortening was prepared by blending 50% mango 1st stearin (Mk1) and 50% mahua fat with addition of 5-7% of fully hydrogenated vegetable oil. The formulations having melting characteristics similar to those of commercial cake and biscuit shortenings were also prepared by blending 40% mango fat and 60% mahua fat with 5-7% incorporation of fully hydrogenated peanut oil. However, these formulations showed delayed transition to the stable forms compared to those of commercial samples. Fatty acid composition revealed that commercial hydrogenated shortenings consisted of 18-29% trans oleic acid, whereas the formulations we prepared did not contain any trans acids. The iodine values of commercial samples were 57-58, whereas the value for the formulations prepared were 47-53. The consistency of the prepared samples as measured by cone penetrometer was slightly harder than commercial samples. These studies showed that it is possible to prepare bakery shortenings with no trans fatty acids by using mango and mahua fats and their fractions.Paper no. J9757 in JAOCS 78, 635-640 (June 2001).

A series of plastic fats containing no trans FA and having varying melting or plastic ranges, suitable for use in bakery, margarines, and for cooking purposes as vanaspati, were prepared from palm oil. The process of fractionating palm oil under different conditions by dry and solvent fractionation processes produced stearins of different yields. Melting characteristics of stearin fractions varied depending on the yield and the process. The lower-yield stearins were harder and had a wider plastic range than those of higher yields. The fractions with yields of about 35% had melting profiles similar to those of commercial vanaspati. The plastic range of palm stearins was further improved by blending them with corresponding oleins and with other vegetable oils. The plasticity or solid fat content varied depending on the proportion of stearin. Blends with higher proportions of stearins were harder than those with lower proportions. The melting profiles of some blends, especially those containing 40-60% stearin of about 25% yield and 40-60% corresponding oleins or mahua or rice bran oils, were similar to those of commercial vanaspati and bakery shortenings. These formulations did not contain any trans FA, unlike those of commercial hydrogenated fats. Thus, by fractionation and blending, plastic fats with no trans acids could be prepared for different purposes to replace hydrogenated fats, and palm oil could be utilized to the maximum extent.

Although cocoa butter (CB) is an ideal fat for use in chocolate, it softens with heat and is not suitable for use in warm climates. CB extenders or improvers, preferably from stearic acid-rich fats, are good candidates to increase the heat-resistance property of CB and chocolate. In the present investigation, one such fat, kokum, is used as an improver to increase the hardness of chocolate. Kokum fat is added in various proportions replacing CB in dark and milk chocolate formulations and its effects on rheology, hardness and triglyceride composition were studied. The results revealed that up to 5% kokum fat addition by weight of the product did not significantly affect the plastic viscosity or yield stress of milk or dark chocolate. Hardness of both dark and milk chocolate increased with increase in addition of kokum fat. The solids fat content at and above 30 • C increased with increase in level of kokum fat with CB, especially at and above 15%. These physical properties are due to increase in 2-oleodistearin triglycerides with addition of kokum fat with CB. The results revealed that kokum fat could be used up to 5% by wt of the product to increase the heat-resistance property of chocolate so that it can be used in warm climates.

Maximum additions of milk fat that produced temperable milk chocolates were anhydrous milk fat (AMF), middle-melting fraction (MMF) or low-melting fraction (LMF) up to 40 wt % total fat, and high-melting fraction (HMF) up to 35%. The solid fat content (SFC), melting point, melting enthalpy, instrumental and sensory hardness of milk chocolates decreased with increasing milk fat addition. No differences in sensory attributes sweetness, milk powder, chocolate, butter flavor or thickness of melt were observed. Chocolate with 40% MMF or LMF had greater milk flavor than that with 12.2% HMF. Onset of melt correlated (r ϭ 0.96) with melting enthalpy. No differences between types of milk fat (AMF, HMF, MMF, LMF) were observed for any textural attribute assessed.

Anhydrous milk fat (AMF) was fractionated by a two-stage dry fractionation process to produce three fractions: high melting (HMF), middle melting (MMF), and low melting (LMF). The HMF (m.p. 42~ exhibited a broad melting range similar to a plastic fat. The MMF (m.p. 33~ resembled the original AMF (m.p. 31~ but with slightly higher solid fat content. The LMF (m.p. 16~ was liquid at ambient temperature. Differences in the thermal properties of these fractions were attributed to the triacylglycerols (TAG) and their fatty acid composition. Saturated TAG with carbon numbers of 36-54 were concentrated in the HMF; whereas unsaturated TAG of carbon number 36-54 predominated in the LMF. Likewise, the longchain saturated fatty acids were significantly higher and the long-chain unsaturated fatty acids were significantly lower in the HMF fraction. Binary blends of milk-fat fractions with a range of melting profiles were produced by mixing HMF with AMF, MMF, or LMF. Laboratory-prepared fractions were similar to commercially available fractions.JAOCS 73, 1647-1652 (1996). KEY WORDS: Dry fractionation, fatty acid, milk fat, thermalproperties, and triacylglycerol composition.Anhydrous milk fat (AMF) is a complex mixture of triacylglycerols (TAG), comprised of at least 60 different fatty acids, with unique chemical and thermal properties. In its original form, milk fat lacks certain physical and functional properties, which limits its utilization (1-5). For example, milk fat lacks the appropriate plasticity and hardness for use in pastries, and its melt profile results in poor spreadability and promotes softening in chocolate (5). The functionality of milk fat may be enhanced by separating AMF into various fractions that have unique functional properties. Proposed food applications for AMF fractions include spreads and cold-spreadable butters, puff pastries, biscuits, shortbreads, cakes, pourable frying oils, cocoa butter replacement in chocolate and confectionery products, and in ice cream and whipped creams (1-5).

Finger millet was hydrothermally processed followed by decortication. Changes in color, diameter, density, sphericity, thermal and textural characteristics and also some of the functional properties of the millet along with the grain morphology of the kernels after hydrothermal processing and decortication were studied. It was observed that, the millet turned dark after hydrothermal processing and color improved over native millet after decortication. A slight decrease in grain diameter was observed but sphericity of the grains increased on decortication. The soft and fragile endosperm turned into a hard texture and grain hardness increased by about 6 fold. Hydrothermal processing increased solubility and swelling power of the millet at ambient temperature. Pasting profile indicated that, peak viscosity decreased significantly on hydrothermal processing and both hydrothermally processed and decorticated millet exhibited zero breakdown viscosity. Enthalpy was negative for hydrothermally processed millet and positive for decorticated grains. Microscopic studies revealed that the orderly structure of endosperm changed to a coherent mass after hydrothermal processing and the different layers of seed coat get fused with the endosperm.

Cocoa butter extenders, suitable for use in chocolate and confectionery, were prepared from Kokum fat and a Phulwara butter fraction. The latter fraction was prepared from Phulwara butter by two‐stage dry fractionation and blended with Kokum fat in selected proportions to obtain a series of hard butters with different melting profiles. The blends with higher proportions of Kokum fat were harder and hence may find application in warm climates. The blends with higher proportions of Kokum fat were harder and hence may find application in warm climates. The blends had solidification properties, fatty acid and triacylglycerol compositions similar to those of cocoa butter. In addition, they had narrow melting ranges like cocoa butter, and they were compatible with cocoa butter and have tolerance toward milk fat.

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