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.