FATS AND OIL TECHNOLOGY

Specific objectives
By the end of this topic the trainer should be able to:
a) Explain the sources of fats and oils
b) Describe the production process of fats and oils
c) Outline the refining stages for fats and oils
d) Describe the chemical modifications of oils
e) Describe products from fats and oils
Course outline
Fats and oils definition. Sources of fats and oils in Kenya, contribution of fats and oils to the
country’s economy, importance of fats and oils in human nutrition, nutritional and health aspects
of dietary lipids. Oil seeds: importance of oil seeds processing in Kenya. Chemical, physical and
functional properties of fats and oils. Commercial oil resources. Basic processing of fats and oils
- oil extraction, degumming, refining, bleaching, hydrogenation, fractional crystallization, inter-
esterification, hydrolysis, molecular distillation, plasticizing and tempering. Shortening;
introduction, manufacturing and uses of shortening, types of shortening. Margarine-
manufacturing process and its uses. Mayonnaise and salad dressings. Confectionery coatings.
Packing and storage of fats and oils, cocoa butter and fat substitutes.

Practical
- Quality assessment of raw materials and final products
- Observation of quality changes during processing, storage and cooking
FATS AND OIL TECHNOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
- Fats and oils make up one of the three major classes of food materials (Lipids).
- They belong to the family of lipids
- They are esters of glycerol and fatty acids
- They are soluble in organic solvents but insoluble in water
- They are susceptible to oxidation and rancidity
- They have shortening properties
- They have lubrication and whipping properties
- They have high calorific value
- Fats are solids at ordinary room temperature
- Oils are liquid at ordinary room temperature
- Fats and oils are important part of human diet and more than 90% of the world’s products
from vegetables and animal sources is used in foods and are ingredients in food products.
- Fats and oils serve as a rich source of dietary energy
- They contain certain fatty acid components that are essential nutrients and their functional
and textural properties and characteristics contribute to flavor and palatability of many
natural and prepared foods.
- Some of the examples of oils are; whale oil, corn oil, castor oil, groundnut oil etc.
- Examples of fats include:
• Tallow – which occur naturally in meat
• Butter – from milk
• Lard – from pigs
- Oils are liquids at ordinary temperatures due to a high proportion of esters derived from
unsaturated oil acid found in them.
- Fats are solids at room temperature due to the saturated fatty acids that they are made up of.
- Modern advances in food technology and science has led to the need for better awareness of
the composition and flavor of dietary lipids; new and advanced test methods and analytical
procedures have been introduced.
STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION
- Edible oils and fats are either of vegetable or animal origin
- Because of their favorable intrinsic (physiological) and their extrinsic (flavor, texture,
appearance, consistency and palatability), quality characteristics they are greatly consumed.
- They are also important ingredients in making homemade and industrial food preparation
- Oils and fats are esters of glycerol and fatty acids.
- Fatty acids are long chain aliphatic monocarboxylic acids.
- By a complete biological esterification, a fat or oil will have a maximum of 3 fatty acids
incorporated in one molecule of glycerol
- Fats therefore are triacylglycerols or triglycerides.

FATTY ACIDS
- Normal (straight chain aliphatic carboxylic acids with more than four carbons.
- In nature they occur with even number of carbon atoms.
- There are two types:
• Saturated
• Unsaturated
 o SATURATED FATTY ACIDS
- They are known as saturated fatty acids in that all the carbon valencies except in the
carboxylic acid group are satisfied independently (have maximum number of hydrogens in
the structure).
- Examples of naturally occurring saturated fatty acids are:

Physical properties of saturated fatty acids

- Their physical state always changes from liquid to solid consistency as carbon chain
increases.
- Members of the longest chain length under ambient temperatures have a waxy like
appearance
- The melting point boiling point and refractive index all increase with increasing chain length.
- The density increases with increasing chain length, viscosity decreases with increase in
unsaturation.
- Shorter chain members are easily distilled at atmospheric pressure whereas the longer chain
ones have low vapor pressure and can preferable be distilled under vacuum.
- Under normal conditions there is danger of decomposition in distilling the longer chain fatty
acids.
Chemical properties of saturated fatty acids
- Upon reaction with alkali or metallic oxides fatty acids are easily transformed to their
corresponding salts, which are generally referred to as soaps.
- Heating in an inert atmosphere may cause decarboxylation of fatty acids.

o UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS

- This refers to fatty acids with hydrogen deficient carbon atoms bonded by double or triple
bonds.
- According to the double bonds present, they are called:
 • monoethanoic or monoenoic
• diethanoic
• triethanoic
• tetraethanoic
- some of the common unsaturated fatty acids found in foods are:

No of carbons Trivial name Systematic name

14C Myristoleic acid 9, tetradecanoic
16C Palmitoleic acid 9, hexadecanoic
18C Oleic acid 9, octadecanoic
18C Linolenic acid 9, 12, 15 octadecanoic
18C Linoleic acid 9, 12 octadecanoic

Properties of unsaturated fatty acids

i) Isomerism
- Isomers are molecules that contain same molecular weight, same formula but different
structures or configuration.
- The position of the double bond may change that in unsaturation may be found anywhere
along the chain. This gives rise to phenomenon of positional isomerism.
- The second type of isomers is the geometric isomers
- This concerns the relative position of two hydrogen atoms attached to the double bonded
carbon atoms.
- If the two hydrogen atoms are located on the same side of the bisecting plane then the double
bond formed is the CIS bond.
- If the hydrogen atoms are on the opposite side of the bisecting plane, then the double bond
formed is called Trans-bond.

bisecting plane
CIS bond
H
C=C Trans bond
H
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF FATS AND OILS
1. Triglycerides
- They are lipids that contain the glycerol (alcohol) and three fatty acids.
- Triglycerides are divided into simple and mixed glycerides.
- If all the three fatty acids are identical (similar) it is a simple triglyceride. Simple triglyceride
rarely occurs in nature.
- Mixed triglyceride contains two or three different fatty acid molecules. It is the common
form of naturally occurring fats and oils.

MINOR COMPONENTS OF LIPIDS

1. MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES.
- Mono- and diglycerides are mono- and diesters of fatty acids and glycerol.
- They are used frequently in foods as emulsifiers.
- They are prepared commercially by the reaction of glycerol and triglycerides or by the
esterification of glycerol and fatty acids.
- Mono- and diglycerides are formed in the intestinal tract as a result of the normal digestion of
triglycerides.
- They occur naturally in very minor amounts in both animal fats and vegetable oils.
- Oil composed mainly of diglycerides has also been used as a replacement for oil composed
of triglycerides
.
2. FREE FATTY ACIDS.
- As the name suggests, free fatty acids are the unattached fatty acids present in a fat.
- Some unrefined oils may contain as much as several percent free fatty acids.
- The levels of free fatty acids are reduced in the refining process.
- Fully refined fats and oils usually have a free fatty acid content of less than 0.1%.
3. TOCOPHEROLS
- Are widely distributed in nearly all vegetable fat but not in animal fat.
- They are important natural antioxidants
- The standard tocopherol is Vitamin E.
4. WAXES
- They are esters of long chain aliphatic alcohol and fatty acids.
- Waxes are mainly from plant origin and they give fruits and vegetables their sheen colour.
- Their main function is to retain water: prevent entry and exit of water from fruits and
vegetables.
- Waxes in vegetable oils are minor contaminants which originate from seeds, husks, seed
covers etc.
5. PIGMENTS
- They are oil soluble pigments which include carotenoids and
chlorophyll.
- They consist of a considerable number of double bonds
- Their concentration is fat is usually low.
- They are removed from oil by adsorbent agent or activated carbon.
- Can also be removed by bleaching of oil chemicals.
6. VITAMINS
- These are organic substances which must be acquired by human beings
from outside sources.
- They regulate certain metabolic processes in the body.
- Vitamins found in fats are A, D, E, and K.
SOURCES OF COMMERCIAL FATS AND OILS
o Animals sources
• Sheep, cattle - tallow
• Pig- lard
• Fish – cod-liver oil
o Plant oils
• Simsim/sesame – 50-55% oil content
• Palm fruit – 40-50% oil content
• Peanuts – 40-50% oil content
• Sun-flower oil- 35-45% oil content
• Olive seed – 25-30% oil content
• Soya bean – 18-20% oil content
- Widely oil production is done from soya-bean which is widely grown, easy to extract, low
extraction costs, their by-products are useful.
- Coconut plant takes a number of years
- Olive seeds also take long.
USES OF OILS
Food uses:
- used as shortening for deep frying or shallow frying
- for salad use
- spreads e.g. margarine
Non-food uses
- soap production
- cosmetic production
- pharmaceutical industries
- textile industries in making dyes
- Making polish, dry paints etc.
- Extraction of fat-soluble vitamins & carotenoids for food fortification.
COMPOSITION OF FATS AND OILS
Corn oil:
Palmitic acid 11.5 %
Stearic acid 2.2
Linolenic acid 0.8
Linoleic acid 58.7
Oleic acid 26.6
Arachidic .2

Iodine value 124.4

Melting point -12oC to -10oC
Saponification value 87-193
Cotton seed oil:
Myristic acid 14.0
Palmitic acid 10.0
Palmitoleic acid 16.1
Stearic acid 18.0
Oleic acid 18.1
Linoleic acid 52%
Iodine value 97-115
Melting point 10-16oC
Saponification value 189-198

Soya bean oil

Myristic acid 0.1
Palmitic acid 10.5
Stearic acid 3.2
Oleic acid 0.2-
0.3
Linoleic acid 54.5
Linolenic acid 8.3
Arachidic acid 0.2%
Iodine value 120-141
Melting point 13 to -20oC
Saponification value 189-195

Marine oil
- Contain high levels of unsaturated fatty acids
- Contain high levels of vitamins A & D
PROPERTIES OF FATS AND OILS
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
a. Saponification Value
- This is the number in milligrams of potassium hydroxide required to saponify 1 gram of fat
- It is an important analytical tool for describing a fat
- It is the measure of mean molecular weight of a fat
- Related to saponification value is the saponification equivalent
- This is the number of grams of fat (Ester saponified by one mole of KOH potassium
hydroxide 54)
b. Acid value and free fatty acids
- It is the measure of the extent of hydrolysis in fats
- It is defined as the number in milligrams of KOH required to saponify free fatty acids in 1
gram of fat
- Oleic acid is used as an average of the fatty acid in parts
The true fatty acids are normally present in oil due to hydrolysis of the triglycerides by
chemical actions etc. Light, heat, moisture can accelerate the process
- The FFA value is determined by direct titration with NaOH or KOH solution in an alcohol
median in terms of oleic acid.
c. Iodine value
- It is a chemical parameter is defined as number of grams of iodine absorbed by 100grams of
fat under standard conditions.
- This absorption is due to unsaturation within the fatty acid molecule of the oil. The higher the
number of double bonds the more iodine will be absorbed by fatty acids (relates to hardness
or softness).
d. Peroxide value
- Due to oxidation of fats, peroxides are formed.
- It is an indicator of the degree of spoilage/deterioration/decomposition of fats/oils.
e. Hydrogenation
- Fats can undergo hydrogenation which is the basis of hardening fat.
- It is the process of adding hydrogen to double bond in fats or oils in presence of catalyst.
- Hydrogenation increases the melting point of fats because it decreases the level of
unsaturation.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
A. Melting point
Each individual oil possesses a specific melting point which depends on the degree of saturation
and fatty acid chain length.
Fats don’t have a sharp melting point due to the nature of various triglycerides (not pure
compounds but heterogeneous mixture of glycerides).
They therefore melt over a range of temperatures.
The melting point of fats is greatly influenced by the types of fatty acids they contain.
When fats contain a high proportion of saturated fatty acids such as palmitic and stearic acids,
they have a relatively high melting point and are usually solid at room temperature.
In their chemical structure saturated fatty acids do not have any double bonds between the
carbons making the degree of saturation higher and the melting point high.
If fatty acids contain two or more double bonds between carbons, they are said to be unsaturated
e.g. linoleic and linolenic acids.
The fats contain unsaturated fatty acids have a lower melting point.
The longer the chain length the higher the melting point and the shorter the chain length the
lower the melting point.
The melting point of fats and oils therefore will depend on the type of fatty acid and the
distribution of the fatty acids.
Methods of determining melting point
There are various methods of determining melting point:
i) According to F.A.C (Food Analysis
Committee)
ii) Close capillary method Procedure:
• Take a glass with a capillary tube sealed on one end
• Put oil in the tube
• Place the tube in the freezer at 5-100 for some hours
• It will solidify or set
• Remove the tube, place it in the water bath and start warming
• The fat will melt and become clear. The point which the fat in the tube melts and
becomes completely clear is the melting point
• It is the point at which clearance disappears.
B. Viscosity
- This refers to the flow properties of fats and oils
- It depends on temperature and chemical composition
- It can be measured using viscometers
- This property is important in designing the pipes distribution and for the pumping system.
- Viscosity of oil will decrease with increase in unsaturation.
- Changes in viscosity have been used to monitor inter-esterification and hydrogenating
process
C. Density
- Density of fats and oils is important in the trades of oils since fatty oil shipment are sold on
weight basis.
- The density depends on the composition of the fatty acids are influenced by temperature
changes.
d. Refractive index
- The refractive index is easily measured using small amounts of materials
- It is the sine Angle of incidence to the sine Angle of refraction) when the light wavelength
from air passes to oil or fat.
- It is useful during hydrogenation
- In classifying and identifying fats
During hydrogenation and esterification
- Refractive index increases as the carbon chain increases
- It increases as the number of double bonds reduces
- Refractive index helps in determining the quality of fat
- In general, there is a fairly linear relationship between the degree of unsaturation and
refractive index.
- The higher the % of unsaturation the lower the refractive index
Polymorphism
- Fats and oils have the ability to exist in various crystal forms:
• Alpha
• Gamma
• Beta prime
• Beta
- Gamma crystals are very unstable
- Alpha crystals are waxy in nature
- Beta prime crystals have very small fine crystals
- Beta crystals are coarse grain crystals
- Fats made from uniform triglycerides will have their molecules have beta crystals:
- Palm oil, lin seed oil, cotton seed oil, which are all common in soya bean oil, sun-flower,
peanut, olive, cocoa butter etc.
- The palm oil seed, cotton oil, butter have beta prime structure.
- Cooling cocoa butter quickly will have its crystalline nature change to gamma, then to alpha
and after 1 hour to beta prime which is a bit stable and can stay 30 days which will then
change to beta form.
Dilatometry
- On melting fat there is a change in volume (volume increases)
- Solid fat consists of a mixture of fat component and liquid fat is entrapped in that solid fat
matrix.
- If cooling is done to -300c the liquid fat also becomes solid and the whole fat becomes solid
- Measuring solid-liquid ratio in a given fat is an important industrial test for determination of
the solid to liquid triglyceride in a fat.
- This provides information to the extent of hydrogenation
- It is also important in determining the suitability of a given fat for a particular purpose.
- The ratio can be measured by dilatometry
- This is the empirical technique based on the measure of isothermal expansion of fat. - It
involves:
• Sample is melted
• It is put in an enclosed calibrated glass tube (dilatometer)
• The fat is solidified under standard conditions
• The expansion ratio is measured by raising the temperature in 50c stages
• At every 50c the volume is measured. This is done until the fat is completely melted.
• By plotting change in volume against temperature the dilatolizy of the graph is gotten.
• A formula may be used in dilatomentation of fats.
• This formula represents the difference between the volume that fat would occupy in a
given temperature if it were completely liquid and the actual volume of the fat at the
same temperature.
Smoke point
- This is the temperature at which smoke is visibly evolved from oil as it is being heated.
- Smoke points is highly dependent on the free fatty acids present in the oils
- High smoke point is desirable for oils used in frying
- The levels of FFA influence smoke point
FFA % SMOKE POINT
0C

0.04 218
0.08 205
0.10 200
0.20 190
0.40 177
0.80 165
1.0 160

Colour of Fats
- Colour is an indication of quality
- Off colours can be removed by bleaching process
- Light colours or pale-yellow fats are preferred except with olive oil that could be given
HYDROGENATION OF FATS AND OILS
- Most of the fats and oils are unsaturated
- This unsaturation tends to influence the properties
- The number of double bonds need to be removed
- Hydrogenation is done where there is the addition of hydrogen to a double bond in presence
of a catalyst.
Objective of hydrogenation
- To increase the melting point; solids or plastic fats from liquid can be made.
- To increase the resistance of fats and oils to chemical reactions e.g. oxidation
This helps in minimizing flavor changes, taste, texture and changes in nutritional value
- This increases the shelf-life of a fat or oil
Some conditions for hydrogenation
i) Pure dry hydrogen gas is used
ii) The oil used is refined oil, which is bleached and low in soap content
iii) It should also be dry (no moisture)
iv) A catalyst is used to activate the reaction but with time the catalyst gets inactivated
due to impurities.
Catalysts used include:
Nickel – which should be protected from sulphur compounds salts or phosphates.
Others such as platinum, copper and cobalt can be used but in their purest state.
- During hydrogenation fat molecules get absorbed on the surface of the Nickel catalyst. This
is where the reaction takes place.
- If the surfaces are not free from sulfur, salts etc., the surface are will reduce.
- The surface should be free from contaminants for optimum reaction.
- The Nickel should have maximum surface area hence finely divided nickel is used.
- During the hydrogenation process, pressure vessels are used.
- The vessels are fitted with an agitator, also with a heating element and a sampling provision
and also fitted with a cooling device.
- Vacuum is applied at the head space during the process.
- Air is removed and supplied with hydrogen.
- After that heating is started, during heating temperatures go up to 3500c - Hydrogen
pressure is also high.
- Catalyst Nickel is pure
- Material being used in pure refined oil.
- Hydrogenation is an exothermic reaction i.e. a reaction that relies on heat.
- Cool water on device is circulated around the vessels to absorb the heat.
- During the process of hydrogenation, the solid fat index is monitored.
- Iodine value will tell the degree of unsaturation.
- After hydrogenation, filtration is done to remove Nickel.
Factors to consider for hydrogenation
- High pressure is preferred for fast reaction. This tends to increase the concentration of the gas
getting into the fat and the surface of the Nickel.
- Temperature
- Agitation – which will reduce the presence of trans-isomers since high agitation will increase
the adsorption of the fats.

RANCIDITY
- Fats are broken down to aldehydes, ketones etc.
- Fats and oils commence to decompose once they are isolated from their natural living
sources.
- Presence of free fatty acids will be an indication of lipases and lipolytic reactions.
- Changes will occur during storage of oil with production of off-flavour and odour.
- Such fats and oils are referred to as having become rancid.
- The unpleasant organoleptic changes are characterized on part by the presence of free fatty
acids.
- The major development of rancidity is caused by the presence of atmospheric oxygen
(autooxidation)
- Autoxidation is accelerated by heat, light, moisture and transition metals e.g. copper, Nickel,
etc.
- Oxygen is taken up by the fat in formation of hydrogen peroxide.
- The presence of anti-oxidants will inhibit formation of hydrogen peroxide.
Measurement of rancidity
- Rancidity is a complex phenomenon and hence it is advisable to carry out as many tests as
possible on doubtful samples.
- In routine work apart from free fatty acids, the analyst should include the determination of
peroxide value and application Kries reaction (rancidity index)
1. Acid value (of the free fatty acid)
- Acid value of an oil or fat is the number of milligrams of KOH required to neutralize the
rancidity in 1 gram of the fat sample.
- The result is often expressed as the percent of free fatty acids.
- Acid value is the measure of extent to which glyceride in the oil have been decomposed
either by lipases or other compounds.
- The decomposition is accelerated by heat or light.
- Since rancidity is accompanied by FFA formation, the determination is often used as a
general indication of the condition of oil and also the edibility of the lipid.
2. Peroxide value
- Is a measure of peroxide that is contained in a fat or in oil.
- Peroxide value is usually determined volumetrically.
- This method of determination depends on the reaction of Potassium Iodide in acid solution
with sound oxygen followed by titration of liberated iodine with Sodium Thiosulphate.
- Chloroform is often used as a solvent
- Fresh oils have a peroxide value of 10 mili-equivalents per kg.
A rancid taste often begins to be noticeable when peroxide value is between 20-40 milli
equivalent.
3. Kries Reaction or Test (Rancidity Test)
- The reaction involves production of red colour when:
Phloroglucinol reacts with oxidized fat in an acidic solution.
- The colour formed is related to the increasing production of either;
Epihydrinaldehyde or monoaldehyde which is a product of decomposition of fats and
oils.
4. Thiobarbituric Acid Number (TBA)
- The increase in number of red pigments formed in the reaction between two Thiobarbituric
acid and oxidized fat/lipid has been used as oxidative rancidity measure.
- Monoaldehyde is one of the end products of oxidative decomposition.
Rancidity can be prevented by use of anti-oxidants which act as oxygen scavengers prolonging
the shelf-life of fats and oils.
- Examples include
Natural anti-oxidants:
• Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
• Vitamin E (Tocopherol)
 • Carotenoids
Synthetic anti-oxidants:
• BHA (Butylated Hydroxy Anisole) and
• BHT (Butylated Hydroxy Toluene)
PROPERTIES OF FATS AND OILS DETERMINED BY COMPOSITION
- A typical fat is made up of a tri-glyceride molecule of a fat.
- There are numerous different fatty acids and those ones that are esterified to glycerol largely
determine the properties of fats including whether they are solid or liquid at room
temperature.
- Short chain fatty acids give softer fats of lower melting points than long chains fatty acids
which give hard fats of higher melting points.
- Fatty acids can have points of unsaturation within their molecules due to absence of
hydrogen atoms at these points.
- These are points of double bonds in fatty acid formulas.
- The greater the degree of unsaturation in the fatty acids of the fat molecules, the softer will
be the fat molecule and the lower the melting point.
Where there is considerable degree of unsaturation, the fat will be liquid at room temperature
and will be called oil.
By chemical means we can add hydrogen to oil i.e., saturate its fatty acids and thereby
convert it to solid.
This is hydrogenation commonly converts a vegetable oil to a solid shortening.
- Unsaturated fatty acids are highly sensitive to oxygen attack at the points of unsaturation.
Fatty acids exhibit isomerism where the isomers will have the same numbers of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen atoms but this will be differently arranged and result in compounds
with different chemical and physical properties.
- Upon reaction with alkali or metallic oxides fatty acids fatty acids are easily transformed to
their corresponding salts generally referred to as soaps, heating in an inert atmosphere may
cause decarboxylation of fatty acids.
Functional properties of fats
- Apart from flavor differences, when fats are used as shortenings, tenderizers, lubricants,
frying media, whipping agents and other purposes there are special requirements in each of
these capacities.
- In the case of butter or margarine a plastic condition is required such that the butter or
margarine will not become too hard in the refrigerator too special or too soft on a summer
day so that it will run.
- In case of salad oils, we want the oil to be clear and pourable.
- It should not contain high melting point molecules that will solidify and crystallize when the
salad oil is placed under refrigeration.
- The same is true for oils used in the preparation of mayonnaise
- Chocolate products should not melt at room temperature. The chocolate should be brittle and
snap when bitten yet the chocolate should have smooth texture on the mouth
PRODUCTION OF FATS AND OILS
Material preparation
- Oils seeds and nuts should be properly dried and cleaned to remove contaminants such as
sand, branches, dust, etc. before processing.
- The seed should be fully ripe (fruit) and handled with care to avoid bruising.
- All materials should be sorted to remove mouldy pieces, stone etc.
- Some raw materials need de-husking, by skilled operations or machines
- Some seeds are heated to improve the yield.
- Oil obtained from seeds is rather low and no further refining is needed because of consumer
preference.
Production of fats and oils
- In general, fats and oils undergo four processing steps.

Extraction/Rendering

Refining (Neutralization or
Degumming)

Bleaching

Deodorization
Extraction
- Fats and oils are extracted from either plants or animals. Extraction methods vary.
- For example, the fats and oils are obtained from animal tissues by rendering while oils are
obtained from plant sources by pressing or solvent extraction.
Types of extraction
 Rendering
 Mechanical pressing
 Solvent extraction
a) Rendering

Meat scraps are heated in steam or water to cause the fat to melt

The melted fat the rise, water and remaining tissues settle below

The melted fat is then separated by skimming or centrifugation.

- Rendering involves fat production.
- Animal fats of commercial importance include: tallow from beef fat and lard from pigs.
- These are obtained by the process of rendering.
Principle of rendering
- Rendering consists of heating meat scraps so as to cause the fat to melt.
- Heating meat scraps makes them release fat from adipose tissue.
- The fat expands with heating, tearing the adipose tissue membrane and flows freely.
- Rendering can be carried out through three methods:
a. Dry rendering – dry heat which cooks the tissue under high temperature to remove
moisture
b. Wet rendering which utilizes water and steam
c. Low-temperature wet rendering which leaves just enough heat to melt the fat.
- Low temperature rendering produces a fat of lighter colour
- High temperature is used when fat of meaty flavor is desired
- Rendering is also used to obtain oil from whale or fish
- In the simplest form, rendering can be carried out in a heated kettle but large capacity
rendering plants are highly engineered and so employ continuous rendering methods.
- Edible beef fat is obtained by melting fresh and selected beef fat trimmings in water at 50-
550C.
- This fat on heating 30-340C yields two fractions.
- The liquid oleomargarine and solid oleostearine
- Oleomargarine is a soft fat with a consistency similar to that of melted butter and is used as
margarine and in the baking industries.
- Olestearine also knows as pressed tallow has a high melting point 50-560c and is used in
production of shortenings.
- Low quality tallow is used as a raw material for soap and detergents.
Mechanical Pressing or Expelling
- Oil extraction using mechanical expellers or pressers is the conventional method.
- Either a manual ram press or an engine-driven screw press is used for the extraction of oil.
- Ram press can extract around 60% to 65% of oil while an engine-driven screw press can
extract around 68%-80% of the oil present in seeds.
- Pressers remove oil from oilseeds, nuts or oil rich fruits. The oil-bearing tissues are rolled,
crushed or ground into flake, and then heated by steam at 70oC.
- The steam pretreatment/cooking process has the following benefits:
o Increases shelf life of the oil; heating destroys enzymes and reduces the microbial load
o Breaks the cell structure in seed tissues for easy release of oil production.
o Heating causes the melting of solid fat hence releasing oil droplets.
o Improves the oil free flow from the seed by reducing viscosity of the oil.
 o Breaks the lipoprotein complexes making the pressing/expelling process easier.
o Detoxifies the gossypol toxin usually present in cotton seed making the oil safe for
consumption.
o Improves the nutritional quality of soya beans by destroying the trypsin inhibitors.
- The heat from cooking or grinding should not be excessive or it may darken the color of the
oil.
- With some seeds (e.g. corn) only the germ portion of the seed is pressed to obtain oil,
whereas with seed residues by being pumped through multiple filter cloths or by centrifugal
clarification.

Solvent Extraction
- It is common in large scale operation to remove the oil from cracked seeds at low
temperatures with a nontoxic fat solvent such as hexane.
- The solvent is percolated through the seeds, and after the oil in extracted, the solvent is
distilled from the oil and recovered for reuse.
- Combined processes employ pressing to remove most of the oil followed by solvent
extraction to recover final traces.
- The oil-free residual seed meal is then ground for animal feed.
Refining of Crude Oil
- Crude oils as received from the extraction plant contain several non-triglyceride components
which must be removed.
- Refining consists of several processes which accomplish this aim.
- A refining process is carried out extraction of crude edible oils by means of screw presses
and/or solvent extraction.
- In refining, physical and chemical processes are combined to remove undesirable natural as
well as environmental-related components from the crude oil.
- These components comprise for example phosphatides, free fatty acids, pigments (such as
chlorophyll), odors and flavors (including aliphatic aldehyde and ketone), waxes as well as
heavy metals, pesticides etc.
- Depending on the requirements, the following processes are implemented:
- Degumming for removal of phosphatides,
- Neutralization for removal of free fatty acids,
- Bleaching for removal of color,
- Deodorization to distill odors and flavors as well as free fatty acids and
- Winterization for separation of waxes.

a. DEGUMMING
- The first step in the refining process of many oils is degumming. Oils are mixed with water
to hydrate phosphatides, which are removed by centrifuging.
- Phosphoric or citric acid or silica gel are added to enhance the process.
- Degumming removes valuable emulsifiers such as lecithin.
- Cottonseed oils are not degummed, but degumming is necessary for such oils as soybean and
canola.
The aim of degumming operation;
- The emulsifying action of phospholipids increases oil losses during alkali refining.
- Gums lead brown discoloration of oil after heating during deodorization.
- Salts may be formed with copper, magnesium, calcium and iron, accelerating oxidative
degradation of oil.
- Different degumming processes are caried out to remove phosphatides.
- For efficient and economic application of this procedure appropriate machines and
equipment are used.
1. Water degumming
2. Acid degumming
3. Enzymatic degumming
Water Degumming
- A large part of the phosphatides (gums) can be hydrated quickly and easily.
- If the pressed or extracted oil contains a considerable quantity of gums the oil is subjected to
the water degumming process immediately following extraction.
- In this process, water is added to the oil. After a certain reaction period the hydrated
phosphatides can be separated either by decantation (settling) or continuously by means of
centrifuges.
- In this process step a large part of hydratable and even a small proportion of the non-
hydratable phosphatides are removed.
- The extracted gums can be processed into lecithin for food, feed or for technical purposes.
Process Steps
Heat oil to 60-70oC
Water addition and mixing
Hydration mixing 30 minutes
Centrifugal separation of hydrated gums
Vacuum drying of degummed oil
Gums – dried for edible lecithin or recombined in meal
Acid degumming
- Dry acid degumming: Dry acid degumming is particularly suitable for processing oils with
low gum contents such as palm oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil or animal fats.
- Intensive mixing is implemented following addition of acid to the preheated crude oil.
- The benefits of the dry acid degumming process are:
 Long service life (the components are acid proof),
 Low investment costs
 Environmental-friendly as no wastewater or soap stock occur.
Wet acid degumming
- Initially oils with higher gum contents (e.g. corn oil) are similarly processed as in dry acid
degumming.
- However, to achieve gum hydration water is added following acid apportioning.
- The gums are removed by a separator prior to bleaching.
- This process is beneficial as
 Centrifuges enable easy separation of gums in oil types with higher non-hydratable
gums contents (e.g. rape oil and soybean oil),
Process step
 Heat oil to 60-70oC
 Acid addition and mixing
 Hydration mixing 30 minutes
 Centrifugal separation of hydrated gums
 Vacuum drying of degummed oil
 Gums – recombined in meal.

b. NEUTRALIZATION
- The objective is removal of free fatty acids.
- Neutralization of vegetable oils is essential to ensure removal of gums waxes, phosphatides
and free fatty acid (FFA) from the oil; to impart uniform color by removal of colouring
pigments and to get rid of unpleasant smell from the oil by removal of odiferous matter.
- Two different Neutralizing principle:
1. Chemical Neutralization: Removal by a chemical reaction with alkali (caustic soda)
2. Physical Neutralization: Removal by distillation at higher temperature and low vacuum
c. BLEACHING
- Even after degumming and refining the oil from seeds will contain various plant pigments
such as chlorophyll and carotenoids.
- Bleaching is the removal of colouring materials from crude oil.
- These materials can be removed by passing heated oil over charcoal or various absorbents,
clays and earths.
- Animal fat generally can be bleached by heat alone.
- Bleaching can be carried out in a number of ways:
• Adsorptive bleaching
• Heat bleaching’
• Hydro bleaching
• Chemical bleaching

i) Adsorptive bleaching
- It is the main method in the oil industry, adsorptive materials are used.
- Coloring materials and pigments are removed alongside phospholipids, mucilage and metal
traces.
- This is both in ionizable and non-ionizable form.
- It will remove soap traces, oxidize tri and partial acylglycerol.
- Adsorption mechanism is both physical and natural and is reversible.
Activated adsorption
- It is reversible
- Adsorbents are used include:
Bleaching earth e.g. Fuller earth and also bentonite can be used
Activated carbon
- Acid activated clay CH2SO4 activated carbon then dry.
- 5-10% weight by volume of adsorbent is used in adsorptive bleaching
- Alkali refining removes water soluble and acid soluble pigments.

ii) Heat bleaching

- Also used in the industry
- Carotenoids responsible for orange colour in crude oils are removed.
- In many cases their concentration ranges between 2000mg/kg of oil.
- The colour carriers of the molecules called chromophore contain up to 11 conjugated double
bonds.
- They are also sensitive to acid
- They decompose at temperatures above 1500c
iii) Hydro bleaching
- Involves destruction of chromophore through selective saturation of the middle double bond
of carotenoid molecule

iv) Chemical bleaching

- Involves use of such chemicals such as oxidizing agents e.g. H2O2 or Benzyl Peroxide
- These are mixed with warm oil and there is oxidation of double bonds.
- In general plant pigments of chlorophyll, carotenoids and autoxidation products in the oil are
removed by stirring the heated oil with activated carbon or adsorbent clays for 30 minutes in
vacuum.
- The bleach oil is removed from adsorbent by filtration.
- The oil retained by adsorbent is recycled into the refining process.
- The residual alkali soap grains, unsaponifiable matter and heavy metals are also removed
during bleaching process.
- Animal fats are bleached by heat alone.

d. DEODORIZATION/ DEODORIZATION
- Natural fats and oils from seeds, meats, fish etc. contain various volatile odorous
components.
- Some of these are desirable like in the case of olive oil, cocoa butter, lard, fresh butter fat,
chicken fat and those odours are not necessarily removed.
- Many of the oils such as fish oils and several seed oils have disagreeable odours.
- These odours are removed by heat and vacuum.
- The heat is supplied by injecting steam into the fat in ion pressure evaporators
- Deodorization is a regular step in refining and involves stripping with live steam at elevated
temperatures and reduced pressure.
- The aim is physical and chemical in nature
- The aim is removal of undesirable materials in oils e.g. free fatty acids, alcohols, phenolic
compounds, sterols, tocopherols.
- The stripping agents include steam and inert gas e.g. N2 can be used.
- The steam should have no oxygen in it.
- Stainless steel equipment is used.
- The amount of steam used should be about 8000cm3/m3 of oil at 1500c-2400c.
- Sometimes higher temperatures above 2400c (2700c) may be used for a shorter period.
- The high temperatures should be achieved at 12-15 bar pressure and time taken will be 3-4
hrs.
- Some steam jet devices are used with direct cooling or indirect steam condensers.
- Metal sequestering agents are added to ensure metals are complexed or sequestered.
- 30% citric acid solution per kg of oil is used.
Aims of deodorization
- Remove residue
- Sequester the oil where sequester agents are added.
- It is important that the steam used be de-aerated.
- Ensure no air release or leakage during and after deodorization.
MODIFICATION OF FATS AND OILS
1. HYDROGENATION
- Hydrogenation to ensure unsaturated fatty acids double bonds is carried out by whipping de-
aerated hot oil with hydrogen gas plus a Nickel catalyst in a cold vessel known as converter.
- When the desired degree of hardening of the fat is reached, the unreacted hydrogen gas is
removed from the vessel by vacuum and the Nickel catalyst is removed by filtration.
- Hydrogenation not only saturates double bonds but also produces trans-isomers of various
unsaturated fatty acids where melting points are increased through such mechanisms as well
as hardening of the fats.
- The extent to which hardening unsaturation of double-bonds occur can be influenced by
temperatures, pressure, time and other hydrogen varieties.
2. WINTERIZATION AND FRACTIONIZATION
Fats and oils are made up principally of various triglycerides in a mixture
The triglycerides containing more saturated fatty acids of longer chain length tend to
crystalize out and settle from the mixture when oil is chilled.
 When we do not want crystallization and settling in a refrigerated product such as salad oil
we crystalize by cooling and remove the crystals before the fluid product is bottled.
Winterization of oil is intended for salad oil: means cooling down gradually but not always,
slowly to a temperature at which the oil is required to stay free from sediments e.g. 60c.
- This is carried in tanks for some days: 3-4days at a temperature 4-60c
- The oil is then filtered out on paper or flame filters or pressure heat filters which are
percolated with diatomaceous earth are used.
- Waxes are separated from the oils; crystals are formed and removed from the axes.
- 0.3-0.5% lye is added to neutralize the oil
- Soap is formed which wets the waxy crystals and removed together with soap stock.
- Self-cleaning centrifuges are used for separation to minimize accumulation of waste and
impurities in the centrifuge
- In general, the pre cooling treatment to remove fat crystals is known as winterization which
is done by setting barrels of oil in a cold room at a selected temperature that is lower than the
salad oil will later crystallize in the refrigerator.
- The oil will crystallize out and settle on top of the mixture, producing a crystalline fraction.
This is filtered and the filtrate is recovered and chilled to a lower temperature to crystallize to
a second fraction.
- The different fractions pose different physical properties
3. INTERESTERIFICATION
- It is a process used to change physical properties of oil without changing chemical properties.
- The aim is to produce triglycerides that have more desirable physical properties than the rest
- Is one of the main methods of modification process of fats
- Under the influence of a suitable catalyst the components of fatty acid that is the acyl part
and glycerol (alcohol group) and the catalyst may leave their original site be redistributed and
couple again with new ones different esters are involved.
- As a consequence of this process newly formed glycerol esters will not necessarily have the
same physical and functional properties present as in the original fat.
- The reason of this modification ties on its ability to alter both melting characteristics in this
case there is both on the increase or a decrease in solid fat content within certain temperature
ranges.
- The second is the crystallization behavior of a fat which pacifies reduction in polymorphism.
4. PLASTICIZING AND TEMPERING
- The consistency and functional properties of more solid fats are largely influenced by their
source of crystallization
- A given fat or oil can be modified by chilling and by agitation both of which influence the
crystallization rate and crystals form.
- A heated fat allowed to cool slowly to solidification temperature will have different
crystalline structure from oil which is rapidly chilled to the same temperature.
Rapid chilling with agitation will even cause further differences.
 Controlled chilling with or without agitation to influence a fat consistency and functional
properties is referred to as plasticizing.
- Plasticizing is done by pumping melted fat or oil through a tubular scrapped surface (tube)
heat exchanger for super cooling and then through a second chilled cylinder provided with
high-speed shaft containing rows of pins on the cylinder wall to provide intensive agitation.
- The crystallized fat may be given a controlled degree of aeration by introducing measured
amounts of air or nitrogen prior to chilling
- A freshly plasticized fat then undergoes further changes in consistency and functional
properties upon standing.
- After a period of 2-4 days at a temperature 27oC these changes ceases
- Holding a newly plasticized fat at a controlled temperature until its physical properties
become stabilized is known as tempering.
- Tempering has been known to improve shortenings and make them have increased ability to
emulsify water or air as in cake-butter or creamed icing.
- The ability of fat crystal to exist in different crystals sizes is known as polymorphism.

ADMIN 25
 PRODUCTS MADE FROM FATS AND OILS
A. BUTTER
- Butter is a soft, yellow- hued (coloured) edible emulsion of butterfat, water, air and
sometimes salt
- The raw material for making butter is milk fat usually in form of cream
- It is made from churning cream and it is used as a spread as well as an important ingredient
in cooking and baking.
- The cream is separated from the milk and concentrated to about 30-35% butter fat (double
cream).
- The cream is pasteurized at somehow higher temperature (80-950c) than pasteurizing milk
because high fat content has a slight protective effect on bacteria.
- Depending on the colour of cream, a vegetable coloring material such as carotene extract
may be added to deepen the yellow colour.
- The modern butter making process begins when fresh cow’s milk from dairy farms is brought
into the factory.
- The product is inspected, classified into different groups according to qualify then filtered to
remove impurities
- The milk is separated by means of centrifugal force,
- It is pumped into a large cylindrical vertical rotator device which when turned on the rotator
spins the liquid until the cream rises to the top
- This cream is fed into large stainless-steel vats and heated to 82oC for about 30 minutes in
the pasteurization process to remove any lingering bacteria.
- The pasteurized cream is then left to cool
- Depending on the colour of the creams a vegetable coloring material such as an extract from
carotene may be added to deepen the yellow colour.
A measured amount of lactic acid diacetyl-producing bacteria culture is also added to
enhance the butter flavor.
Churning
- The churning is initiated by batch or continuous mechanical agitation of cream causing
incorporation of numerous air bubbles into the cream.
- The temperature must not exceed more than 4oC.
- The churns are rotated while internal rollers pass through the cream.
- This breaks the envelope of non-fat particles/solids that surround the small fat globules and
coalesces to form larger groups of butter fat.
- The envelope is dispersed in the thin liquid part of the cream to form buttermilk.
- Butter milk is largely water with dissolved lactose, casein and other milk non-fat solids.
- After about 30 minutes of churning, the butter separates out in the form of grains and floats
in the buttermilk. The buttermilk is carefully drained away and used for other purposes.
- The mass is washed with pure chill water to remove any adhering butter milk

ADMIN 26
- The wash water is then drained and salt is added and the mixture churned further so as to
uniformly disperse the salt and subdivide droplets into smaller sizes.
- The butter may be packed in large cartons for distribution or may be packaged into smaller
units by machine known as butter printer which extracts the butter into desired shape, cut to
size and wrapped.

B. MARGARINE
- The term margarine refers to a certain type of shortening as well as table spreads.
- It can be made up from a variety of animal fats and was predominantly manufactured from
beef fat called oleomargarine but today margarines are made mainly from vegetable oil that
has been hydrogenated or crystallized for proper spreading.
- This vegetable oil may be blended with lesser duties of animal fat
- It must have 50% fat derived from animal/vegetable oil or sometimes a blend of the two.
- 17-35% of liquid is added to produce water in oil emulsion
- Margarine liquid may be from pasteurized milk or water or soya bean fluid.
- To the oil and water phases emulsifiers are added to form a stable emulsion.
- Salt may also be added to improve flavor but for dietary health reasons some margarine is
made without salt and indicated salt free.
- Colour is also added and permissible clinical preservatives e.g., sodium benzoate.
- Vitamin A and D are also added.
Method
- In the initial step of manufacture, two mixtures are made into one. The water or liquid and all
water-soluble ingredients such as salt are mixed together in one tank which is opposite to the
VAT (large boiler) holding oil and all oil soluble ingredients.
- Vats are fed on a time based into a third tank called emulsification chamber.
- The two mixtures are emulsified in a vat with vigorous agitation which distributes the water
phase as small droplets throughout the continuous oils phase.
- The emulsion which can easily be separated and is stiffened by chilling where it is quickly
cooled.
- This is then passed through chilled crystallizers to further solidify and plasticize the fat
- While blending process is taking place the equipment sensor and regulating devices keep
temperature at 38oC.
NB: Proper temperature control is important so as to develop optimum crystals. It is also
important for producing semi plastic consistency.
Methods of margarine manufacture
a) Batch method
- The process is done in a churn either of butter type or consisting of paddle agitators in a
jacketed vessel.
- After churning the margarine is chilled, tampered and then worked in a variety of devices
that knead and fold the viscous emulsion to desired consistency.
ADMIN 27
 b) Rotator method
- This involves manufacture of margarine in a continuous base
- The premixed ingredients are pumped through a series of scrapped surfaces heat exchangers
where simultaneous emulsification and cooling occurs
- It is then passed in a holding unit where desired final texture is obtained.
Types of margarines
a) Whipped margarine
- This is margarine that has been whipped with milk
- It is done so as to soften it and for incorporation of air thus increasing its spread-ability
- It has to be kept refrigerated
b) Refrigerated margarine
- A combination of lauric and non-lauric oil based making the margarines stable in a
refrigerated storage
- Aroma and taste are enhanced and appearance of a golden yellow shade is present. Used for
pastry baking. Texture is not changed by cold temperatures.
c) Low calorie spread
- They have similar ingredients to normal margarine but the oil content can vary drastically
from as low as 20%. In this, low emulsions gums and thickeners replace the fat as an
emulsifier and thickener.

ADMIN 28
Flow chart
Blending – oil-based ingredients

Mixing – water-based ingredients (milk/water + salt)

Further Mixing – forming emulsion (W/O)

Chilling – To cool the fat

Plasticizing – solidify the fat

Finished product - Packaging

Shortening
- Margarine is one type of bakery shortening.
- It is chosen when flavor is in conservation
- Bakery shortenings are made from vegetable oils such as cotton seed oils, peanut and
soybean oils.
- Others particularly those flavored for flaky pies are made from lard (originally shortenings,
referred to lard)
- Many shortenings contain blends of vegetable and animal fats
- Emulsified shortenings contain mono-glycerides, di-glycerides and related compounds.
- These permits cakes to be made of high levels of water and sugar and so they remain moist
and softer.
- Shortenings are prepared by different degrees of stiffness.
- Some are plastic or solids, others are pourable
Plastic Shortenings
- They differ in degree of hardness
They are able to hold air whether beaten in a cake or batter, or creamed with other
ingredients. The ability to hold air is enhanced by a plastic consistency of shortening.
Following baking, plastic shortenings remain dispersed within baked foods whereas liquid
shortenings have a greater tendency to leak and collect in pockets.
- The plastic solid shortening appears as solid fat and is classified as shortening due to their
plastic range which defines their consistency and potential end use.
- They may contain
• Emulsifiers
• Antioxidants
• Metal scavengers
• Flavor

ADMIN 29
- Plastic shortening are made from one or more partially hydrogenated liquid base stock or
mixture of such stock with animal stock.
- Hard fats are added to give a plastic range
- Crystallization of such products is encouraged so as to cause the entire mass to crystallize in
this form producing a shortening, having a smooth texture with excellent aeration and
creaming properties for creams and cakes.
Pourable shortenings
- These are fluid type of shortening that are opaque due to the presence of suspended solids.
- They consist of hard fat, emulsifiers and other materials which can be added to the base oil
depending on the solubility.
- In their preparation, liquid shortening requires regular cooling, salad oils or processed oils
which are clear.
- Both of these oils find way in use in continuous bread making plants. –
- In manufacturing of shortening the following are involved
• Preparation of individual crystals and hard fats
• Formulation
• Solidification and plasticization
• Tempering
• Packaging

ADMIN 30
 Fat base Fat soluble ingredients Fat insoluble ingredients

Dispersing and cooling

Crystallization/stabilization

Plasticization

Filling
- The melted fat blend is super cooled in a rotator and blended. It is then pumped into a
crystallizer which moves mechanically
- Moving extends the plastic range and during the working overrun of 10-20% is incorporated
using inert nitrogen which improves whiteness and creaming properties.
- The product is packed into a homogenizer for proper mixing and then taken to the
plasticization process where the emulsion is not in horizontal type drawers-rotator which has
a chilling unit and crystallization unit.
- The unit contains a coolant which super cools and crystallization begins in the chilled
mixture transferred to an organic unit which gives a whipping action by rotating pins after
this it is left aside to solidify quickly after which is it is left to rest without working.
- Addition air may be incorporated during whipping and then finally divided gas bubbles
reflect light giving the product a shiny appearance.

MAYONNAISE
- Mayonnaise is a semi-solid food prepared from edible vegetable oil, vinegar and lemon juice
or citric acid, egg yolk, or whole egg and one or more optional ingredients such as salt,
mustard, a sweetening agent and monosodium glutamate.
- Edible oil in mayonnaise must not be less than 65% by weight and is emulsified or finely
divided in the vinegar or lemon juice.
- The acid is a microbial preservation must be present to the extent of 2.5%.
- Mayonnaise therefore is an emulsion with one liquid phase(oil) dispersed in a second liquid
phase which vinegar or lemon
- These liquids do not mix well and a third agent an emulsifier makes them mix relatively
permanently

ADMIN 31
- Certain components of the egg yolk act as emulsifying agents coating the dispersed particles
of oil to keep them dispersed.
Factors that affect formation of mayonnaise its stability and are ease of preparation are:
- Temperature: cold oil is more difficult to break up into small molecules than warm oil
Ingredients and proportions used
- Egg yolk
• Egg yolk is the chief emulsifying ingredient in mayonnaise.
• It is an efficient emulsifier that either egg white or whole egg
• Fresh yolks are superior to those of aged eggs for making stable emulsions
- Salt
- Mustard
- Pepper – mainly for flavor but salt and the powdery seasoning ingredients help to stabilize
the emulsion as well.
- Any edible oil may be used for mayonnaise.
Equipment used
- Commercial firms generally use a homogenizing apparatus to dispense oil because it
produces finer globules than any other device.
- Mayonnaise is produced commercially by both batch and continuous process
- Commercially two-stage mixing is commonly used with high-speed turbine blades, in the
first stage followed by yet more severe shearing of the oil into fine droplets in the second
stage
- The second stage mixer possesses close clearance whirling teeth
- Mayonnaise may be whipped with more quantities of inert gas such as Nitrogen or CO2 to
produce a finished product with specific gravity of 0.88-0.92
- The gas comes along with emulsion into the second stage mixer of enclosed design where
high shear mixing under pressure subdivides the gas into minute bubbles which further
contribute to body or firmness of texture.
Proportions of mayonnaise
- 1 egg yolk
- 30ml (2 spoons) vinegar or lemon juice or a combination of the two
- 3 grams (1/2 tea spoon) salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ mustard
- ¼ paprika
½ to 1 cup (105-210g) salad oil

Mix seasoning with acid and add to egg yolk stirring until well blended.
- Add 1 spoon oil and beat rapidly and thoroughly and until a good emulsion is started
- Add another spoon of oil and continue beating.

ADMIN 32
- Later additions of oils may be somewhat larger but always less than the volume of formed
mayonnaise and should be followed by thorough beating.
- Too rapid addition of oil may produce a less stable mayonnaise and less viscous one.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Describe mayonnaise and list major ingredients it contains
2. Outline the procedure for making mayonnaise.

PEANUTS BUTTER
- Peanut is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds.
- Peanuts are similar in taste and nutritional profile to “tree nuts”.
- Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry roasted peanuts.
- Can contain additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture
- These ingredients include:
1. Peanuts
2. Salt
3. Sweeteners
4. Emulsifiers
- Peanut butter is served as a spread on bread, toast, or crackers
- It’s used to make sandwiches like peanut butter & jelly sandwich
- It is also used in a number of breakfast dishes & desserts
- It is similar to other nut butters such as cashew & almond butter
- Two main types of peanut butter are crunchy & smooth types
- In crunchy type some coarsely-ground peanut fragments are included
Processing Technologies:
1. Single Stage (Traditional method)
- Traditionally, peanut butter is produced by single-stage grinding.
- Initially, roasted peanuts are coarsely ground using typical grinding machines such as
appropriate grinder machines.
2. Modern Method (Double stage)
- Commercially, peanut butter is produced by a two steps size reduction process; grinding
and homogenizing.
- Initially, roasted peanuts are coarsely ground using typical grinding machines such as
colloid mills, attrition mills, disintegrators, and hammer mills.
- However, to obtain finer grinding output, the paste would then be ground several times
which could heat up the peanut butter to excessively high temperatures.
Raw material
- Raw materials are procured from the local vendor.
- All raw materials are placed in the inventory
- Peanuts are brought from raw material inventory into sorting area
Cleaning, Sorting and grading
ADMIN 33
- Cleaning entails separating the foreign material with a series of screens, blowers, and
magnets
- Cleaned peanuts are graded according to sizes.
- Peanuts are manually sorted here, to remove bad peanuts.
- To obtain a good quality product only big or bold peanuts are taken up for the processing.
Shelling
- Shells of the sized peanuts are crushed, typically by passing the peanuts between rollers that
have been adjusted for peanut size.
- The gap between rollers must be narrow enough to crack the peanut hulls, but wide enough to
prevent damage to the kernels.
- A horizontal drum, with a perforated and ridged bottom and a rotating beater, is also used to
hull peanuts.
- The rotating beater crushes the peanuts against the bottom ridges, pushing both the shells and
peanuts through the perforations.
- The beater can be adjusted for different sizes of peanuts, to avoid damaging the peanut kernels.
- Shells are aspirated from the peanut kernels as they fall from the drum.
- The crushed shells and peanut kernels are then separated with oscillating shaker screens and air
separators.
- The separation process also removes undersized kernels and split kernels.
- Following crushing and hull/kernel separation, peanut kernels are sized and graded.
- Sizing and grading can be done by hand, but most mills use screens to size kernels and electric
eye sorters for grading.
- Electric eye sorters can detect discoloration and can separate peanuts by color grades.
- The sized and graded peanuts are transferred to nut roasters.
Roasting
- Roasting imparts the typical flavor many people associate with peanuts.
- During roasting, amino acids and carbohydrates react to produce tetrahydrofuran derivatives.
- Roasting also dries the peanuts further and causes them to turn brown as peanut oil stains the
peanut cell walls.
- Following roasting, peanuts are prepared for packaging or for further processing into candies
or peanut butter.
- There are 2 primary methods for roasting peanuts, dry roasting and oil roasting
Dry Roasting
- Dry roasting is either a batch or continuous process.
- Batch roasters offer the advantage of adjusting for different moisture contents of peanut lots
from storage.
- Batch roasters are typically natural gas-fired revolving ovens (drum-shaped).
- The rotation of the oven continuously stirs the peanuts to produce an even roast.
- Oven temperatures are approximately 430°C, and peanut temperature is raised to
approximately 160°C for 40 to 60 min.
ADMIN 34
- Roasting temperatures and times vary with the condition of the peanut batch and the desired
end characteristics.
- Continuous roasting reduces labor, ensures a steady flow of peanuts for other processes
(packaging, candy production, peanut butter production, etc.), and decreases spillage.
- Continuous roasters may move peanuts through an oven on a conveyor or by gravity feed.
- In one type of roaster, peanuts are fed by a conveyor into a stream of countercurrent hot air
that roasts the peanuts.
- Dry roasted peanuts are cooled and blanched.
- Cooling occurs in cooling boxes or on conveyors where large quantities of air are blown over
the peanuts immediately following roasting. Cooling is necessary to stop the roasting process
and maintain a uniform quality.
- Blanching removes the skin of the peanut as well as dust, molds, and other foreign material.
Blanching heats the peanuts to approximately138°C for 25 minutes to crack and loosen the
skins. The heated peanuts are then cooled and passed through either brushes or ribbed rubber
belting to rub off the skins. Screening is used to separate the hearts from the cotyledons
(peanut halves).
Oil Roasting
- Oil roasting is also done on a batch or continuous basis. Before roasting, the peanuts are
blanched to remove the skins. Continuous roasters move the peanuts on a conveyor through a
long tank of heated oil. In both batch and continuous roasters, oil is heated to temperatures of
138 to 143°C, and roasting times vary from 3 to 10 minutes depending on desired
characteristics and peanut quality. Oil roaster tanks have heating elements on the sides to
prevent charring the peanuts on the bottom. Oil is constantly monitored for quality, and
frequent filtration, neutralization, and replacement are necessary to maintain quality. Coconut
oil is preferred, but oils such as peanut and cottonseed are frequently used. Cooling also
follows oil roasting, so that a uniform roast can be achieved. Cooling is achieved by blowing
large quantities of air over the peanuts either on conveyors or in cooling boxes.
Grinding
- These peanuts are then fed to peanut butter grinder machine
- It essentially grinds peanuts in multiple steps to required paste
- The first reduce the nuts to a medium grind and the second to a fine size and smooth texture.
- Other ingredients such as salt, sugar, and stabilizers can be added during this process
Filling and Packing
- The stabilized peanut butter is automatically packed in jars, capped and labeled.
- Since proper packaging is the main factor in reducing oxidation, manufacturers use vacuum
packing.

ADMIN 35