Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #101214
Title: EFFECT OF TRIACYLGLYCEROL COMPOSITION ON FUNCTIONALITY OF MARGARINE BASESTOCKS

Author
item NEFF, WILLIAM
item LIST, GARY
item BYRDWELL, W - FLORIDA ATLANTA UNIV

Submitted to: Lebensmittel Wissenschaft und Technologie
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/25/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Knowledge of the amounts and types of the components in food products such as margarine is important for a number of reasons. For example, the fat components have an important effect on the melting and texture of margarine. The fat components are also important to know nutritional and health value of food. In this work we characterized the fat components by high performance liquid chromatography with detectors that can identify and determine the amount of each fat in a food product. We developed simplified fat composition schemes based on this knowledge of the fats in margarine. We correlated these schemes to understand what fat composition is responsible for certain important physical properties, such as mouth feel of margarines. The correct amount of saturated (solid) fats and unsaturated liquid fats in a margarine can produce a pleasent cooling mouth feel as the product melts in the mouth. This information can be used by food processors to develop products with better texture, mouth feel and nutritional benefits.

Technical Abstract: The triacylglycerol (TAG) compositions of several margarine basestocks, including blends and interesterified blends of corn and soybean oils with cottonseed oil stearine, randomized corn oil, and randomized soybean oil, were determined by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a flame ionization or evaporative light scattering detectors. Quantitative results obtained by both detectors for TAG percent composition results for samples of known composition (randomized and interesterified samples) exhibited low average absolute errors (0.6 to 1.8%) for the fatty acid composition calculated from the TAG composition compared to the fatty acid composition determined by gas chromatography. However, the evaporative light detector did not give accurate quantitation with average absolute errors greater than 3% for the non-interesterified blends. Accurate determination of the TAG composition allowed the study of the melting and solid fat indices with respect to the influence of unsaturated to saturated TAG groups. In their natural states, even genetically modified oils, with TAG that contained high amounts of saturated fatty acids, lacked sufficient solids over the temperature range required for margarine oils. However, after blending oils with harder components, which contained totally saturated fatty acid TAG, their solid index profiles and dropping points qualified them as potential margarine oil basestocks.