Physical and textural properties of an experimental table margarine prepared from lipase-catalysed transesterified palm stearin: palm kernel olein mixture during storage
Introduction
Margarine was originally developed in 1869 as an alternative to butter which was in short supply and expensive (Chrysam, 1996). The first margarines were made from animal fats, but today most margarines are formulated from vegetable oils. The product range now includes table margarines, bakery margarines, and specialised puff pastry margarines and has now been extended to various low calorie spreads which essentially contain much higher levels of water and lower levels of fat than those legally required in margarines.
Table margarines fall into two main types: packet margarines which are designed to be spreadable at ambient temperature, and tub margarines which are spreadable on removal from the refrigerator, at a temperature of 5–10°C. Typical solid fat content (SFC) curves for the two types show much lower SFC in the tub margarines. When packet margarines are intended for use in a tropical climate, with ambient temperatures around 30°C, higher solids contents are required (Rasid, Jaais, Yusoff & Elias, 1996).
With the availability of hydrogenated oils of various grades, the choice ingredients for blends with the desired solids content profiles is very large indeed. Individual manufacturers will usually base their choice on local availability and on price, as well as the technical consideration of a fine crystal structure to give the required spreadable character.
The rheological characteristics of finished margarine are expressed in terms such as consistency, texture, plasticity, hardness, structure and spreadability. Studies on the effect of storage conditions on the quality of retail margarine have a tendency to focus on the changes in the physical, chemical and rheological properties that occur during storage. The effect of storage on the sensory properties of the product also has great importance to the manufacturers, distributors and consumers.
In this study, margarines prepared using lipase-transesterified palm stearin: palm kernel olein (PS:PKO) feedstock (experimental margarine), and commercial margarine were stored at 20 and 30°C for 3 months and evaluated at regular intervals. One of the aims of this work was to maximise the use of palm stearin, which a cheaper fraction obtained from fractionation of palm oil. The minimum quantity of PS that is usually added to a standard table margarine formulation is 10% (Teah, 1982). To maximise the use of palm stearin, high levels of the fat (minimum 40%) were used in this work. The assumption is that, if a suitable table margarine formulation that is spreadable at room temperature can be obtained with a minimum of 40% PS, then we should expect to obtain softer products at lower percentages of PS in the blend. Testing techniques for evaluating the physical and textural properties of the experimental and commercial margarine included slip melting point (SMP), peroxide value (PV), penetrometry, solid fat content (SFC) and viscoelasticity.
Section snippets
Materials
Refined, bleached and deodorised hard palm stearin (PS) (slip melting point, 54.5°C) was obtained from Ngo Chew Hong Oils and Fat (M) Pte. Ltd., while palm kernel olein (PKO) was obtained from Southern Edible Oil (Malaysia) Ind. Pte. Ltd. The fats were stored at 4°C. Prior to use, palm stearin was melted at 60°C in the oven. R. miehei lipase (Lipozyme 1M60) was obtained in the immobilized form (moisture content: 2–3%) from Novo Nordisk Ind. (Copenhagen, Denmark).
Transesterification reaction
A minimum of 50 kg of R. miehei
Changes in slip melting point (SMP)
During SMP measurements, the sample temperature is raised and the solid fat melts. The progressive reduction of crystalline matter means that, at a certain temperature, the fat crystal network lacks sufficient cohesion to hold onto its matrix and becomes sufficiently soft until it suddenly rises (Rousseau, Hill & Marangoni, 1996). The temperature of a SMP usually corresponds to a stage of melting in which there is about 4% residual solid fat (Pocklington & Hautfenns, 1986).
Table 1 shows the SMP
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Malaysian Government through the IRPA programme (No: 03-02-04-0025) awarded to H.M. Ghazali.
References (23)
- et al.
Physicochemical and rheological properties of butter made from supercritically fractionated milkfat
Journal of Dairy Science
(1994) Official and tentative methods of the American Oil Chemists' Society. Champaign
(1987)- et al.
Crystal morphology of shortenings and margarines
Food Structure
(1990) - Chrysam, M. M. (1996) Margarines and spreads. In Hui, Y. H. Bailey‘s industrial oil and fat products, (Vol. 3), (4th...
The rheology of plastic fats
Food in Canada
(1963)- de Man, J. M. (1983) Consistency of fats: A review. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 60,...
- et al.
Review fat crystal networks: Structure and rheological properties
Journal of Texture Studies
(1987) - et al.
Polymorphic behaviour of some fully hydrogenated oils and their mixtures with liquid canola oil
Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society
(1989) - Firestone, D. (1989). Official and tentative methods of the American Oil Chemists' Society, (4th ed.) Champaign, IL:...
- et al.
Enzymatic transesterification of palm olein using non-specific and 1,3-specific lipases
Journal of the American Oils Chemists' Society
(1995)
The measurement of hardness of margarine and fats with cone penetrometer
Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Cited by (72)
Margarines: Historical approach, technological aspects, nutritional profile, and global trends
2021, Food Research InternationalCitation Excerpt :Samples with similar SFC can display different hardness values. This is because the strength of the crystal network depends not only on the amount of solids present but also on the polymorphic behavior and the size of the formed crystal (Glibowski et al., 2008; Laia et al., 2000). Polymorphism consists of a crystalline habit in which fats can present themselves.
Rheological properties of ethyl cellulose-monoglyceride-candelilla wax oleogel vis-a-vis edible shortenings
2021, Carbohydrate PolymersPolymorphism, textural and crystallization properties of winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, D.C) oil-based trans-fatty acids free ternary margarine blends
2019, LWTCitation Excerpt :The continuous phase, which is a blend of oils, coloring, antioxidants and emulsifiers, is responsible for the polymorphic behavior that imparts texture and consistency to the margarine (Miskandar, Man, Yusoff, & Rahman, 2005; Saberi, Lai, & Miskandar, 2012). Originally made from animal fats, present day table margarines and spreads contains some level of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (PHVO) available in various formulation of water and fat phases to meet different metabolic and physiologic needs (Hong, Charlotte, & Jens, 2005; Laia, Ghazalia, Cho, & Chong, 2000; Sarafhana, Mohammed, Hajar, Anahita, & Hasanah, 2016). However, there are concerns and new health insights that margarines and shortenings made from PHVO contain trans-fats that are usually generated during the production of the solid fats wherein some cis-fatty acids are incidentally rearranged to the geometric trans-bonds (Ericson, Coots, Mattson, & Klingman, 2017; Pawitchaya, Sopark, & Dérick, 2018).