Directed interesterification in glycerides. Reaction in presence of added glycerol

Summary Directed interesterification, in which ester‐ester interchange is carried out in triglyceride mixtures with simultaneous crystallization of solid glycerides, has been applied to glyceride mixtures containing free hydroxyl groups. Solid glycerides precipitated from cottonseed oil with added glycerol were principally saturated diglycerides or saturated monoglycerides. The prineipal varables controlling the kind and proportion of solid precipitated during reaction from glycerides of a given original composition are the proportion of free alcohol groups, the time‐temperature schedule for the reaction, and the method of seeding, if any, used to start the crystallization. The method makes it possible to segregate the high‐melting and low‐melting fatty acids of a fat practically completely into separate ester fractions.