Effect of sucrose polyesters on crystallization rate of vegetable ghee: solid fat content study

Crystallization rate of partial hydrogenated blend of soybean oil and cottonseed oil used for making vegetable ghee (vanaspati) was investigated, by solid fat content (SFC) using pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (p-NMR). The effects of adding sucrose fatty acid esters or sucrose polyesters (SPE) on the crystallization rate of the blend fat were studied. Sucrose tetrastearate DK ester F-10 (stearate 70% - palmitate 30%) was added to the fat at different concentration, namely 0.5% and 1.0%. Blank sample and sample containing 0.5% and 1.0% DK ester F-10 / (DK F-10) were chosen to measure the change in SFC at constant temperature of 15ºC for a period of 25 hr. Five determinations of SFC were taken to the fat samples during the 25 hr i.e. 2,5,9,13 and 25th hr. SFC vs. time of crystallization of the three samples showed continuous increasing in SFC in all samples during the 25 hr, with sharp increasing at the first two hours. Samples containing 0.0% and 0.5% DK F-10, showed no significant difference in SFC during the first thirteen hours, while sample containing 1.0% DK F-10, showed higher SFC than the other two samples, through out the period. The amount of SFC for 1.0% DK F-10 sample at the 13th hour is equal to the SFC of the blank (0.0%) sample at the 25th hour. Melting point of the same samples increased with the increasing DK F-10 concentration in the fat samples. The results of SFC make it sure that the addition of 1.0% DK F- 10 will shorten the time required for the crystallization of vegetable ghee while the addition of 0.5% will not have significant effect.