Improving Plasticity of Milk Fat for Use in Baking by Fractionation

Milk fat is soft with a low solids content at all temperatures up to 37 °C, which makes its usage limited. To extend its usage, the fat was fractionated to obtain stearin (St) with a 50-55% yield by dry fractionation. The stearin was found to contain an increased solids content at all temperatures and to have improved plasticity compared to its native fat. The physical properties of St were found to be similar to those of commercial bakery shortenings or vanaspati. The melting profiles and the solidification properties of milk fat St are similar to those of commercial bakery shortening. Also, St does not require extended stabilization or tempering, as it transferred to the most stable form quickly like commercial bakery fat. Milk fat St showed higher proportions of saturated fatty acids including those with short chains, compared to commercial vanaspati, the later having a high trans fatty acid content (15%). The olein obtained could also be used as a cooking medium or as a salad oil since it contains a lower solids content at ambient temperatures compared to its parent milk fat.