Palm oil is widely used by food manufacturers because of its functional benefits and versatility.
The suitability of a fat for food manufacturing depends on its physical properties, such as solidness, melting point and oxidative stability. |
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Appearance and Taste
Fats can make food more pleasant by enhancing its texture and mouthfeel, its appearance, and by releasing fat-soluble flavours |
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Aeration
Fats give cakes and mousses an airy and stable texture, by trapping bubbles of air |
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Coating
A crumbly texture found in some pastry and biscuits is maintained by fat coating the flour particles to prevent them from absorbing water |
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Glazing
Fats can give a glossy appearance to foods |
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Moisture Retention
Fats help retain a product´s moisture content and therefore prevent drying out |
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Layering Effect
Fats help separate the layers of gluten and starch formed in the dough when making puff pastries, like croissants |
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Plasticity
Fats can be processed to rearrange their melting point, suitable to produce spreads and cheeses ready spreadable from the fridge |
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Heat Transfer
Frying fat acts as an efficient heat-transfer medium |
Source: EUFIC