Comparison of the stability of palm olein and a palm olein/canola oil blend during deep‐fat frying of chicken nuggets and French fries

Stability of palm olein (PO) and a blend 50% palm olein/50% canola oil (POC) during deep‐fat frying at 180 °C of French fries (FF) or chicken nuggets (CN) was studied through the determination of physical and chemical parameters in the fresh and used oils. Degradation at the end of the study resulted in total polar compounds of 12–13.5% for PO and 11.5–14.5% for POC and viscosity of 65–123.3 cP for PO and 63–72.8 cP for POC. Lower peroxide values (5.33–6.32) were obtained for the blend (PO had 5.21–8.55). Food type affected colour parameters and p‐anisidine value of the oils. For CN, the lowest fat content and higher hardness were obtained when they were fried in PO. CN caused a faster deterioration in the oils, in comparison with FF, especially in POC. Gas chromatography allowed to observe differences in fatty acids composition for both used oils.     

Optimisation of cake fat quantity and composition using response surface methodology

The influence of fat quantity and composition on the characteristics of a chemically leavened baked product was investigated, applying a central composite design combined with response surface methodology. Fats were blends of palm oil and palm olein with different slip melting points (from 36.3 to 11.3 °C, in dependence of increasing olein content). Fat content (from 5.3% to 30.7% on batter) and percentage of olein in the fat blend (from 42.7% to 92.2%) were varied. The increase of fat quantity enhanced cake softness, while lowering the volume; higher olein contents also decreased cake firmness. An optimised formulation containing 19.7% fat with 92% olein in the fat blend and showing good structural properties, comparable to those of a 18% butter reference cake, was identified. The optimised and the butter cake showed specific volume of 2.25 and 2.23 cm³ g^?1, respectively, and load at 25% strain of 7.68 and 5.63 N. These results demonstrated the possibility to replace butter with a liquid vegetable fat blend, thus increasing unsaturated fat content and reducing total cholesterol in the product.     

Differentiation of post harvest date fruit varieties non‐destructively using FT‐NIR spectroscopy

The world production of dates has more than doubled over the last two decades. Presently, the industrial sorting of dates is a difficult operation, affected by a high level of losses. As a consequence, the objective of this article is to study the variety discrimination capabilities of Fourier Transform‐Near Infrared (FT‐NIR) reflectance spectroscopy for post‐harvest sorting purposes. The same methodology was tested on six commercial date varieties named Estamaran, Kabkab, Mazafati, Piarom, Deglet nour and Zahedi. For each cultivar, 100 fruits were analysed using the FT‐NIR spectrometer, subsequently characterised by destructive measurements. A multivariate analysis of the FT‐NIR spectra appears a feasible tool for cultivar discrimination and even to estimate the soluble solid content (SSC) and dry matter (DM) of dates at their optimal harvesting conditions. FT‐NIR, as a non‐destructive techniques, could be a suitable way for on‐line screening of different dates varieties.     

Synthesis of civetone from palm oil products

Metathesis of ethyl oleate, catalyzed by WCl₆ and SnMe₄, provided diethyl 9-octadecenedioate (the desired starting material for the synthesis of civetone) in 99% yield. Dieckmann condensation of diethyl 9-octadecenedioate gave 2-ethoxycarbonyl-9-cycloheptadecenone (63% yield), the hydrolysis-decarboxylation reaction of which yielded civetone (93%). Identification of all products was by¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared and mass spectroscopic data. This is the first report of the synthesis of civetone from palm oil-derived products.     

Improved heat exchanger networks for energy conservation in palm oil refineries

In designing a network of heat exchangers for the recovery of waste heat, there is usually a'pinch' at which the minimum approach temperature difference limits energy recovery. Pinch technology emphasizes the importance of utility targets, which are independent of the network design, and so allow a very useful comparison with the utility requirements of actual networks. The design of a heat recovery network of exchangers used in palm oil refining has been examined using such pinch technology targeting procedures. The network was found to be well designed for the situation where steam is a cheaper utility than hot oil. As this was not the case, improved networks were designed. These allowed a significant reduction in heat exchanger surface area for the same energy consumption, or a 25% reduction in energy consumption for a modest increase in network area of about 10%.     

Determination of oil palm fruit phenolic compounds and their antioxidant activities using spectrophotometric methods

There is scarce information on the phenolics of oil palm fruits (Elaeis guineensis). In this study, phenolics were extracted from oil palm fruits and analysed using spectrophotometry for information on the different types of palm phenolics and their antioxidative activities. Analyses of the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), o‐diphenols index, hydroxycinnamic acid index, flavonols index and phenol index showed ranges between 5.64 and 83.97 g L^?1 gallic acid equivalent (GAE), 0.31–7.53 g L^?1 catechin equivalent, 4.90–93.20 g L^?1 GAE, 23.74–77.46 g L^?1 ferulic acid equivalent, 3.62–95.33 g L^?1 rutin equivalent and 15.90–247.22 g L^?1 GAE, respectively. The antioxidant assay, 2,2‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay, showed antioxidative activities in all the extracts with results ranging from 4.41 to 61.98 g L^?1 trolox equivalent. The high antioxidant activities of the oil palm fruit phenolics were also found to increase with increasing TPC and TFC.     

Tocopherols, Retinol and Carotenes in Chicken Egg and Tissues as Influenced by Dietary Palm Oil

Incorporation of palm oil (PO) increased the α-and γ-tocotrienol content of eggs, liver, meat and adipose tissue. Total tocotrienols were higher in eggs, liver and adipose tissue of hens fed 1.5% PO than those fed 3.5% PO. An increase in retinol was observed in the eggs, liver and dark meat of hens fed PO diet. Feeding diets containing 1.5 or 3.5% PO increased the α-and β- carotenes in eggs and liver tissue. However, carotenoids were not detected in white meat, dark meat or adipose tissue. Dark meat incorporated higher levels of tocopherols and retinol than white meat. The diets had no effect on egg or yolk weight. Egg yolks from hens fed PO had higher yolk color than those without PO. Addition of tocopherol mix in the control diet increased total tocopherol content in all tissues.     

应对月桂油的短缺

随着油脂化工生产的扩张,价格和基本原材料的获得是其成功的关键。月桂油（棕榈仁油和椰子油）对于油脂化学品的需求而言,在价格方面是最敏感的油品。目前月桂油主要用于食品方面,因此,油脂化工需求的增加必然导致月桂油的供应面临困难。月桂油的供应取决于椰子油和棕榈仁油的产量。油棕的产油率比椰棕高。很明显,将来月桂油供应主要取决于棕榈仁油生产的增加,这是棕榈油产量提高的结果。因此,为了提供充足的月桂油以满足油脂化学工业的需要,其用于食用方面的量将不得不减少。     

棕叶纤维性能研究

棕叶纤维柔软度较高,纤维纵向有较多明显的竖纹,无天然扭曲。纤维的横截面呈不规则锯齿形,结构松散,纤维中有许多孔隙。文章将棕叶纤维与其他叶纤维如菠萝叶、香蕉叶和构树叶以及茎纤维如亚麻、黄麻和大麻进行了比较。     

Sn-2位富含棕榈酸甘油三酯的酶法制备研究

以棕榈硬脂为原料,以非专一性脂肪酶Novozym 435作催化剂,将棕榈酸作为酰基供体与棕榈硬脂进行酸解反应,制备Sn-2位富含棕榈酸的甘油三酯,为下一步制备母乳脂肪替代油脂提供原料。首先,通过单因素实验确定了各因素的范围,再应用Box-Behnken中心组合实验设计建立二次多项数学模型,进行响应面分析。结果表明,当棕榈酸与棕榈硬脂质量比1.09∶1,反应时间9.9h,反应温度54.7℃,加酶量21.9%时,反应所得甘油三酯中Sn-2位棕榈酸可达到60.59%,可满足下一步制备母乳脂肪替代油脂的要求。