Flavor evaluation of copper-hydrogenated soybean oils

The use of copper catalyst to reduce selectively the linolenate in soybean oil improves its flavor stability. As previously shown, the copper must be removed or properly inactivated to obtain an oil of high initial quality. In oven and heat tests, odor and flavor development in the hydrogenated soybean oil samples correlate surprisingly well with actual levels of linolenate, but there were some differences in overall responses among cottonseed oil, copper-reduced (0.0% linolenate) and nickel-reduced (3.0% linolenate) soybean oils. The taste panel generally scored the last three oils in the following order: cottonseed oil, copper-reduced and nickel-reduced soybean oil. One of 10 papers to be published from the Symposium “Hydrogenation”. presented at the AOCS Meeting, New Orleans, April 1970. No. Utiliz. Res. Dev. Div., ARS, USDA.