Formulation of products from soybean oil

High quality shortenings and margarines may be produced using soybean oil as the only fat source or using soybean oil as the primary fat source with the addition of a small amount of hydrogenated cottonseed or palm oil to provide crystal stability. These shortenings and margarines are manufactured by direct hydrogenation or by blending hydrogenated and/or unhydrogenated base stocks. The properties of soybean oil preclude the need for processes other than hydrogenation and blending to produce most margarine and shortening products. It is possible to design an integrated base stock program in which a limited number of base stocks may be used jointly in margarine and shortening formulations. This type of base stock program results in fewer hydrogenation department heels and simplifies scheduling of the hydrogenation department as well as scheduling of overall operations. Solid fat index (SFI) is the analysis used for final product consistency control. While base stocks are blended to meet a final SFI requirement, this analysis is too time-consuming to be used in hydrogenation control and individual hydrogenation batches are controlled using refractometer number and congeal points. Finished product characteristics are a result of decisions that must be made regarding characteristics such as plastic range and AOM stability, which are incompatible.