Topic: Fats and Oils

Fats are solid at room temperature while oils are liquid at room temperature.
Uses of fats and oils
Spread, creaming, frying, basting, greasing of cooking vessels, shortening flour mixtures,
incorporating air into cakes, improving flavour, improving the energy value of foods.

Sources of fats
Fats and oils are obtained from both plants and animals.
Fats is present in food either as visible or invisible fat.
Visible fat is easy to detect in food eg fat on meat, butter, margarine, lard, suet ,cooking fats and
oils.
Invisible fat is a constituent part of food and is difficult to detect eg lean meat - fat within muscle,
egg yolk, flesh of oily fish, nuts, seeds, fruits, prepared foods such as pastry, cakes, biscuits,
fried foods.
Animal source
Egg yolk
meat:lard(purified fat of pigs), bacon fat, suet(hard fat around the internal organs of cow and
sheep) dripping(is fat collected during the roasting of meat)
Dairy produce: fat in milk, butter, cream, cheese.
Fish/ marine:fish liver oils,oily fish
Plant sources
Seeds: cotton, maize, sesame, olive, soya, sunflower, rapeseed.
Nuts and pulses: peanut, brazil nut
Kernels: palm
Fruits: avocado pear
Jamaican ackee.

Fatty acids
Fatty acids which are composed entirely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are found in all the
simple and compound lipids. There are 24 common fatty acids which differ in chain length and
the degree or saturation. There are short chain( 10 or fewer carbon carbon atoms), long chain
( 12 to 18 carbon atoms), and extra long chain ( 20 or more carbon atoms) fatty acid. Fatty acids
of 10 or less carbon atoms, are seldom found in animal fats and vegetable oils. The extra long
chains are found in fish oils. In the body fatty acids are an important part of phospholipids in
cellular membranes.
Saturated fatty acids: contains the maximum number of hydrogen atoms the chain can hold.
All the carbon atoms are saturated with hydrogen atoms and cannot accept any more. There
are no double bonds. These fatty acids are concentrated in animal beef, chicken, pork and dairy
products. They are also found in some vegetabke foods ( palm, palm kernel and coconut oil).
The level of saturation deteemines the consistency of the fat at room temperature.

Examples. Found mainly in

Butyric acid. Milk, butter
Palmitic acid. Animal fats
Lauric acid. Dairy foods,coconut oil
Stearic acid. Beef fat

Unsaturated fatty acids

Some of the carbon atoms are joined to others by a double bond and so are not completely
saturated with hydrogen atoms. They could therefore accept more hydrogen atoms.
Monounsaturated fatty acids
Contains one double bond . oleic acid is the most common MUFA in food. Concentrated
sources of oleic acid are found in peanut , peanut oil, pecans, almonds and avocado pears.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids
Contain two or more double bonds . The main one in the diet is linoleic acid. Vegetables seeds
and the oils they produce are good sources of linoleic acid.
Essential fatty acids
One of the most important functions of fat in the diet is to supply linoleic acid. This acid is
essential since the body cannot synthesize it and it must be supplied in foods . Linoleic acid is
then used to produce other polyunsaturated fatty acids that are important to the body.

Lipids

The lipid family includes triglycerides, phospholipids and sterol.

1. Triglycerides: are composed of the elements carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. It is the
most common type of lipid found in the body and foods.
2. Phospholipids: the most common phospholipid is lecithin. The fatty acids allow
phospholipids to be soluble in fat while phosphate group makes them dissolve in water.
These two properties make them important substances concerned with the
transportation of lipids in the bloodstream. They act as emulsifiers in the body, helping to
keep fats suspended in the blood and body fluid.
3. Sterols:the well known sterol is cholesterol. Other important sterol are cortisone from
the adrenal gland, sex hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids which help to digest fats.

Effects of heat on fats

Both the chemical and physical characteristics of fat are changed when fat is heated.
Smoke point
When a fat is heat at a certain temperature a thin bluish haze of smoke is given off which will
give food an unpleasant flavour.
Flash point
Soon after smoke point has been met the fat will ignite and burn fiercely.
Melting point
Is the temperature at which a solid fat becomes liquid.
Hydrogenation
The process where by liquid oils are changed into a more solid plastic shortenings and to
increase the stability of the oils to prevent spoilage from oxidation that results in rancid flavours
and odours. During this process hydrogen gas is pumped into heated oil and the hydrogen
atoms become attached to some fatty acids changing them from unsaturated fatty acids to
saturated fatty acids.
Rancidity
Is a reaction that causes unpleasant odours and flavours in fats.