Melting points, fats

Fa.ts nd Oils. Eats and oils from rendering animal and fish offal and vegetable oilseeds provide nutritional by-products used as a source of energy, unsaturated fatty acids, and palatabiHty enhancement. Eats influence the texture in finished pet foods. The use and price of the various melting point fats is deterrnined by the type and appearance of the desired finished food appearance. 

Citrus (oranges, lemons, grapefruit) is processed into juice and oil for human uses and into molasses and dried pulp for use as animal feed. The fruit is first washed with a detergent and rinsed with water. The oil is localized in oil sacs on the surface of the fruit. The surface is scarified under a water spray to form an emulsion of oil and water. The oil is recovered by centrifugation. Altered to remove high melting point fats, and dried with sodium sulfate, which is removed by filtration. 

The difference between fats and oils is merely one of melting point fats are solid at room temperature (20°C) whereas oils are liquids. Both classes of compounds are triglycerides. 

Waxy mouth-feel is associated with the presence of high melting point fats that do not quickly melt in the mouth. 

If you wanted to find a natural source of high melting point fats, would you look in a plant growing in warm or cold climates ... 

A large proportion of copra oil is used directly for human consumption. In particular, the medium chain fatty acids of which lauric and myristic acids are dominant lead to a higher melting point fat that is solid at room temperature and relatively hard and brittle at low temperatures. It is a useful ingredient for margarine. Lauric oils are much in demand for confectionery, for which the melting point is approximately 32°C-37°C. It is thus suitable as a cocoabutter substitute for chocolate coatings, or as synthetic creams or cream substitutes. 

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