"Fats and Oils Handbook" by Michael Bockisch

Oils and fats have been constituents of human nutrition from ancient times. First, they contain the highest level of energy of all components of food; second, they supply essential elements for the body. However, the fundamental reason for their early and varied use was certainly the fact that they contribute to the development of flavor, making dishes tasty and giving them a good, smooth mouth-feel.

In the course of his life, a human being living in the industrial nations consumes approximately three tons of fats and oiIs; about half of them are so-called invisible fats, hidden in other food, e.g., sausage and cheese. In the developing countries, the portion of fat in food intake lies far below the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). This is not due to limited world resources, but rather to problems of local purchasing power as well as logistics and distribution. Cultivation could easily rise considerably faster than the world population. Fats are an important factor in the economy because of their status as basic constituents of nutrition and the large amounts consumed. This becomes apparent in their ranking second in worldwide traded items. For some countries or regions, they represent an indispensable part of the gross national product and a source of foreign currency. Because of the development of new varieties of oil seeds, the areas under cultivation have been extended in the past decades from the earth’s sun belt to regions of temperate climate, which now deliver a substantial part of that crop. This has led to a shift in economic interests. Some of these factors will be discussed in this book to illustrate the large correlations that exist. This book will acknowledge the importance of fats and oils and give a survey of today’s state of the art in technology. This book will survey the raw materials predominantly employed and the spectrum of processes used today. Man’s ability to absorb information visually, i.e., via pictures, is many times greater than through the other senses or through transposition from language. A diagram or figure conveys more than a thousand words. To impart information quickly and efficiently, a focus of importance in this book was the explanation of technological steps in the form of graphs, a form of presentation that offers the reader a quick orientation and conveys a general view. Sufficient detail is offered to highlight the critical points without obscuring the presentation of essential information. In that sense, this book can be considered a sort of picture-bookhopefully, in a good sense. Contents Preface Preface to the English Edition Chapter 1 The Importance of Fats. Chapter 2 Composition, Structure, Physical Data, and Chemical Reactions of Fats and Oils and Their Associates Chapter 3 Animal Fats and Oils Chapter 4 Vegetable Fats and Oils Chapter 5 Production of Vegetable Oils and Fats Chapter 6 Modification of Fats and Oils Chapter 7 Refining Chapter 8 Fat as, or in, Food Chapter 9 Analytical Methods Chapter 10 Conversion Tables and Abbreviations.