Chemical Esterification and Glycerolysis of Butteroil and Its Effects on Its Fractions’ Lipid Crystallization

Transesterification of milkfat has been explored as a method to change the crystallization of the lipids and thus form softer butter. The reaction has mostly been carried out enzymatically; however, this reaction is inefficient and requires vegetable oil supplementation. The objective of this work is to perform a chemical esterification and glycerolysis of butteroil to change its crystallization pattern. Butteroil was extracted from butter and mixed with a 1% alcoholic hydroxyl catalyst and 10% glycerol. The solution was heated at 200 °C for 2 h, after which butteroil was decanted from the glycerol and allowed to crystallize for 48 h at 30 °C. Esterified samples had different triglyceride profiles. The esterified samples had different crystal morphologies, sizes, and thermal behaviors compared to those of the blank. These results show chemical transesterification is successful in changing the lipid structure of butteroil and has the potential to create a softer butter.