Semi‐solid Fat by Interesterification of Red Palm Oil With Other Vegetable Oils

Interesterification of appropriate blends of vegetable oils offers an alternative method for obtaining semi‐solid fats without hydrogenation. Random interesterification was carried out on blends of different oils, namely palm oil and sunflower oil (8:2, 7:3 and 6:4 w/w), palm oil and rice bran oil (8:2 and 7:3 w/w), palm oil and coconut oil (9:1 and 6:4 w/w), as well as palm oil and soybean oil (7:3 w/w), in the presence of sodium methoxide as a catalyst (0.2% w/v). The melting characteristic of the interesterified fat obtained from a blend of refined red palm oil and sunflower oil blend, in the ratio of 4:1 (w/w; slip melting point 41C) indicated that this combination could be an ideal margarine fat base.