In various information sources, the "palm" topic is discussed in various ways. The subject of the issue is palm oil useful or harmful to the human body, because it is imported into our country in huge quantities (about 500 tons annually).
What is the melting point of palm oil? Where is this product used? What benefits does it bring? About this, as well as about the features of production and other facts, this article.
Palm oil: application, description, composition
The source of palm oil is the meaty parts of the oil palm fruit (Elaeis guineensis). In its raw form, it is red-orange in color, due to the high content of carotenoids. After special treatment, the product becomes red or yellow. Red preserves the preservation of useful substances (up to 80%), in yellow they are significantly lost. Yellow varieties are rich in saturated fatty acids (up to 50%), harmful to the body. They are 38% in red varieties, moreover, it is famous for tocotrienols (modified vitamin E), vitamin A and resistance to oxidative reactions.
What is palm oil? What is this product made of? To obtain palm kernel oil, the solid core (seeds) of the fruit is taken. It is characterized by yellowness, the level of saturated fatty acids is as much as 80% (i.e. carotenoids are practically absent). Refined products become light.
The basic composition of the product includes saturated fatty palmitic and stearic acids. The percentage of oleic (monounsaturated fatty) acid is 40%, linoleic (polyunsaturated) - up to 10%. The latter contribute to good metabolism and are important for health. The composition of palm kernel oil includes lauric and myristic acids, about 33% of oleic and linoleic acids in it. In a refined product, most of the nutrients lost during processing.
Edible and technical palm oil, application
The main suppliers of palm oil are Asia (southeast), Latin America. The collected fruits are kept warm for a month before fermentation begins. After boiling, separating the flesh, compress the resulting mass. The raw product is called technical oil and is not suitable for human consumption. The main field of application is mechanical engineering, machine tool engineering (as a lubricant for units).
As a result of purification, edible oil, an independent food product, is obtained. In trade, its share is up to 50%. This is explained by the increased demand for vegetable oils due to the limited natural resources of solid and semi-solid fats. In the food industry, palm products are widely used in the manufacture of bakery and confectionery products, combined dairy products, semi-finished products, and baby formula.
Palm oil, its components in large volumes are used by cosmetology (soap, cream, etc.), manufacturers of washing powders, household candles. It is also used in pharmacology and the production of animal feed for livestock, poultry.
Production Features
What is the melting point of palm oil? Before answering this question, let's talk about the features of the production of this product. In the factory, clusters of palm trees are processed using dry steam to separate the fruits. Then the raw material is pressed to obtain its technical variety.
Upon receipt of food grades, the raw materials are sterilized, and then refined (cleaned). Refining involves several stages:
- during the extraction, crude oil leaves the starting material;
- centrifuge cleans water and solids;
- hydration (water purification) is carried out with the extraction of phospholipids;
- neutralization removes free fatty acids;
- the product is bleached and deodorized.
Hydrogenation (hydrogen is added to the substances) is carried out in order to remove polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
Having the property of being rapidly oxidized, PUFAs do not contribute to the long-term storage of the product (no more than six months), and therefore they are disposed of. So that after hydrogenation there is no characteristic taste left, the oil is refreshed (deodorized). When carrying out a full cleaning, a refined product is obtained , which is widely used due to a rather low cost, but not quite healthy.
Palm oil: melting point, properties
In palm and other vegetable oils there are triacylglyceroids (compounds of glycerol esters and fatty acids). Each mixture has its own chemical and physical characteristics and degree of melting. Based on the melting point of palm oil, we speak of three fractions (varieties) of the product.
- The fractions of the standard product are characterized by melting at a temperature of 36 ° C - 39 ° C. When frying, it has no smoke, does not burn. However, it quickly hardens, so it is recommended to use the food cooked on it hot or warm.
- The hardest fraction - stearin - is included in the components of margarine. The melting point of palm oil is - 48 ° C - 52 ° C.
- For palm olein as the most liquid variety, the degree of remelting is 16 ° C - 24 ° C. The consistency is similar to cream, it freezes in the refrigerator.
Stearin and olein are successfully used by cosmetology.
What foods contain palm oil
"Palm" products are characterized by high refractoriness, long shelf life.
- Palm oil is an ingredient in dairy products: milk substitutes (including dried milk), margarine, hard cheese, processed cheese, margarine and butter, spreads, many types of cottage cheese and ice cream, yogurt.
- Flour, confectionery products with palm oil (derivatives) are not sour and are not subject to fermentation. Eating all kinds of cookies, gingerbread, biscuits with cream layers, the consumer consumes it to one degree or another. It is also used in candy fillings, chocolate.
- Olein is present in deep-fried products, in chips, fried nuts, corn sticks, instant noodles. He is also in ready-made snacks, soup mixes, mayonnaises.
Thus, most of the purchased products, which are in great demand among the population, contain palm oil.
How to determine the presence of palm oil in food
The consumer needs to remember: palm oil tastes good, improves the color of products, much cheaper than natural products. Products with its contents are stored for a long time. It pleases manufacturers and attracts buyers. When buying, you need to pay attention not only to the price tag, but also to the shelf life: the peppy looking eight-month roll clearly contains palm oil.
Note: the indication on the label "vegetable fats" often implies the use of palm oil. Variable "cheese products", "cottage cheese", "sour cream", "curd mass", "mayonnaise sauces", "condensed milk" signal about the substitution. Manufacturers usually do not call natural (according to GOST) products "products."
Most often, palm products replace milk products. Often, "fake" is sold under the guise of butter. Natural products (20 types) are characterized by various fat content and a lot of useful qualities. One of the advantages is the low melting point of butter (from 24 to 37 degrees). It is known: the lower the degree of processing, the easier the fats are absorbed in the body.
Does the melting point of butter and palm oil differ? Yes, having a high melting point, the product of oil palm is much inferior to creamy, being difficult to digest. On the cut, the real product has a characteristic luster, it breaks in pieces when frozen. Fake oil does not harden well in the refrigerator, has too bright color, does not break. The melting point of palm oil is 48 ° C - 52 ° C.
Palm Oil: Benefits
Of the food varieties of palm oils, red is considered the most useful, preserving most of the nutrients after processing.
- Vitamins in its composition are useful: A positive effect on the visual organs, E is needed for good vision and stimulation of the genital glands.
- Lowering cholesterol is due to oleic, linoleic acids. Palm oil regulates the activity of bile ducts and the digestive system as a whole. They clear the nasal passages with nasal congestion.
- Some nutritionists recommend the product as a means for losing weight (2 tsp on an empty stomach).
- When frying in such an oil, nothing burns and fumes, and the products are covered with an attractive crisp. Added to the dough, it gives the products friability and delicate aroma.
- “Palm” masks are used for shine, growth and healthy hair.
- On its basis, cosmetic creams, soaps are produced. Due to its biological value, it is used to care for problem skin, its rejuvenation and smoothing.
- A bathroom with a small amount of oil droplets relieves stress, regulates the functioning of blood vessels.
- Washing powders with its contents do not harm health.
It is necessary to distinguish red edible (processed) oil from technical (untreated) with an identical shade. The use of special technologies and fractionation of the food grade is safe. Qualitative, according to consumers, is considered to be the products of Zlata Palma and Royal.
Palm oil: harm
Hydrogenated oils become harmful. Liquid oil, saturated in the process with hydrogen atoms with nickel and platinum catalysts, turns into solid fat. It is hydrogenation that causes the appearance of trans fats that cause a health disorder:
- neuropsychiatric diseases, decreased mental activity are associated with the fact that trans fats slow down the metabolic processes of the brain;
- transisomers provoke sclerosis of blood vessels, coronary artery disease, heart failure, strokes;
- trans fatty molecules negatively leads to the release of digestive enzymes, hence the problems with digestibility and processing of the product;
- such fats provoke aging and cell mutation, which is fraught with immune disorders and cancer.
Packages with hydrogenated goods must be accompanied by the appropriate label ("trans-fat").
Note: indeed, the higher the degree of processing, the harder it is to assimilate the finished product. But the proper functioning of the digestive organs can in no way depend only on temperature: you should not trust the myth of total blockage of the body by “palm clay”. Non-hydrogenated palm oil can only harm if consumed immoderately.
The essence of the "palm" issue
In general, the “palm problem” boils down to the following:
- quality products are safe for consumption;
- the consumption of even the best product in huge quantities is undoubtedly harmful to health;
- technical oil should never be ingested.
Violation of the rules of transportation (for example, in tanks for oil products), processing technologies of raw materials contrary to Russian legislation - these are the reasons for the appearance of low-quality palm oil on the shelves. But it is unlikely that crafty manufacturers will recognize the ordinary consumer in their flaws.