WO2015047170A1

WO2015047170A1 - Edible fat composition

Info

Publication number: WO2015047170A1
Application number: PCT/SE2014/051097
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fidelmar Bucio GARCÍA; Laura Alejandra Calderón ROCHA
Original assignee: Aarhuskarlshamn Ab
Priority date: 2013-09-26
Filing date: 2014-09-24
Publication date: 2015-04-02
Also published as: MX2016003619A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an edible fat composition comprising a blend of vegetable oils and animal fat with a combined fatty acid composition of about 3-15% of C14:0 and about 2-6% of C16:1 and a total of short chain triglycerides (SCT) C4:0 and C6:0 of ≤ 7%.Further, the invention relates to process of its preparation as well as uses thereof in dairy and confectionary products.

Description

EDIBLE FAT COMPOSITION

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the field of butter fat equivalents. More particularly, the invention relates to a fat composition made of vegetable oils and animal fat suitable to extend milk fat products.

BACKGROUND

Milk fat is, apart from being the fat part of its natural source milk, also part of processed dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt, cream and butter blends.

The supply of milk fat, also called butter fat, is limited, particularly in some geographical areas due to the limited supply of fresh milk. Due to its complex nature, it is difficult to replace milk fat and fats designed to extend

milk/butterfat whilst maintaining a similar fatty acids profile to butterfat are not available.

The limited supply of fresh milk also causes the price of milk and its milk fat to be high. Thus, products with milk fat included, such as dairy products, will have an increased production cost as well thereby increasing the price for the end consumer. Thus, there is also a drive to reduce costs of dairy products including butter fat.

There have been some attempts to make milk/butter fat blends to replace milk fat by vegetable oils, however, mainly with focus on making the product healthier. Said vegetable oils have different chemical and physical profiles than milk fat. The fatty acids of milk/butter fat are composed of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The saturated fatty acids are mainly palmitic acid, myristic acid, stearic acid, lower (at most 12 carbon atoms) saturated fatty acids as well as traces of pentadecanoic acid and heptadecanoic acid. The unsaturated fatty acids are mainly oleic acid, palmitoleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid.

WO2009/005351 describes a vegetable fat blend for replacing milk fat and processed food products containing such vegetable fat blend. With the aim to replace the milk fat with a healthier fat profile, WO2009/005351 provides a vegetable fat composition with fats having a different chemical profile and composition than milk fat.

US4,130,572 describes the fractionation of beef tallow into five different fractions. As pointed out in the abstract, each fraction has its own chemical profile by means of distinctive fatty acid and glyceride composition as well as its own physical profile by means of its own distinctive thermal characteristics. The applicants suggest use of the different fractions in the formulation of salad oils, margarine and liquid as well as plastic shortenings.

WO1989/008988 describes a dairy substitute formulation comprising 6-10 parts by weight of an oil in a carbohydrate or protein matrix, maltodextrin, emulsifiers as well as antioxidants to provide a fat-modified dairy milk.

Products produced comprising the dairy substitute include custards, cream substitutes, ice cream and ice confections, soft serve creams, coffee whiteners, yoghurt, cakes and pastries, biscuits and table spreads (butter replacer).

There is thus a need for a fat which may replace milk fat whilst maintaining a similar fatty acid profile chemically and physically as milk fat and that as well reduces the production costs of dairy products. The present invention addresses such needs and interests. SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present invention relates to an edible fat composition comprising a blend of vegetable oils and animal fat with a combined fatty acid composition of about 3-15% of C14:0 and about 2-6% of C16: l and a total of short chain triglycerides (SCT) C4:0 and C6:0 of < 7%. It has surprisingly been found that an edible fat composition resembling milk fat can be made from vegetable oils combined with animal fats. Hereby, an alternative to milk fat is obtained having many of the nutritional benefits as well as very similar chemical and physical profile of milk fat at reduced costs.

The amount of and ratio between SCT may be used to adjust for example the solid fat content (SFC) in such a way as to closely resemble the SFC, as well as fatty acid profile and a very similar chemical and physical profile as of milk fat. According to embodiments of the invention the short chain triglycerides (SCT) comprise about 1-4% C4:0 and about 0.1-3% C6:0.

The total amount of SCT and the relative amounts of C4:0 and C6:0 is for example important to adjust the SFC, as well as fatty acid profile to achieve a very similar chemical and physical profile of the edible fat product compared to a fat product based on butter fat.

Further embodiments are wherein said edible fat composition is a fat composition wherein the short chain triglycerides (SCT) C4:0 is about 1.8-4%) and C6:0 is about 0.5-3%. According to advantageous embodiments of the invention, the molar ratio between C4:0 and C6:0 SCT in the edible fat composition is between 0.5 and 5.

Still further embodiments are wherein said SCT comprises about 60-75%> C4:0 and about 25-35%> C6:0 short chain fatty acids. Still further embodiments are wherein said edible fat composition further comprises at least one of 0.5-3% of C8:0, 0.5-3% of C10:0, 2-5% of C12:0, 3- 15% of C14:0, 24-41% of C16:0, 2-6% of C16: l, 6-15% of C18:0, 18-35% of C18: l and 0.5-4% C18:2.

Still even further embodiments are wherein said animal fat is selected from tallow, lard and a mixture thereof. In further embodiments, said animal fat is tallow, such as beef tallow.

In further embodiments, the vegetable oils in said edible fat composition is at least one selected from the group consisting of palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, partially and fully hydrogenated soybean oil, high oleic sunflower oil, hydrogenated canola oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil and fractions thereof. Examples of fractions are fractions of palm oil such as for example palm mid fractions (PMF) and other fractions mentioned herein.

In still further embodiments, said vegetable oil, animal fat and SCT are interesterified after blending. This has the benefit of providing a SFC with a suitable functionality for a specific application.

A further aspect of the present invention relates to a process for preparing an edible fat composition, said process comprises the steps of

a. esterification of short chain fatty acids C4:0 and C6:0 with glycerol to short chain triglycerides (SCT),

b. blending the vegetable oil(s) including said SCT of step a with animal fat, and

c. interesterification of the blend of step b. Further embodiments of the process are wherein the SCT comprises 60-75% of C4:0 and 25-35% of C6:0 short chain fatty acids.

Even further embodiments are wherein the process further comprises at least one of e) bleaching and f) deodorizing the interesterified blend of step 8c) above and optionally a step d) deodorization of the blend of step 8b.

Still even further embodiments of the process are wherein said animal fat is selected from any of tallow, such as beef tallow, lard and a mixture thereof.

Still even further embodiments of the process are wherein said vegetable oil is at least one selected from the group consisting of palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, , soybean oil, partially and fully hydrogenated soybean oil, high oleic sunflower oil, hydrogenated canola oil and fractions thereof. Examples of fractions thereof are palm mid fractions (PMF).

Still even further embodiments of the process are the process in any of its embodiments for preparing an edible fat composition according to any of its embodiments herein.

Further aspects are uses of the edible fat composition according to any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of its embodiments in a dairy product or a confectionary product, such as a chocolate or compound, e.g. a milk chocolate or compound with milk fat.

Further embodiments if the use is wherein the composition according to any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of its embodiments is replacing all or a part of the butter fat of a dairy product or a confectionary product with milk fat. Said use may in further embodiments be wherein said dairy product is a milk, margarine, butter blend, liquid, whipping and sour cream, hard cheese, processed cheese or fresh cheese, yoghurt or an ice cream product and the confectionary product with milk fat is a chocolate or a compound.

Further aspects are a dairy product or a milk fat containing confectionary products comprising the edible fat composition according to any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of its embodiments. Said dairy or confectionary product may in further embodiments be selected from the group consisting of a milk, a margarine, a butter blend, a liquid cream, a whipping cream, a sour cream, a hard cheese, a processed cheese, a fresh cheese, a yoghurt and an ice cream or a confectionary product, such as a chocolate or compound, e.g. a milk chocolate or compound with milk fat. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Fig la-d shows a comparison of fatty acid composition between butter fat (hashed) and an edible fat composition of the invention (black).

Fig la shows one embodiment of the invention (Embodiment 1 or Embl) according to Example 1 with FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) profile compared to butter fat. Embodiment 1 is in black line as compared to butter fat in hashed line. Table 1 shows the same information in numbers.

Fig lb shows an extended fat embodiment with 30 wt.% of Embodiment 1 + 70wt.% of butter fat in black line compared to butter fat in hashed line. Table 2 shows the same information in numbers. Fig lc shows a second extended fat embodiment with 40 wt.% of Embodiment 1 + 60wt.% of butter fat in black line compared to butter fat in hashed line. Table 3 shows the same information in numbers. Fig Id shows a third extended fat embodiment with 50 wt.% of Embodiment 1 + 50wt.% of butter fat in black line compared to butter fat in hashed line.

Fig 2 shows an example of the production process. The esterification is between butyric fatty acid and caproic fatty acid and glycerin to produce a SCT-fat. The SCT-fat is then imported together with the vegetable oils and edible tallow and blended. Optionally (*) the blend is deodorized. The blend is then interesterified, followed by bleaching and deodorization. The last step, packaging, is of course dependent on the further application process for each and every dairy or milk containing confectionary product. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Definitions

As used herein the term "milk fat" and "butter fat" is used with the same meaning and interchangeably. Milk/butter fat represents the fatty portion of milk. As used herein, the term "fatty acid" encompasses fatty acid residues in triglycerides.

As used herein "SCT" is intended to mean short-chain triglycerides. Short chain triglycerides contain short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) with aliphatic tails of fewer than six carbons. As used herein "edible" is something that is suitable for use as food or as part of a food product, such as a dairy or confectionary product. An edible fat is thus suitable for use as fat in food or food product and an edible composition is a composition suitable for use in food or a food product, such as a dairy or confectionary product. As used herein, "%" or "percentage" all relates to weight percentage i.e. wt.% or wt.-% if nothing else is indicated. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "and" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, "at least one" is intended to mean one or more, i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc. As used herein, "vegetable oil" and "vegetable fat" is used interchangeably, unless otherwise specified.

As revealed above, it is provided a fat composition designed to be a milk/butter fat equivalent whilst maintaining a similar fatty acid profile as compared to butter fat. Said composition is a butter fat equivalent, made by a blend of animal fat and vegetable oils and it has surprisingly been found that such a blend has similar fatty acid profile and a very similar chemical and physical profile as milk fat, which means that apart from its similar fatty acid profile, also melting point, cholesterol levels, phytosterol levels etc. is similar as for butter fat. Said fat composition is an edible fat composition and is used to replace all or parts of butter fat in dairy or confectionary products. Thus, by replacing all or parts of the butter fat, it is extending the original butter fat to different degrees in a dairy product or confectionary product comprising milk fat, such as a compound or chocolate, thereby keeping all benefits with butter fat relating to fatty acid profile as well as a very similar chemical and physical profile as butter fat. Further, the fat composition according to the invention will also thereby reduce the production costs of the dairy or confectionary product by extending traditional butter fat still while maintaining the physiochemical profile compared to milk fat. Thus, the use of the edible fat composition as described herein by extending all or parts of the butter fat in dairy or confectionary products will also help the dairy and the confectionary industry to overcome the shortage of butterfat, particularly relating to seasonal variations. It should also be noted that milk fat compositions vary over the year. Regional variations in fatty acid composition may also occur. For example, the content in milk fat of butyric acid may vary between about 0.3% and 2.3%, caproic acid may vary between about 0.8% and 1.7% , the content of laurylic acid between about 2.0% and 4.3% and the content of myristic acid between about 7.3%) and 12.4% by weight. Palmitoleic acid content in milk fat may vary between 0.3% and 3.5% by weight.

In milk, the content of saturated fats may be between about 57% and 71%, the content of mono-unsaturated fats may vary between about 23% and 38%, while the content of poly-unsaturated may vary between about 0.5% and 7.4% by weight.

Accordingly, the edible fat compositions according to embodiments of the present invention may also vary within certain limits without impairing the quality of the dairy products or confectionary products to which the edible fat compositions are added.

In some embodiments of the invention, it may be possible, at least partly, to compensate for the natural variations in milk. In this way, more uniform dairy products and/or confectionary products may be obtained over the year by replacing a part of or all of the milk fat in the product with the edible fat compositions according to these embodiments.

Thus, in one aspect, the present invention relates to an edible fat composition comprising a blend of vegetable oils and animal fat with a fatty acid composition of about 3-15% of C 14:0 and about 2-6% of C16: l and a total of short chain triglycerides (SCT) C4:0 and C6:0 of < 7%. SCT are triglycerides comprising fatty acids with aliphatic tails of fewer than six carbons esterified with glycerol. In the edible fat composition, the SCT comprises 60-75%) of C4:0 (butyric) and 25-35%> of C6:0 (caproic) short chain fatty acids esterified with glycerol. Still further embodiments are wherein said edible fat composition further comprises at least one of 0.5-3% of C8:0, 0.5-3% of C10:0, 2-5% of C12:0, 3-15% of C14:0, 24-41% of C16:0, 2-6% of C16: l, 6- 15% of C18:0, 18-35% of C18: l and 0.5-4% C18:2. Further embodiments are wherein said edible fat composition comprises 0.5- 3% of C8:0, 0.5-3% of C10:0, 2-5% of C12:0, 3-15% of C14:0, 24-41% of C16:0, 2-6% of C16: l, 6-15% of C18:0, 18-35% of C18: l and 0.5-4% C18:2. The source of the vegetable fats for providing fatty acids may vary, as long as the vegetable fat provides suitable amounts of each fatty acid as specified herein. Examples of suitable sources for fatty acids of the vegetable oils in said edible fat composition is at least one selected from the group consisting of palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, partially or fully

hydrogenated soybean oil, high oleic sunflower oil, hydrogenated canola oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil and where applicable also fractions thereof. Fractions thereof are for example fractions of palm oil with IV (iodine value) of 20-50, palm kernel oil fractions with IV of 6-30, such as 12-26, coconut oil fractions of IV of 5-15, such as 6-12.

In particular embodiments, said edible fat composition comprises palm oil, palm kernel oil, animal fat, for example edible tallow, and SCT. For example one embodiment is wherein palm oil is about 13-19wt.%, such as 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, or even 19wt.% of palm oil or its fractions, about 7-13wt.%, such as 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 or even 13wt.% of palm kernel oil or its fractions, about 64- 70wt.% of edible tallow such as e.g. beef tallow, and about 7-8wt.% of SCT- fat, such as 7 or 8wt.%. Said SCT-fat is made of short chain fatty acids C4:0 and C6:0 esterified with glycerol to a short chain triglyceride fat (SCT-fat), and wherein the SCT comprises 60-75% of C4:0 and 25-35% of C6:0 short chain fatty acids in wt.% and carbomdouble bound. In a further embodiment, all the fats are interesterified after blending. For example, the edible fat composition may in particular embodiments comprise about 67% edible tallow and about 7% SCT in wt.%. Said edible fat composition may then further comprise about 16% palm oil or its fractions thereof, and about 10% palm kernel oil (PCO) or its fractions thereof in wt.%, and all fats are interesterified after blending.

Short chain triglycerides (SCT) C4:0 and C6:0 may be made by esterification of any natural source of said fatty acid with glycerol. C4:0 and C6:0 may be from any commercially available source of natural butyric and/or caproic acid (Acidchem International Sdn. Bhd., Axxence, DE, or Elan Chemical Company, Inc. NJ, US) or industrially prepared e.g. butyric acid by fermentation of sugar and starch.

The edible fat composition further comprises animal fat. Any animal fat may be used as long as it is edible. Further, said animal fat may be hydrogenated of not. Thus, further embodiments are wherein said animal fat is selected from tallow, lard and a mixture thereof. Tallow and lard may be from any animal, as long as it is edible. In further embodiments, said animal fat is tallow, such as beef tallow.

In further embodiments, the edible fat composition comprises different types of additives. Examples of such additives are antioxidants, e.g. butylated hydroxytoluene (BTH, also known as butylhydroxytoluene), flavours, e.g. butter oil, etc. depending on the specific application. The antioxidants may also be natural antioxidants, such as ascorbyl palmitate and tocopherols. It is, however, important to point out that the fat part only of the edible fat composition described herein even without any added flavors provides a surprisingly good flavor by itself in the final dairy and confectionary product. Figure 1 shows a comparison of fatty acids between butter fat (black) and an embodiment of an edible fat composition of the invention (dashed).

In a further aspect, a process for preparing said edible fat composition and all its embodiments is described. Said process comprises the steps of a) esterification of short chain fatty acids C4:0 and C6:0 with glycerol to short chain triglycerides (SCT), wherein the SCT comprises 60-75% by weight of C4:0 and 25-35%> by weight of C6:0 short chain fatty acids with 4 and 6 carbon atoms respectively and 0 carbon-carbon double bonds, b) blending vegetable oil(s) including said esterified SCT in a) and animal fat, and, and c) interesterification of the blend.

Further embodiments of the process are wherein the SCT comprises 60-75%) of C4:0 and 25-35%> of C6:0 short chain fatty acids in with 4 and 6 carbon atoms respectively and 0 carbon-carbon double bonds.

Each of the ingredients forming the blend of step b) above may be each one previously refined, bleached and deodorized. Further, particularly if the acid value is high, the blend must be deodorized to avoid MeONa, i.e. sodium methoxide or CH₃ONa, contamination in the interesterification process.

The interesterification process in step c) may be a chemical interesterification or an enzymatic interesterification. Both chemical interesterification and enzymatic interesterification is described well in the art. Both chemical and enzymatic interesterification may be done at standard procedures. One example of the process is shown in figure 2.

Still even further embodiments of the process are wherein said vegetable oil is at least one selected from the group consisting of palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, partially or fully hydrogenated soybean oil, high oleic sunflower oil, hydrogenated canola oil and fractions thereof. Fractions thereof may be any fraction of the vegetable oil, particularly fractions mentioned herein.

Further aspects provided herein are uses of the edible fat composition and all its embodiments or the composition prepared by the process and all its embodiments in a dairy product or a confectionary product. Further embodiments if the use is wherein the composition according to any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of its embodiments is replacing all or a part of the butter fat of a dairy or confectionary product. Said use may in further embodiments be wherein said dairy product is a milk, margarine, butter blend, liquid, whipping and sour cream, hard cheese, processed cheese or fresh cheese, yoghurt or an ice cream product or a confectionary product, such as a chocolate or compound, e.g. a milk chocolate or compound with milk fat. Further aspects are a dairy product or confectionary product comprising the edible fat composition according to any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of its embodiments. Said dairy or confectionary product may in further embodiments be selected from the group consisting of a milk, a margarine, a butter blend, a liquid cream, a whipping cream, a sour cream, a hard cheese, a processed cheese, a fresh cheese, a yoghurt and an ice cream or a confectionary product, such as a chocolate or compound, e.g. a milk chocolate or compound with milk fat.

The skilled man would know how to choose the vegetable oils and fractions thereof to achieve a suitable solid fact content (SFC) for each dairy product or confectionary product application. Further examples are also given herein. Methods to measure solid fat content are well known in the art and is usually measured by pulse MR (Rutledge et al., 1988, Rev. Franc. Corps Gras, 35, 157-162) such as using l UPAC 2.150 B.

For example, the source of lauric C 12:0 in the edible fat composition, may, apart from PKO also be coconut oil or any other source with high lauric content, if such source is more suitable in SFC for a particular application. In certain applications hydrogenation of the vegetable fat part, such as e.g. PKO (palm kernel oil), soybean oil and canola oil, is suitable to get a desired SFC. For example, palm kernel oil has an iodine value of 14 to 21 and may be hydrogenated to give products with IV down to 2. Alternatively, the palm oil can be fractionated into an olein (IV 21-26) and a stearin (IV 6-8) and each of these fractions may then further be hydrogenated. The fractionated parts of palm oil differ particularly in their levels of palmitic acid and oleic acid.

Accordingly, further embodiments are wherein the vegetable fat is

hydrogenated. Said vegetable fat may also be interesterified, such as for example

interesterified with the SCT and/or the animal fat. Thus, further embodiments are wherein said vegetable fat is interesterified, such as for example

interesterified with the SCT and/or the animal fat. IN still a further

embodiment, said vegetable fat is interesterified with the SCT and the animal fat.

In further embodiments, said edible composition and all its embodiments or the composition prepared by the process and all its embodiments is replacing all or a part of the butter fat of a dairy or confectionary product, while still maintaining a similar fatty acid profile to milk/butter fat. By all or parts thereof, it is intended to mean from about 5 wt.% to about 90 or even 100% of the butter fat of a dairy or confectionary product, such as 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 99 or even 100 wt.% of the butter fat of the dairy product. Further embodiments are wherein 0.1 to 100% of the butter fat is exchanged to the fat composition of the invention. Even further embodiments are whereon 0.1 to 50% is exchanged to the fat composition of the invention. Still even further embodiments are wherein up to and including about 30%, such as wherein 0.1 to 30% is exchanged to the fat composition of the invention.

The dairy or confectionary product may be any dairy product such as a milk, a margarine, a butter blend, a liquid, a whipping and a sour cream, a hard cheese, a processed cheese or fresh cheese, a yoghurt or an ice cream product or a confectionary product, such as a chocolate or compound, e.g. a milk chocolate or compound with milk fat.

Thus, further aspects of the present invention is a dairy product or a

confectionary product comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein. One embodiment is a milk comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

A further embodiment is a margarine comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

Still a further embodiment is a butter blend comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

Still a further embodiment is a cream, such as a liquid cream, a sour cream or a whipping cream, comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

Still a further embodiment is a hard cheese comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

Still a further embodiment is a processed or fresh cheese comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

Still a further embodiment is a yoghurt comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

An ice cream product comprising the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments or the edible fat composition or any of its embodiments prepared by the process or any of its embodiments described herein.

Non-limiting examples which embody certain aspects of the invention will now be described. EXAMPLES

Example 1: Production of an edible fat composition for extending butter fat.

This Example describes the production of edible fat compositions according to embodiments of the invention for extending butter fat.

The compositions are butter fat equivalent made of a blend of vegetable and animal fat according to the invention. In this example, the SCT-FAT varies in its C4 and C6 content according to a general formula. One example of a general formula is given below:

General formula:

16wt.% Palm Oil

10wt.% Palm Kernel Oil

67wt.% Beef Tallow

7 wt.% SCT-FAT (C4:0 60-75wt.% C6:0 25-35wt. %)

Antioxidant: 150 ppm BHT

In different embodiments, as given below, the wt.% of SCT-FAT is changed, i.e. increased or decreased. In all such cases, the wt.% of Palm oil and/or Palm Kernel Oil is decreased or increased accordingly to compensate to have a total of 100 wt.%.

For example, one particular edible fat composition is Embl which has C6:0 of 1.31 wt.% and C4:0 of 2.15 wt.%, i.e. having a total of 3.46 wt.% instead of the 7% in the general formula. The 3.54 wt.% left up to 7% is compensated by Palm Oil as well as Palm Kernel Oil in about equal amounts or similar depending on the application of the edible fat composition, determined case by case.

Process:

1. Esterification process of short chain fatty acids (each with defined C4 and C6 %) and glycerol to obtain SCT-FAT (Short Chain Triglyceride FAT).

Esterification process is made by blending the C4:0, C6:0 and glycerol in a reactor, then start at 80°C and atmospheric pressure, increasing 10°C each 4 - 5 hours, and at the same time introducing an increasing vacuum.

2. Blending all the ingredients, each one previously refined, bleached and deodorized (standard procedure).

3. Dry chemical interesterification for 30 minutes under vacuum at 120°C with 0.3%) MeONa added after the 30 minutes of drying. The reaction is then allowed to proceed for 30 minutes at 80°C. After 30 minutes 0.7% citric acid is added and the reaction allowed to proceed for additional 30 minutes. Trisyl (0.15%) is then added to the reaction and allowed to proceed under the same conditions (80°C) for additional 30 minutes.. 4. Bleaching using 0.8% bleaching earth for 40 minutes at 90°C. After that, the product is filtered.

5. Deodorization at 220 - 235 °C for 1.5h or till the FFA is 0.1%.

6. Packing in boxes a'25 kg.

A summary of the process is found in Figure 2. RESULTS:

The result is compositions with similar physical and chemical properties as of butter fat. Results shown in figure la-d and in Table 1-4 below are comparisons of fatty acid composition between butter fat (hashed) and an Embodiment 1 (Embl) (black) as an example of an edible fat composition of the invention. Fig la shows FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) profile compared to butter fat for Embl, where C4 is 2.15 wt.% and C6 is 1.31 wt.%. Fig lb shows FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) profile of an extended fat product embodiment with 30 wt.% of Embl + 70wt.% of butter fat in black line compared to butter fat only in hashed line. Fig lc shows FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) profile of a second extended fat product embodiment with 40 wt.%) of Embl + 60wt.%> of butter fat in black line compared to butter fat in hashed line. Fig Id shows FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) profile of a third extended fat embodiment with 50 wt.% of Embl + 50wt.% of butter fat in black line compared to butter fat in hashed line.

TABLE 1 - Emb 1 compared to Butter fat

Embl vs Butter Fat

Fatty Acids Embl Butter Fat C4:0 2,15 2,32

C6:0 1,31 1,61

C8:0 0,45 1,03

C10:0 0,43 2,27

C11:0 0 0,16

C12:0 5,34 3,04

C14:0 3,88 8,99 cu-.i 0,34 0,55

C15:0 0,35 0,90

C16:0 26,47 26,60

C16:l 1,93 2,34

C17:0 0,97 0,73

C17:l 0,54 0,52

C18:0 13,69 12,49

C18:l t 4,46 3,56

C18:l c 32,74 26,56

C18:2t 0,40 1,21

C18:2 c 3,91 1,79

C20:0 0,20 0

C18:3 N3 0,17 1,06

C20:l 0,17 0,99 TABLE 2 - Embl 30%/Butter fat 70% vs Butter fat

Embl vs Butter Fat

BLEND: Embl

Fatty Acids 30% /Butter Fat Butter Fat

70%

C4:0 2,15 2,32

C6:0 1,49 1,61

C8:0 0,84 1,03

C10:0 1,73 2,27

C11:0 0,11 0,16

C12:0 3,72 3,04

C14:0 7,59 8,99 cu-.i 0,52 0,55

C15:0 0,75 0,90

C16:0 26,97 26,60

C16:l 2,25 2,34

C17:0 0,84 0,73

C17:l 0,45 0,52

C18:0 13,09 12,49

C18:l t 3,88 3,56

C18:l c 28,66 26,56

C18:2t 1,02 1,21

C18:2 c 2,14 1,79

C20:0 0,13 0 C18:3 N3 0,72 1,06

C20:l 0,84 0,99

TABLE 3 - Embl 40%/Butter fat 60% vs Butter fat

Embl vs Butter Fat

BLEND: Embl

Fatty Acids 40% / Butter Fat Butter Fat

60%

C4:0 2,09 2,32

C6:0 1,46 1,61

C8:0 0,78 1,03

C10:0 1,53 2,27

C11:0 0,10 0,16

C12:0 4,04 3,04

C14:0 7,00 8,99 cu-.i 0,53 0,55

C15:0 0,69 0,90

C16:0 26,59 26,60

C16:l 2,14 2,34

C17:0 0,84 0,73

C17:l 0,47 0,52

C18:0 13,20 12,49

C18:l t 4,30 3,56 C18: l c 29,06 26,56

C18:2 t 0,96 1,21

C18:2 c 2,47 1,79

C20:0 0, 17 0

C18:3 N3 0,64 1,06

C20: l 0,85 0,99

TABLE 4 - Embl 50%/Butter fat 50% vs Butter fat

Embl vs Butter Fat

BLEND: Embl

Fatty Acids 50% / Butter Fat Butter Fat

50%

C4:0 2,00 2,32

C6:0 1,41 1,61

C8:0 0,70 1,03

C10:0 1,31 2,27

C11 :0 0,08 0, 16

C12:0 4,22 3,04

C14:0 6,30 8,99 cu-. i 0,49 0,55

C15:0 0,61 0,90

C16:0 24,22 26,60

C16: l 2,04 2,34 C17:0 0,85 0,73

C17: l 0,48 0,52

C18:0 13,26 12,49

C18: l t 4, 17 3,56

C18: l c 30, 14 26,56

C18:2 t 0,67832 1,21501

C18:2 c 2,65 1,79

C20:0 0, 18 0

C18:3 N3 0,52 1,06

C20: l 0,59 0,99

Table 5 below shows SFC (solid fat content, IUPAC 2.150B) of Embodiment 1 (Embl), as well as the above mentioned extended products.

TABLE 5 - Embl alone and replacing butter fat in 30, 40, 50 and 100% compared to pure butter fat

0% Embl 30% 40% 50% 100%

100% Embl Embl Embl Embl butter fat 70% 60% 50% 0% butter butter fat butter fat butter fat fat

SFC

10 °C 42,8 40,9 41 41,2 43,4

20 °C 14, 1 15,2 16,4 16,7 20,2

30 °C 3,25 4,4 4,9 5,2 7,7

40 °C 0 0,5 1 1,5 3,7

50 °C 0 0 0 0 0 It is noted that the Solid Fat Content of Embl is remarkably close to that of pure butter fat clearly indicating the interchangeability of Embl with butter fat at different concentrations or even the possibility of a total replacement of butter fat with Emb 1.

Said compositions may be used in different dairy applications to extend the butter fat as exemplified below: Milk

Margarine, butter blends

Liquid, whipping and sour cream

Hard, processed and fresh cheese

Yoghurt

Ice cream

Example 2: Examples of dairy products extended with an edible fat composition

This example provides recipes for dairy products extended with Embl of Example 1.

The process conditions for selected processes used for making all products in this example are the same:

- Pasteurization at 75 °C for 15 seconds,

Homogenization at 65 °C at 1600 psi

- Coagulation temperature for cheese is 35-40° C

- Fermentation temperature in yoghurt is 40 °C Table 1 - Liquid milk

Ingredients are mixed and used as liquid milk after pasteurization and homogenization.

Cheese

A cheese is made according to standard procedures for cheese making including pasteurization, homogenization and coagulation/condensation. In brief, it includes

• Milk decreaming

• Blend of milk and butter fat replacer

• Homogenization

• Pasteurization • Coagulation

• Pressing

A fresh cheese was prepared with a fat composition of 30% Embl and 70% of milk fat and a total fat content of 25% according the above standard procedure and compared to a fresh cheese having the same total fat content but with a fat composition consisting of milk fat only.

The result of the comparison is given under the evaluation of products here below.

Yoghurt

A yoghurt is made according to standard procedures for yoghurt making including pasteurization, homogenization and fermentation.

In brief it includes:

• Milk decreaming

• Blend of milk and butter fat replacer

• Homogenization

• Pasteurization

• Fermentation

• Maduration Cream

Ingredient %

Milk cream (30% butter fat) 50

Skim powder milk 5

Water 14.95

Embl 30

Emulsifier 0.05

Citric acid 0.3

A cream is made according to standard procedures for cream making including pasteurization and homogenization.

• Milk decreaming

• Blend of milk cream and butter fat replacer (adding skimmed milk powder)

• Homogenization

• Pasteurization

Example 3: Confectionary application A milk chocolate with a total fat content of about 32%.

Composition of milk chocolate comprising Emb 1

Cocoa butter 20.7%

Cocoa mass 10.7%

Sugar 45.9%

Skim milk powder 17.0%

Milk fat 3.6%

Emb 1 1.6% Lecithin 0.5%

The milk chocolate was hand tempered on marble and used for 20 gram chocolate bars. Evaluation of the above milk chocolate when compared to the corresponding chocolate without Embl and having 5.2 % milk fat revealed no significant difference between the two chocolates. Accordingly, milk fat in chocolate may be replaced by the fat composition of the present invention without impairing the sensory properties of the chocolate.

Example 4: Evaluation of products

The products comprising Emb 1 fat were compared to products containing only milk fat.

This was done by letting a panel of 36 persons evaluate the products with respect to flavor, consistence and creaminess (where appropriate) using hedonic 9-point trials.

The products were also tested with respect to preference.

The products comprising Emb 1 fat compared generally well with the products containing only milk fat.

In some cases there was no significant difference between the compared products, in other cases the products comprising Embl where preferred slightly.

Typical results are shown below for fresh cheese.

Comparison of fresh cheese (see Example 2 above) with 30% of the fat phase being Embl and fresh cheese with only milk fat. Evaluation of Consistency of fresh cheese, panel of 36 persons

58%) of the panel preferred the fresh cheese comprising Embl, while 42% favored the fresh cheese comprising only milk fat. Conclusion

All product examples given above in examples 2 and 3 had an excellent taste as well as a similar chemical and physical profile as products made from milk fat only.

Accordingly, it is possible to partly or fully replace milk fat in dairy- and confectionary products with the fat compositions described herein and retain and sometimes improve customer appeal and preference of the dairy- and confectionary products.

Claims

1. An edible fat composition comprising a blend of vegetable oils and animal fat, said edible fat composition comprising a fatty acid composition of about 3-15% of C14:0 and about 2-6% of C16: l and a total of short chain triglycerides (SCT) C4:0 and C6:0 of < 7%.

2. The edible fat composition according to claim 1, wherein the short chain triglycerides (SCT) comprise about 1-4% C4:0 and about 0.1-3% C6:0.

3. The edible fat composition according to claim 1, wherein the short chain triglycerides (SCT) C4:0 is about 1.8-4% and C6:0 is about 0.5- 3%.

4. The edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-3, wherein said SCT comprises about 60-75% C4:0 and about 25-35% C6:0 short chain fatty acids.

The edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-4, further comprising at least one of 0.5-3% of C8:0, 0.5-3% of C10:0, 2-5% of C12:0, 3-15% of C14:0, 24-41% of C16:0, 2-6% of C16: l, 6-15% of C18:0, 18-35% of C18: l and 0.

5-4% C18:2.

6. The edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-5, wherein said animal fat is selected from tallow, lard and a mixture thereof.

7. The edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-6, wherein said animal fat is tallow, such as beef tallow.

8. The edible fat composition according to claim 1, wherein said vegetable oil is at least one selected from the group consisting of palm oil, palm kernel oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, fully or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, high oleic sunflower oil, hydrogenated canola oil and fractions thereof.

The edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-8, wherein said vegetable oil, SCT and animal fat are interesterified.

A process for preparing an edible fat composition, said process comprising the steps of

a. esterification of short chain fatty acids C4:0 and C6:0 with

glycerol to short chain triglycerides (SCT),

b. blending the vegetable oil including said SCT of step a with animal fat, and

c. interesterification of the blend of step 8b.

11. The process according to claim 10, wherein the SCT comprises 60-75% of C4:0 and 25-35% of C6:0 short chain fatty acids.

12. The process according to any of claims 10-11, further comprising at least one of e) bleaching and f) deodorizing the interesterified blend of step 8c) above and optionally a step d) deodorization of the blend of step 8b.

13. The process according to any of claims 10-12, wherein said animal fat is selected from tallow, such as beef tallow, lard and a mixture thereof.

14. The process according to any of claims 10-13, wherein said vegetable oil is at least one selected from the group consisting of palm oil, palm kernel oil, cocoa nut oil, soya bean oil, hydrogenated canola oil and fractions thereof.

15. The process according to any of claims 10-14 for preparing an edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-9.

16. Use of the edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-9 or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of claims 10-15 in a dairy product or confectionary product.

17. The use according to claim 16, wherein the composition according to any of claims 1-9 or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of claims 10-15 is replacing all or a part of the butter fat of a dairy or confectionary product.

18. The use according to claim 17, wherein said dairy product is a milk, margarine, butter blend, liquid, whipping and sour cream, hard cheese, processed cheese or fresh cheese, yoghurt or an ice cream product and said confectionary product is a chocolate or compound.

19. A dairy product or a confectoinary product comprising the edible fat composition according to any of claims 1-10 or the edible fat composition prepared by the process according to any of claims 10-15.

20. The dairy product or confectionary product according to claim 18, selected from the group consisting of a milk, a margarine, a butter blend, a liquid cream, a whipping cream, a sour cream, a hard cheese, a processed cheese, a fresh cheese, a yoghurt and an ice cream or a confectionary product such as a chocolate or compound.