Sorbitan and sucrose esters as modifiers of the solidification properties of zero trans fats

- The hydrophilic part of STS and SE remarkably influenced crystallization changes.
- STS and SE attenuated the pronounced decline of SFC values between 10 and 15 °C.
- STS contributed to the development of a more organized crystalline network.
- SE promoted the crystals aggregation.

Crystallization is the most important physical problem encountered in the industrial use of fats and oils. In this context, the objective of the present study was to analyze the action of sorbitan tristearate (STS) and sucrose stearate (SE) as potential modifiers of crystallization of the unsaturated triacylglycerols and to evaluate their effects on the physical properties of zero trans fat from soybean oil and fully hydrogenated soybean oil. The zero trans fat was obtained via chemical interesterification of a blend of soybean oil (70 g/100 g) and fully hydrogenated soybean oil (30 g/100 g). Samples containing 1 g/100 g, 3 g/100 g, and 5 g/100 g STS or SE were prepared and their crystallization properties were evaluated on the basis of the solid fat content (SFC), melting point, consistency, microstructure and visualization of the three-dimensional crystalline network. Both emulsifiers contributed to SFC adequacy, enhancing the consistency of the fat. As for compatibility, both emulsifiers were compatible with the interesterified fat. This was confirmed by the change in linearity of the curves at 15-20 °C. Samples with STS presented higher fractal dimension, indicating greater organization of the crystal lattice. Similarly, the visualization of three-dimensional crystalline network showed firmer structures for samples with STS compared with the samples SE.