Meat fat formulation

Edible usage of meat fats has somewhat declined over the past years. This can be attributed to several factors. First, the advancement of hydrogenation technology has led to the development of highly functional vegetable oil products. Second, there has been an increased emphasis on Kosher products. Third, various questions relating cholesterol to risks of heart disease have generated some marketing concerns over meat fat usage. Meat fats are still a factor in the edible oils market. U.S. consumption of meat fats in 1976 was 4.1 billion pounds, approximately one billion pounds for edible usage. Because of their trigly ceride profiles, they are excellent sources of highly functional products for bakery applications. They have tended to be the “Cadillac” around which hydrogenated vegetable oil products have been developed. In addition, the economics of these products have generated significant savings for end users. Flavor attributes of meat fats have, in other cases, been the reason for their sole usage in certain specific products. In shortening formulation, meat fats are merely one of many triglyceride sources. They can be blended with any vegetable oil source. They can be subjected to the same processing as other oils in order to modify physical chemical properties such as SFI, melting point, consistency and oxidative stability. This paper will discuss specific applications where lard and tallow contribute unique functionality. It will then discuss various modifications which can be employed to insure more consistent performance or to customize products to specific applications.