Palm stearin is the solid fraction of

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

that is produced by partial crystallization at controlled temperature. It is a stearin in the sense of stearins and oleins being the solid and liquid fractions respectively of fats and oils; not in the sense of glyceryl tristearate. It is more variable in composition than palm olein, the liquid fraction of palm oil, especially in terms of its solid fat content, and therefore has more variable physical characteristics.^p. 34 Like crude palm fruit oil, palm stearin contains

carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...

s, but physically refined palm oils do not, as they are removed or destroyed in the refining process.^p. 37

Uses

It is a useful source of natural hard vegetable fat for food applications.

Composition

Palm stearin consists of mostly glyceryl tri

palmitate Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Li ...

, with most of the rest of the fat content being glyceryl dipalmitate mono oleate. In terms of fatty acid composition, a typical soft palm stearin might contain almost 50%

palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The ...

and 35%

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish due to the presence of impurities. In chemical terms, oleic acid is cl ...

.^p. 31

References

Palm oil {{ingredient-stub