Melting-point determination of fat products.

A variety of methods exist for the determination of the melting point (mp) of fats. These include the Wiley mp (AOCS Method Cc 2-38), open capillary slip point, softening point and Mettler dropping point. The conditions under which the tests are performed influence the values obtained. Several of these methods were compared using a variety of fats, including margarine and soft margarine oils, lard, butter and hydrogenated Canola oils. The Mettler dropping-point values were found to coincide with the extrapolated solid fat curves obtained using wide-line NMR for all fats except butterfat. The reproducibilities of the Mettler dropping point and softening point were excellent; that of the slip point was poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]