Uses of fat

USES OF FAT

  • Edible uses
    • For household cooking, frying and soon and commercially for preparation of pastry, cakes, breads and so on.
    • In medicine, swine fats are used in Foot and mouth diseases along with plantains.
  • Inedible uses
    • For manufacture of soap, lubricants, and animals feed and so on.
    • Animal fats are cheaper as compared to other edible oils.
    • They are generally used as adulterants for ghee.
    • Bakeries also use animal fats for the preparation of cakes, pastry, biscuits, etc.
    • But vanaspathi is gradually replacing them.
    • Animal fat which are not used for human consumption are rendered and utilized for industrial purposes such as soap, greases and candle making, for stiffening leathers in the sports and in textile industries.
  • Animal fats contains relatively simple mixture of component acids namely palmitic, stearic and oleic acids with minor amounts of myristic and hexadecenoic acids and traces of other acids.
  • Fats differ in their properties and are mainly conditioned by relative amounts of oleic and stearic acids present.
  • Fats like carbohydrates contain the three elements, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which are mainly utilized in the production of body energy or heat, but do not contribute directly to the building up to tissues.
  • Although to some extent, they are deposited in various parts of the body tissues as a reservoir.
  • Because of the larger proportion of carbon and hydrogen fats liberate more heat than carbohydrates, when digested furnishing approximately 2.25 times as much heat or energy on oxidation as do the carbohydrates.
  • As regards the relative rapidity of assimilation and breakdown with release of heat energy, unsaturated fats are more easily disposed of than saturated compounds.
  • Fats also supply fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, which are essential for health and vigour.
Last modified: Thursday, 16 September 2010, 10:31 AM