Tropical fats and butters are characterized by their high contents of saturated fatty acids, which confer to them melting points and rheological properties suitable for the production of high valuable food commodities. The advances in oilseed breeding and biotechnology have provided with alternatives to these species for the production of new oils with altered fatty acid compositions, combining breeding techniques and mutagenesis. In particular, sunflower oils with high contents in saturated fatty acids exhibit new characteristics and functionalities that are helpful for many applications requiring high oxidative stability and melting point. These oils are of a great interest for many food applications because they are very stable at high temperatures. They could also be a source of saturated fatty acids alternative to animal, hydrogenated, and tropical fats. Amongst such lines, high oleic¿high stearic (HOHS) sunflower oil is of special interest due to its high stearic acid content (ranging usually from 15% to 21% of the total fatty acids) and levels of oleic acid. HOHS sunflower oil is a convenient and healthier (free of artificial trans fatty acids and cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acids) source of stearic-rich fat. HOHS sunflower oil contains high melting point TAGs, but due to certain physiological limitations in the accumulation of saturated fatty acids in sunflower, lipid modification techniques are needed to obtain fats enriched in stearic acid for bakery and confectionary formulations. The aim of this lecture is to summarize the achievements made in the processing and further modification of HOHS sunflower oil into fractions suitable for different applications. In addition, some challenges to overcome related to chemical composition and crystallization phase behavior are also reported.

17th Euro Fed Lipid Congress 20-23 October 2019, Seville, Spain