Solid Solutions and the Hardness of Fatty Mixtures

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Abstract
Solid solutions were detected in mixtures of tristearin and tributyrin and mixtures of high and low-melting milk fat fractions by X-ray diffraction. They were also detected by calorimetry of the mixture and fatty-acid analysis of the liquid phase. Increased concentrations of low-melting fat in the mixtures were accompanied by increases in the interplanar spacing of the crystal lattice. The thermal properties and compositions of both the solid and liquid phases of the mixtures were altered, even if the fractions were cooled before mixing. The hardness of the mixture, measured by lubricity, was inversely related to the liquid fat content. Mixing before cooling rather than after cooling increased the hardness of mixtures high in the low-melting fraction and decreased the hardness of those high in the high-melting fraction. Changes in cooling rate influenced the hardness of the mixture the least.