Vegetable Oil Stability

Marjan was searching for information about different vegetable oils. Specifically, she wanted to know which oil (soy oil, sunflower oil, high oleic oil, palm oil, etc.) is the most stable and the least stable for fried potato chips.

	RE: Vegetable Oil Stability Dear Marjan,      A lot of research has been conducted in an attempt to better understand issues related to vegetable oils. I would like to refer you to the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE - project 3620-44000-044-00. PROJECT OBJECTIVE:      To improve the quality and oxidative stability of edible commodity vegetable oils by developing a better understanding of the relationships among the intrinsic constituents of oils. APPROACH:      Chemical relationships will be determined between oil composition/structure and quality/oxidative stability. Compositional factors include fatty acids, triacylglycerol structure, and minor oil components such as tocopherols, tocotrienols, and sterols. Emphasis will be placed on these compositional relationships in frying applications because of the limited understanding of the interactions occurring in this process that affects fry life and quality. Labeling of oil components will be used to understand the degradation processes during frying to provide new knowledge about the decomposition products that affect quality and stability. Visit the Agricultural Research Service for more details.     Paul R. Gaines, Ph.D. Serving you in chemistry