Vegetable Ghee (Vanaspati)

Vegetable Ghee
(Vanaspati)

VEGETABLE GHEE, the vegetable alternative to ghee, is an all-purpose

cooking fat widely used in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle
East. Ghee is made from butter oil, but demand has exceeded supply
thus raising its price. Hence the emergence of ghee substitute, vegetable
ghee or vanaspati.

Originally, vegetable ghee was made from a blend of vegetable oils which
was hydrogenated to make it solid, and processed to imitate ghee in
texture and flavour. For decades, hydrogenation was essential in the
production process. However, due to the trans fatty acids dilemma, partial
hydrogenation is no longer viable. Palm oil and its products, with a
wide range in natural solid contents, can impart the required solid fats
content and texture of vegetable ghee without the need of hydrogenation.

At present, palm, soybean, rapeseed and cottonseed oils are the most
commonly used oils for vegetable ghee. Because of the wide range of
use, vegetable ghee and similar products are marketed under different
definitions - vanaspati, vegetable shortening, imitation ghee, artificial
butter and so on.

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 Palm Oil/Palm Kernel Oil Applications

Ingredients 2. Lower cost of production

Vegetable ghee is basically a vegetable oil Without hydrogenation, the cost of
made into solid to imitate the production is significantly lower. The
characteristics (flavour, texture, etc.) of savings can be passed on to the
butter oil (butter without its water). It is consumers to encourage sales.
thus comprised almost wholly of a
vegetable oil or a mixture of vegetable 3. Availability of palm oil and palm
oils. Other ingredients like flavour, stearin
colour, vitamins and antioxidants may be Oil palm yields throughout the year, and
added depending on the food regulations a supply of good quality palm oil and
in the country in which the product is palm stearin, especially from Malaysia,
sold. is available at all times of the year. It is
possible to request customised palm
stearin with specific physico-chemical
Processing characteristics for various formulations.
Traditionally, hydrogenation is used to
raise the melting range of a liquid oil(s)
so that the oil becomes solid at room
temperature. However, trans fatty acids
are an inadvertent result of partial
hydrogenation and, as they pose a health
risk, the current effort is to reduce or
eliminate the use of hydrogenation
process.

The trend today is to use formulations

that are free from trans fatty acids. Either
direct blending or interesterification of
oils and fats using palm oil and its
products as the major components will
achieve this (see Processing Steps).

Advantages of Using Palm

Oil and Its Products
1. Naturally semi-solid oil
Palm oil and palm stearin have natural
solids content and therefore require no
hydrogenation. The products are thus
free from trans fatty acids.

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 Vegetable Ghee (Vanaspati)

Manufacturing Process
Palm oil and its products do not require hydrogenation to produce vegetable ghee as
they have natural solids content. The ghee produced is free from trans fatty acids.

Processing Steps
1. Homogenising oils/fats or their
mixtures
The oil or mixture is heated to 70oC in a
mixing vessel under continuous stirring
to ensure a homogenous melt.

2. Incorporating flavour, colour and

other ingredients
These ingredients are optional. Being fat-
soluble, they are dispersed in a small
volume of the fat blend and then mixed
into the main body of fat under
continuous stirring.

3. Passing homogenised mixture of

oils through a scraped-surface heat
exchanger
This is usually the A-unit of a
margarine processing plant. A
temperature between 17oC-28oC
and 300-700 rpm pump speed are
maintained. The mixture crystallises
quickly with an increase in its
viscosity.

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 Palm Oil/Palm Kernel Oil Applications

4. Packaging vegetable ghee

The packed product is stored in a
warehouse at 25oC-30oC to allow it time
to complete crystallisation.

5. Vegetable ghee ready for shipment

Vegetable Ghee Manufacturing Process

(Modern Method)

Melt oils/fats and/or mixture

(70°C, 15 min)

Homogenise and add flavour and colour

(50°-60ºC)

Crystallisation in A-unit of a scraped-surface heat exchanger

(17°-28°C)

Packaging

Shipment

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 Vegetable Ghee (Vanaspati)

Solid Fats Content of Vegetable Ghee

Basic Trans Free Vegetable Ghee Formulations, Based on

Blended and Interesterified Oils and Fats

Oil Mixture Fat/Oil Composition Consistency

Blended fats Palm stearin:Soybean oil Granular with no oil

60:40 separation

Interesterified fats Palm stearin:Soybean oil Soft and granular with

80:20 no oil separation

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 Palm Oil/Palm Kernel Oil Applications

Slip Melting Point of Trans Free Vegetable

Ghee Formulations

Slip Melting Point (°C)

Sample
Direct Blends Interesterified Blends

POs:SBO
40:60 41.5 35.9
60:40 45.5 41.5
80:20 47.7 45.6

POs:SBO
40:60 43.6 38.7
60:40 45.9 43.4
80:20 48.5 45.6

POs:SFO
40:60 43.8 34.3
60:40 45.3 39.4
80:20 48.6 45.4

Note: POs = Palm Oil Stearin; SBO = Soybean oil

SFO = Sunflower oil

Source: Proceedings of the 1997 PORIM Technology Transfer Seminar

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