Fats, oils and butter 43 into boxes which on subsequent slight cooling will not be too hard In order to handle fat from boxes the temperature needs to be in the range 18-23C. If it is too warm it will be too fluid to handle and if it is too cold (or well plasticised) it will be hard and not disperse well in he dough mix. Boxed fats normally appear very white. In the process of chilling and plasticising small quantities of nitrogen may be introduced to enhance this white appearance. Inclusion of a gas may help the plasticity slightly but has no known advantage in the biscuit dough Most dough fats are chosen to have physical characteristics similar to butter. This means that they have a relatively wide melting range, are semi-solid at ambient temperature and are almost completely melted at blood heat Fats such as palm oil and beef fat can be used as straight fats for biscuit doughs but it is normal to use blends which can involve many different fats of both animal, fish and vegetable origin. Selective hardening and other technical procedures can give blends with the desired physical characteristics Margarines are made by a similar chilling and plasticising method but they start with a blend of oils, emulsifiers and a water phase hich often contains milk solids. It is very unusual for biscuit plasticising and boxed fat is normally pure tat ws ring chilling and manufacturers to include water with their fats d out water so that technically it is not a margarine. 6.7 Sandwich cream fats Sandwich cream fats are normally selected for their special melting properties. Sandwich creams for biscuits, which are principally mixtures of sugar and fat, should remain hard at ambient temperature but should melt rapidly in the mouth to release flavour of the sugar and other components. It is possible to use fats which have a much shorter melting range and are harder(have more crystals) at ambient temperature than typical dough fats. The commonest of these fats are coconut oil and palm kernel oil. By elective hardening these oils can be modified to make them suitable for use in the high temperature ambient conditions that occur in hot countries and in the summer in temperate climates The short melting range and relatively high solids co ambient temperatures makes it difficult to cool and plasticine these fatFats, oils and butter 43 into boxes which on subsequent slight cooling will not be too hard. In order to handle fat from boxes the temperature needs to be in the range 18-23°C. If it is too warm it will be too fluid to handle and if it is too cold (or well plasticised) it will be hard and not disperse well in the dough mix. Boxed fats normally appear very white. In the process of chilling and plasticising small quantities of nitrogen may be introduced to enhance this white appearance. Inclusion of a gas may help the plasticity slightly but has no known advantage in the biscuit dough. Most dough fats are chosen to have physical characteristics similar to butter. This means that they have a relatively wide melting range, are semi-solid at ambient temperature and are almost completely melted at blood heat. Fats such as palm oil and beef fat can be used as straight fats for biscuit doughs but it is normal to use blends which can involve many different fats of both animal, fish and vegetable origin. Selective hardening and other technical procedures can give blends with the desired physical characteristics. Margarines are made by a similar chilling and plasticising method but they start with a blend of oils, emulsifiers and a water phase which often contains milk solids. It is very unusual for biscuit manufacturers to include water with their fats during chilling and plasticising and boxed fat is normally pure fat without water so that technically it is not a margarine. 6.7 Sandwich cream fats Sandwich cream fats are normally selected for their special melting properties. Sandwich creams for biscuits, which are principally mixtures of sugar and fat, should remain hard at ambient temperature but should melt rapidly in the mouth to release the flavour of the sugar and other components. It is possible to use fats which have a much shorter melting range and are harder (have more crystals) at ambient temperature than typical dough fats. The commonest of these fats are coconut oil and palm kernel oil. By selective hardening these oils can be modified to make them suitable for use in the high temperature ambient conditions that occur in hot countries and in the summer in temperate climates. The short melting range and relatively high solids contents at ambient temperatures makes it difficult to cool and plasticise these fats