composed of straight-chain saturated fatty acids fall into an ordered solid structure — the process has been described as “zippering” — more readily than do kinked unsaturated fats Animal fats are about half saturated and half unsaturated, and solid at room temperature, while vegetable fats are about 85% unsaturated, and are liquid oils in the kitchen Even among the animal fats, beef and lamb fats are noticeably harder than pork or poultry fats, because more of their triglycerides are saturated Double bonds are not the only factor in determining the melting point of fats Shortchain fatty acids are not as readily “zippered” together as the longer chains, and so tend to lower the melting point of fats And the more variety in the structures of their fatty acids, the more likely the mixture of triglycerides will be an oil Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids An unsaturated fatty acid has one or more double bonds along its carbon chain, and a rigid kink at that point in the chain The structural irregularity caused by the double bond makes it more difficult for these molecules to solidify into compact crystals, so at a given temperature, unsaturated fats are softer than saturated fats In the hydrogenation of vegetable oils to make them harder, some cisunsaturated fatty acids are converted to transunsaturated fatty acids, which are less kinked and behave more like a saturated fatty acid, both in cooking and in the body Fat Saturation and Rancidity Saturated fats are also more stable, slower to become rancid than unsaturated fats The double bond of an ...Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids An unsaturated fatty acid has one or more double bonds along its carbon chain, and a rigid kink at that point in the chain The structural irregularity caused by the double bond makes... irregularity caused by the double bond makes it more difficult for these molecules to solidify into compact crystals, so at a given temperature, unsaturated fats are softer than saturated fats In the hydrogenation of vegetable oils to make them harder, some cisunsaturated fatty acids are converted to transunsaturated fatty acids, which are less kinked... vegetable oils to make them harder, some cisunsaturated fatty acids are converted to transunsaturated fatty acids, which are less kinked and behave more like a saturated fatty acid, both in cooking and in the body