Abstract: Fatty materials are hydrogenated in a plate heat exchanger at a pressure above about 150 psig. The use of high pressure and high shear as provided by the appropriate surface to volume ratio and pressure drop in the heat exchanger, enables the fatty material to be efficiently hydrogenated, and for touch hardening the temperature can be reduced to minimize the formation of trans-isomers.

Abstract: Countercurrent liquid/liquid extraction processse for fractionating complex triglyceride mixtures to selectively remove "light" impurities (primarily MMM trglycerides) from MML/MLM triglycerides, or to selectively remove MML/MLM triglycerides from "heavy" impurities (primarily MLL/LML and LLL triglycerides), wherein M is a C.sub.6 -C.sub.10 fatty acid residue or mixture thereof, and wherein L is a C.sub.18 -C.sub.24 fatty acid residue or mixture thereof, are disclosed. In the case of "light" impurities, an oil stream containing MMM and MML/MLM triglycerides is passed countercurrently to a solvent stream containing a polar solvent or a supercritical fluid that is partially miscible with the oil stream to selectively remove the MMM triglycerides. In the case of "heavy" impurities, an oil stream containing MML/MLM, MLL/LML and LLL triglycerides is passed countercurrently to the solvent stream to selectively remove the MML/MLM triglycerides.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for extracting the meat section and juice from a fruit while minimizing the amount of undesirable flavor components, e.g. peel oil, released from the fruit's peel. In one embodiment of the present invention, whole fruits are fed into a single station extraction apparatus that first cuts a equatorial groove in the fruit's peel while the fruit is rotated. A semicircular coring blade is then inserted into the groove and rotated 360.degree. which severs a spherical chunk of fruit meat from the peel. The small amount of fruit meat remaining on the peel's inner surface is then preferably extracted with a reaming element or fluid jet nozzle. In other particularly preferred embodiments, the grooving, coring, and reaming component mechanisms are incorporated into an indexing turret apparatus and a high-speed continuous motion turret apparatus.