Abstract: A frying oil or fat composition employable for producing fried foodstuffs having satisfactory crisp and well acceptable moderate oily or fatty taste comprises not more than 4.0 weight % of an emulsifier dissolved in an oil or a fat. The emulsifier should be chosen to make the oil or fat composition show an interfacial tension of not more than 7 mN/m at 80.degree. C., 3 sec. after the time when the oil or fat composition is mixed with water to form an interface between a phase of the oil or fat and an aqueous phase. A frying oil or fat composition containing a sugar fatty acid ester of a specifically selected composition, or a combination of a sugar fatty acid ester and a polyglycerol fatty acid ester and/or a diglyceride is also employable for the same purpose.

Abstract: A phospholipid composition which satisfies the following requirements (i) and (ii):(i) a weight ratio of a nitrogen-containing phospholipid to the sum of a phospholipid, a glycolipid and a sterol derivative of less than 0.5; and(ii) a ratio of an area of a high-polar substance on a silica gel thin-layer chromatogram to the sum of areas of a phospholipid, a glycolipid and a sterol derivative on a silica gel thin-layer chromatogram of less than 500 area/.mu.g. A fat and oil composition containing from 0.001 to 30% by weight of the phospholipid composition is also disclosed. The present invention enables the blending of phospholipids with a frying oil, which has been considered difficult since it causes heat coloration. Thus a fat and oil composition, which is excellent in mold-release characteristics during cooking, has a good smell during heating, suffers from no coloration of oil after heating and shows a good flavor, can be obtained.

Abstract: An immobilized lipolytic enzyme for esterification and interesterification of fats and oils is prepared by adsorbing a fatty acid or a derivative thereof onto an insoluble carrier and then adsorbing a lipolytic enzyme onto the carrier in an aqueous medium. The resultant immobilized lipolytic enzyme can be dried to a water content of 2 wt. % or less. Preferably, the carrier is a phenol/formaldehyde resin, the lipolytic enzyme is from Rhizopus japonicus and the fatty acid is linoleic acid, lauric acid, stearic acid, ricinoleic acid or isostearic acid. A reaction column can be charged with the dried immobilized lipolytic enzyme and reaction continuously carried out without the use of a solvent. Preferably, starting materials have a water content of 0.01 to 0.2 wt. % and residence time in the column is 2 hours or shorter.

Abstract: The interesterification between an oil or fat and a fatty acid or between an oil or fat and another is improved by use of a lipase preparation in which lipase has been activated by water or a lower, dihydric or trihydric alcohol.