Edible shortening agent

Claim 1

THE COMPOSITIONS OF MATTER OBTAINED BY (1) REFLUXING THE FOLLOWING PROPORTIONED INGREDIENTS AT ABOUT 185* C. IN A VACUUM WITH REMOVAL OF WATER AND WITH CONDENSATION AND RETURN OF MONOHYDROXY MONOCARBOXYLIC ACID, (2) SPARGING THE RESULTING MASS WITH CO2 IN VACUO AT ABOUT 185* C. UNTIL THE ACID NUMBER OF THE REACTION MIXTURE IS BELOW ABOUT 8.1 AND (3) WASHING SAID SPARGED MASS UNTIL SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF WATER-SOLUBLE MATERIALS: 1 MOLAR EQUIVALENT OF GLYCERINE, 1 MOLAR EQUIVALENT OF HIGHER FATTY ACIDS HAVING BETWEEN 12 AND 20 CARBONS, OF WHICH AT LEAST 50% BY WEIGHT IS PALMITIC ACID, AND FROM 1/2 TO 1 MOLAR EQUIVALENT OF MONOHYDROXY MONOCARBOXYLIC ACID OF FROM 2 TO 6 CARBONS, INCLUSIVE; SAID WASHED COMPOSITION CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF: (A) AN AVERAGE TOTAL OF AT LEAST ONE MOLAR EQUIVALENT AND NOT MORE THAN 2 MOLAR EQUIVALENTS OF CARBOXYLIC ACID PER MOL OF GLYCERIDE ESTER, WHEREBY THE AVERAGE MOLECULE OF GLYCERIDE ESTER CONTAINS AT LEAST ONE AND NOT MORE THAN TWO UNESTERIFIED GLYCERYL HYDROXYL GROUPS, (B) AN AVERAGE OF AT LEAST ONE AND NOT MORE THAN 2 MONOHYDROXY MONOCARBOXYLIC ACID RADICALS PER TWO MOLS OF GLYCERIDE ESTER, (C) AN AVERAGE TOTAL OF AT LEAST 2 AND NOT MORE THAN 4 ESTERIFIABLE HYDROXYL GROUPS PER TWO MOLS OF GLYCERIDE ESTER, (D) AT LEAST 16% OF MONOGLYCERIDES BY WEIGHT ON SAID WASHED COMPOSITION, AND (E) NOT MORE THAN SMALL AMOUNTS OF TRIGLYCERIDES, SAID COMPOSITION HAVING A SAPONIFICATION VALUE BETWEEN ABOUT 204 AND 242.