Nucleation and Crystallization Kinetics of Fats

Abstract The nucleation and crystallization behavior of fats and oils is presented and discussed in this chapter. The discussion is confined to single-component systems, although fats and oils are composed of a major component and several other components, which may be considered as additives. The following topics are discussed: (1) basic concepts of three-dimensional nucleation of crystals and transformation of polymorphic forms, (2) isothermal and nonisothermal crystallizations of fats, and (3) induction period for nucleation.