Patent ID: 7736684

Claim:
A method of preparing a thickened fat composition comprising a fat component having about 40% or less by weight of trans fat, and a cyclodextrin, wherein at least about 25% of the cyclodextrin in the composition is bound to the fat; the method comprising the steps of: a) solubilizing a cyclodextrin in water; b) mixing fat and the solvent solubilized cyclodextrin to form a fat/cyclodextrin/solvent mixture; c) separating the fat/cyclodextrin/solvent mixture into separate portions, wherein at least one portion is a thickened fat/cyclodextrin composition comprising fat that has been complexed with cyclodextrin, wherein at least about 25% of the cyclodextrin in the thickened fat/cyclodextrin composition is bound to the fat, and wherein the thickened fat/cyclodextrin composition exhibits a viscosity that is greater than 2 times the viscosity of the fat without the cyclodextrin; and d) segregating the thickened fat/cyclodextrin composition from the remaining portions of the fat/cyclodextrin/solvent mixture.