stearin

plural stearins · alternative stearine

1. uncountableusuallySolid fat.
2. uncountableusuallychemistryA glyceride (especially the triglyceride) of stearic acid

   Palmkernel (PK) oil is fractionated in one step to concentrate the triglycerides containing medium-chain fatty acids (lauric and myristic) into a stearin fraction.

   1997, Ralph E. Timms, “8: Fractionation”, in Frank D. Gunstone, Fred B. Padley, editors, Lipid Technologies and Applications, page 217

   2 more examples

   1860, Oil, entry in The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volumes 16: Murillo—Organ, page 415, When exposed to the temperature of 32°, it deposits stearin, and the oil separated from the stearin by filtration is soluble in 0.82 of pure alcohol when heated to about 168° Fahr.

   Stearin is a hard, nongreasy substance, an ester of stearic acid, that is mixed with molten tallow at about a 1:9 ratio to make a tallow candle that is harder, burns longer, and does not give off the usual smoke and unpleasant odors of ordinary tallow.

   2008, Matthew Stein, When Technology Fails, page 411