Unsaturated fats can be hardened either by hydrogenation, where
hydrogen is added to the fatty acid chains, or by transesterfication,
whereby a fatty acid is removed from the glycerol-backbone and replaced
by another one. Hydrogenation of fats is often associated with negative
health impacts, as during the processof harmful transfats can be
created.
Usually the double bond is in cis-formation which means that the two
hydrogens bound to the carbon atoms are on the same side, which causes
the fatty acid to bend. In the trans-formation the hydrogens are placed
on opposite sites, so that the fatty acid takes on an even shape.
