Experiments were conducted at ambient temperature to study mass transfer limitations, indicated by the presence of a triglyceride (TG) induction period, during the acid-catalyzed transesterification reaction. The effects of the water and free fatty acid (FFA) content, the molar ratio of alcohol to oil, and the alcohol type on the TG induction period were examined. Experimental results showed that the TG induction period (i) decreased with a decrease in the water concentration, (ii) decreased with an increase in the methanol (MeOH)-to-oil molar ratio for a dispersed nonpolar-TG phase and continuous polar-MeOH phase, (iii) decreased with an increase in the alcohol carbon chain length, and (iv) increased with an increase in the FFA concentration. The addition of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) to the reaction mixture was proposed as a strategy to decrease the TG induction period.