Shortening
A semisolid fat used in food preparation, especially baked goods, so called because it promotes a "short" or crumbly texture (as in shortbread).
A semisolid fat used in food preparation, especially baked goods, so called because it promotes a "short" or crumbly texture (as in shortbread).
The term "shortening" can be used more broadly to apply to any fat that is used for baking and which is solid at room temperature, such as butter, lard, or margarine, but as used in recipes it refers to a hydrogenated vegetable oil that is solid at room temperature.
Uses:
For our purposes it can be used in icing, cakes or other baked goods.
Substitutes:
A popular brand in America is Crisco, this is not the Crisco Oil used in Australia (while the American Crisco does have an oil, the Crisco referred to is solid at room temperature)
UK shortening is available under brand names such as Cookeen, Trex, White Flora, etc.
In Australia one suggested substitute is Copha a Solid fat derived from coconuts used in recipes where it is melted, combined with other ingredients & left to set.
Other options include Solite or Crème cup
We don’t recommend lard as a substitution for any shortening in icing because the discussion here is vegetable shortening and fats not animal, if you want to bake with it then it’s up to you to test it! ;D
Available (this isn’t an exhaustive list but it gives you a starting point):
Crisco - USA Foods in Melbourne
Solite - Cake Decorating Central, Caroline’s, EOI Bakery
Crème Cup - Caroline’s, Goodman Fielder
Fermex - Fermex
Copha can be bought in the supermarket in the butter section.
Additional Info:
Shortening has a higher smoke point than butter and margarine, and it has 100% fat content, compared to about 80% for butter and margarine.
At the beginning of the 1800s, "shortening" was a generic term used to describe fats or oils added to baked goods to "shorten" or break up gluten masses, weakening the gluten structure to produce a more tender result. Thus, shortbread, made with flour which has gluten in it, has a mass of butter added to "shorten" the product and make tender shortbread cookies. Shortening certainly acts like this in pie crusts.
Its role in cake batters, however, is a bit different. Part of the reason for creaming butter with sugar is that the sugar crystals cut into the butter allowing air in and air cells to be created in the butter.
Commercial Shortening is like creamed butter without the sugar, as it already has the air cells in it. It further tenderizes a cake by separating starch in the cake from coagulating protein -- not to mention that the added fat makes the cake taste moister and smoother.
Hydrogenation helps make shortening a solid, flavourless fat product that will keep its form regardless of room temperature, and not puddle or pool like butter or other animal fats do on hot days or in warm rooms. The disadvantage is a health one: the process creates trans-fatty acids and saturated fat which is bad, and destroys the normal polyunsaturate benefits of the vegetable oil that it started from.
Uses:
For our purposes it can be used in icing, cakes or other baked goods.
Substitutes:
A popular brand in America is Crisco, this is not the Crisco Oil used in Australia (while the American Crisco does have an oil, the Crisco referred to is solid at room temperature)
UK shortening is available under brand names such as Cookeen, Trex, White Flora, etc.
In Australia one suggested substitute is Copha a Solid fat derived from coconuts used in recipes where it is melted, combined with other ingredients & left to set.
Other options include Solite or Crème cup
We don’t recommend lard as a substitution for any shortening in icing because the discussion here is vegetable shortening and fats not animal, if you want to bake with it then it’s up to you to test it! ;D
Available (this isn’t an exhaustive list but it gives you a starting point):
Crisco - USA Foods in Melbourne
Solite - Cake Decorating Central, Caroline’s, EOI Bakery
Crème Cup - Caroline’s, Goodman Fielder
Fermex - Fermex
Copha can be bought in the supermarket in the butter section.
Additional Info:
Shortening has a higher smoke point than butter and margarine, and it has 100% fat content, compared to about 80% for butter and margarine.
At the beginning of the 1800s, "shortening" was a generic term used to describe fats or oils added to baked goods to "shorten" or break up gluten masses, weakening the gluten structure to produce a more tender result. Thus, shortbread, made with flour which has gluten in it, has a mass of butter added to "shorten" the product and make tender shortbread cookies. Shortening certainly acts like this in pie crusts.
Its role in cake batters, however, is a bit different. Part of the reason for creaming butter with sugar is that the sugar crystals cut into the butter allowing air in and air cells to be created in the butter.
Commercial Shortening is like creamed butter without the sugar, as it already has the air cells in it. It further tenderizes a cake by separating starch in the cake from coagulating protein -- not to mention that the added fat makes the cake taste moister and smoother.
Hydrogenation helps make shortening a solid, flavourless fat product that will keep its form regardless of room temperature, and not puddle or pool like butter or other animal fats do on hot days or in warm rooms. The disadvantage is a health one: the process creates trans-fatty acids and saturated fat which is bad, and destroys the normal polyunsaturate benefits of the vegetable oil that it started from.
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