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Shortening is a semisolid fat
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
 used in food preparation, especially baked goods, and is so called because it promotes a "short" or crumbly texture (as in shortbread
Shortbread

Shortbread is a type of biscuit which is traditionally made from one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal . Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly Texture ....
). 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
Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
, lard
Lard

Lard is Domestic pig fat in both its Rendering and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a Spread similar to butter....
, or margarine
Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes. In many parts of the world, margarine has become the best-selling table spread, although butter and olive oil also command large market shares....
, but as used in recipes it refers to a hydrogenated
Hydrogenation

Hydrogenation is the chemical reaction that results from the addition of hydrogen . The process is usually employed to a redox or Saturation organic compounds....
 vegetable oil that is solid at room temperature.






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Shortening is a semisolid fat
Fat

Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
 used in food preparation, especially baked goods, and is so called because it promotes a "short" or crumbly texture (as in shortbread
Shortbread

Shortbread is a type of biscuit which is traditionally made from one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal . Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly Texture ....
). 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
Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
, lard
Lard

Lard is Domestic pig fat in both its Rendering and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a Spread similar to butter....
, or margarine
Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes. In many parts of the world, margarine has become the best-selling table spread, although butter and olive oil also command large market shares....
, but as used in recipes it refers to a hydrogenated
Hydrogenation

Hydrogenation is the chemical reaction that results from the addition of hydrogen . The process is usually employed to a redox or Saturation organic compounds....
 vegetable oil that is solid at room temperature. Shortening has a higher smoke point
Smoke point

The smoke point refers to the temperature at which a cooking fat or oil begins to break down. The substance smokes or burns, and gives food an unpleasant taste....
 than butter and margarine, and it has 100% fat content, compared to about 80% for butter and margarine.

Although the term has been in use for many years, it is now known that shortening works by inhibiting the formation of long protein (gluten
Gluten

Gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some Triticeae glutens cereal, notably wheat, rye, and barley....
) strands in wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
-based dough
Dough

This article is about a cooking ingredient. For the British sitcom episode, see Dough .Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or legume crops by mixing the flour with a small amount of water....
s. The similarity in terms is entirely coincidental since full understanding of the structure and chemistry of dough is comparatively recent.

History

Crisco
Crisco

Crisco, a popular brand of shortening, was first produced in 1911 by Procter & Gamble and was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil....
, a popular brand in the USA, was first produced in 1911. In Ireland and the UK Cookeen
Cookeen

Cookeen is a block of vegetable oil used for making pastry and other baking recipes. It is claimed to be usable straight from the refrigerator....
 is a popular brand. An industrial
Industry

An industry is the manufacturing of a Good or Service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products....
 product, shortening has many advantages. While similar to butter or lard, it is cheaper to produce; originally, lard was far cheaper and edible oils came at a higher cost. Shortening also needs no refrigeration
Refrigeration

Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable....
, which further lowers its costs and increases its convenience. As a substitute for butter, it can lengthen the shelf life
Shelf life

Shelf life is that length of time that food, drink, medicine and other decomposition items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale or Eating....
 of baked goods and other foods. With these advantages shortening gained popularity, as food production became increasingly industrialised and manufacturers sought low-cost raw materials. Vast surpluses of cottonseed oil
Cottonseed oil

Cottonseed oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the cotton plant after the cotton has been removed. It must be refined to remove gossypol, a naturally occurring toxin that protects the cotton plant from insect damage....
, corn oil
Corn oil

Corn oil is oil extracted from the cereal germ of corn . Its main use is in cooking, where its high smoke point makes refined corn oil a valuable frying oil....
, and soy beans helped found a market in low-cost shortening.

Health concerns and reformulation

Available and used worldwide, vegetable shortening is believed to be damaging to human health since it generally contains trans fat
Trans fat

Trans fat is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat with trans-Cis-trans isomerism fatty acid. Trans fats may be monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat but never saturated fat....
s in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. After the oils are hydrogenated, they become solid at room temperature, but the type of trans fat generated in this process has adverse health effects. Usage of shortening lacking trans fats has grown, notably with the 2007 reformulation of Crisco such that it contains less than 1g of trans fat per 12g serving. Cookeen was also reformulated in autumn 2006 to remove trans fats.

Bibliography

  • William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi, 2007. "History of Soy Oil Shortening: A Special Report on The History of Soy Oil, Soybean Meal, & Modern Soy Protein Products," from the unpublished manuscript, History of Soybeans and Soy foods: 1100 B.C. to the 1980s. Lafayette, CA (US): Soyinfo Center.