Shortening
Encyclopedia
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry
Shortcrust pastry
Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart or pie. It does not puff up during baking because it usually contains no leavening agent. It is possible to make shortcrust pastry with self-raising flour, however...
. The reason it is called shortening is because it prevents cross-linkage between gluten molecules. Cross linking is what causes doughs to be sticky. Seeing as cake is not meant to be sticky, shortening is used. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term "shortening" seldom refers to butter but is more closely related to margarine.
History and market
Lard
Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
, and with the invention of margarine
Margarine
Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...
by French chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès
Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès
Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès was a French chemist who invented margarine.He was born as Hippolyte Mège, the son of a primary school teacher, but later added his mother's surname to his own...
in 1869, margarine also came to be included in the term. Since the invention of hydrogenated vegetable oil in the early 20th century, "shortening" has come to almost exclusively mean hydrogenated vegetable oil. Vegetable shortening shares many properties with lard: both are semi-solid fats with a higher smoke point
Smoke point
The smoke point generally refers to the temperature at which a cooking fat or oil begins to break down to glycerol and free fatty acids, and produce bluish smoke. The glycerol is then further broken down to acrolein which is a component of the smoke. It is the presence of the acrolein that causes...
than butter and margarine. They contain less water and thus less prone to splattering, making them safer for frying. Lard and shortening have a higher fat content compared to about 80% for butter and margarine. Cake margarines and shortenings tend to contain a few percent of monoglyceride
Monoglyceride
A monoglyceride, more correctly known as a monoacylglycerol, is a glyceride consisting of one fatty acid chain covalently bonded to a glycerol molecule through an ester linkage....
s whereas margarines typically have less. Such "high ratio shortenings" blend better with hydrophilic ingredients such as starches and sugar.
Hydrogenation
Hydrogenation
Hydrogenation, to treat with hydrogen, also a form of chemical reduction, is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic compounds. Hydrogenation typically...
of organic substances was first developed by the French chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
Paul Sabatier
Paul Sabatier (chemist)
Paul Sabatier FRS was a French chemist, born at Carcassonne. He taught science classes most of his life before he became Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Toulouse in 1905....
in 1897, and in 1901 the German chemist Wilhelm Normann
Wilhelm Normann
Wilhelm Normann was a German chemist who introduced the hydrogenation of fats in 1901, creating what later became known as trans fats...
developed the hydrogenation of fats, which he patented in 1902. In 1907, a British chemist, Edwin C. Kayser, moved to Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, the home town of US soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
manufacturer Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
. He had worked for British soap manufacturer Joseph Crosfield and Sons and was well acquainted with Normann's process, as Crosfield and Sons owned the British rights to Normann's patent. Soon after arrival, Kayser made a business deal with Procter & Gamble, and shortly thereafter presented the company with two processes to hydrogenate cottonseed oil
Cottonseed oil
Cottonseed oil is a cooking oil extracted from the seeds of cotton plant of various species, mainly Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum...
, with the intent of creating a raw material for soap. However, since the product looked like lard
Lard
Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
, Procter & Gamble instead began selling it as a vegetable fat for cooking purposes in June 1911, calling it "Crisco
Crisco
Crisco is a brand of shortening produced by the J. M. Smucker Co. popular in the United States. Introduced in June 1911 by Procter & Gamble, it was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil...
", a modification of the phrase "crystallized cottonseed oil".
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
, which further lowered its costs and increased its appeal in a time when refrigerators were rare. With these advantages, plus an intensive advertisement campaign by Procter & Gamble, Crisco quickly gained popularity in US households. And as food production became increasingly industrialized and manufacturers sought low-cost raw materials, the use of vegetable shortening also became very common in the food industry. In addition, vast American government-financed surpluses of cottonseed oil, corn oil
Corn oil
Corn oil is oil extracted from the germ of corn . Its main use is in cooking, where its high smoke point makes refined corn oil a valuable frying oil. It is also a key ingredient in some margarines. Corn oil is generally less expensive than most other types of vegetable oils. One bushel of corn...
, and soy beans also helped create a market in low-cost vegetable shortening.
Crisco, since 2002 owned by The J.M. Smucker Co.
The J.M. Smucker Co.
The J. M. Smucker Company is a manufacturer of fruit spreads, ice cream toppings, beverages, shortening, natural peanut butter and other products in North America. Smucker's headquarters are located in Orrville, Ohio.- History :...
, is still the most well-known brand of shortening in the US, nowadays consisting of a blend of partially and fully hydrogenated soybean and palm oils. 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, while in Australia, Copha
Copha
Copha, a registered trademark of Peerless, is a form of vegetable fat shortening made from hydrogenated coconut oil. It is 100% fat, at least 98% of which is saturated. It also contains soybean lecithin...
is popular, although made primarily from coconut oil.
Shortened dough
A short dough is one that is crumbly or mealy. The opposite of a short dough is a "long" dough, especially a flaky pie crustFlaky pastry
In baking, a flaky pastry is a light, flaky, unleavened pastry, similar to a puff pastry. The main difference is that, in a flaky pastry, large lumps of shortening , are mixed into the dough, as opposed to a large rectangle of shortening with a puff pastry...
. Vegetable shortening (or butter, or other solid fats) can produce both types of dough; the difference is in technique. To produce a short dough
Shortcrust pastry
Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart or pie. It does not puff up during baking because it usually contains no leavening agent. It is possible to make shortcrust pastry with self-raising flour, however...
, which is commonly used for tart
Tart
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard....
s, the shortening is cut into the flour with a pastry blender
Pastry blender
A pastry blender or pastry cutter is a kitchen tool used to mix a hard fat into flour in order to make pastries. The tool is usually made of narrow metal strips or wires attached to a handle, and is used by pressing down on the items to be mixed...
, pair of table knives
Table knife
A table knife is an item of cutlery, part of a table setting. Table knives are typically of moderate sharpness only, designed to cut only prepared and cooked food. They are usually made of stainless steel and may be ornate, often having handles of bone, wood or ivory.The distinguishing feature...
, fingers, or other utensil until the resulting mixture has a fine, cornmeal-like texture. For a long dough, the shortening is cut in only until the pea-sized crumbs are formed, or even larger lumps may be included. After cutting in the fat, the liquid (if any) is added and the dough is shaped for baking.
Neither short dough nor long flake dough are considered to be either creamed
Creaming (food)
Creaming is used to refer to several different culinary processes.- In baking :Creaming, in baking, is the technique of blending ingredients — usually granulated sugar — together with a solid fat like shortening or butter. The technique is most often used in making buttercream, cake...
or stirred batters
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
.
Health concerns and reformulation
In the early 21st century, vegetable shortening became the subject of some health concerns due to its traditional formulation from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils that contain trans fatTrans fat
Trans fat is the common name for unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Because the term refers to the configuration of a double carbon-carbon bond, trans fats are sometimes monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, but never saturated....
, as trans fats have been linked to a number of adverse health effects. Consequently, Crisco introduced a low trans fat variant in 2004. In January 2007 all Crisco products were reformulated to contain less than one gram of trans fat per serving, and the separately marketed trans-fat free version introduced in 2004 was consequently discontinued. In 2006, Cookeen was also reformulated to remove trans fats.