Food ingredient
Shortening
is any
fat
that is a solid at
room temperature
and is used to make
crumbly pastry
and other food products.
The idea of shortening dates back to at least the 18th century, well before the invention of modern, shelf-stable
vegetable shortening
.
[1]
In the earlier centuries,
lard
was the primary ingredient used to shorten dough.
[2]
The reason it is called shortening is that it makes the resulting food crumbly, or to behave as if it had short
fibers
. Solid fat prevents cross-linkage between
gluten
molecules. This cross-linking would give dough elasticity, so it could be stretched into longer pieces.
[2]
In pastries such as cake, which should not be elastic, shortening is used to produce the desired
texture
.
[1]
[2]
History and market
[
edit
]
Originally shortening was synonymous with
lard
, but with the invention of
margarine
from beef
tallow
by French
chemist
Hippolyte Mege-Mouries
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 almost exclusively to mean hydrogenated vegetable oil. Modern margarine is made mainly of refined seed oil and water, and may also contain milk. Vegetable shortening shares many properties with lard: both are semi-solid fats with a higher
smoke point
than butter and margarine. They contain less water and are 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
monoglycerides
whereas other margarines typically have less. Such "high ratio shortenings" blend better with
hydrophilic
ingredients such as
starches
and
sugar
.
[3]
Hydrogenation
of organic substances was first developed by the French
chemist
Paul Sabatier
in 1897, and in 1901 the German chemist
Wilhelm Normann
developed the hydrogenation of fats, which he patented in 1902.
[4]
In 1907, a German chemist,
Edwin Cuno Kayser
, moved to
Cincinnati, Ohio
, the home town of
soap
manufacturer
Procter & Gamble
. 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.
[4]
Soon after arriving, Kayser made a business deal with Procter & Gamble, and presented the company with two processes to hydrogenate
cottonseed oil
, with the intent of creating a raw material for soap.
[4]
Another inventor by the name of Wallace McCaw in Macon,Georgia also played a role in the invention of shortening. In 1905 McCaw patented a process in which he could turn inexpensive and commercially useless cottonseeds into imitation lard and soap.
[5]
Later in 1909, Procter & Gamble hired McCaw and purchased his patents along with the patents of other scientists working on partial hydrogenation which later helped in the development of "shortening".
[6]
Since the product looked like
lard
, Procter & Gamble instead began selling it as a vegetable fat for cooking purposes in June 1911, calling it "
Crisco
", a modification of the phrase "crystallized cottonseed oil".
[4]
While similar to lard, vegetable shortening was much cheaper to produce. Shortening also required no
refrigeration
, which further lowered its costs and increased its appeal in a time when refrigerators were rare. Shortening was also more neutral in flavor than butter and lard which gave it a unique advantage when cooking.
[7]
With these advantages, plus an intensive advertisement campaign by Procter & Gamble, Crisco quickly gained popularity in American households.
[4]
The company targeted mothers by presenting shortening as a more economical and cleaner way of preparing meals. Procter & Gamble played into the neutral flavor of shortening as well as the high smoke point. As a result, they claimed that the natural flavors of the meal would shine through and be free of black particles and unruly smells common with other fats.
[8]
Procter & Gamble also advertised how economical it was to use shortening, often advertising cheap recipes incorporating shortening to appeal to frugal mothers.
[9]
As food production became increasingly industrialized and manufacturers sought low-cost raw materials, the use of vegetable shortening also became common in the food industry. In addition, vast US government-financed surpluses of cottonseed oil,
corn oil
, and
soybeans
also helped create a market in low-cost vegetable shortening.
[10]
Crisco, owned by
The J.M. Smucker Company
since 2002, remains the best-known brand of shortening in the US, nowadays consisting of a blend of partially and fully hydrogenated soybean and
palm oils
.
[11]
In Ireland and the UK,
Trex
is a popular brand
[
citation needed
]
, while in Australia,
Copha
is popular, made primarily from
coconut oil
.
Shortened dough
[
edit
]
A
short dough
is one that is crumbly
[2]
or mealy. The opposite of a short dough is a "long" dough, one that stretches.
[2]
Vegetable shortening (or butter, or other solid fats) can produce both types of dough; the difference is in technique. To produce a short dough, which is commonly used for
tarts
, the shortening is cut into the flour with a
pastry blender
, pair of
table knives
,
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
creamed
or stirred
batters
.
Health concerns and reformulation
[
edit
]
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 fat
, a type not found in significant amounts in any naturally occurring food, that have been linked to a number of
adverse health effects
. Consequently, a low trans fat variant of US brand
Crisco
was introduced 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.
[12]
In 2018, the FDA issued a ban on partially hydrogenated oils, forcing Procter & Gamble to reformulate their shortening.
[13]
As of now Crisco contains fully hydrogenated palm oil instead of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in order to comply with FDA regulations.
[14]
However, fully hydrogenated oils are hard and waxy which has resulted in Crisco mixing their shortening with soybean oils as well as more palm oil.
[14]
As a result, the new Crisco formula which is heavily dependent upon palm oil is quite controversial due to the environmental impact of palm oil on rainforests as large areas of rainforest must be cleared.
[15]
In 2006, UK brand
Cookeen
was also reformulated to remove trans fats.
[10]
Instead of using fully hydrogenated oils to replace partially hydrogenated oils in food a possible alternative could be the use of plant sterols as highlighted by the work of Prof J Ralph Blanchfield. His research in food science indicates that plant sterols could be used in products like shortening to lower the risk of coronary heart disease by inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine.
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Harper, Douglas.
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
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.
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. Retrieved
12 September
2020
.
- ^
Ian P. Freeman, "Margarines and Shortenings" Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
doi
:
10.1002/14356007.a16_145
- ^
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,
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- ^
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.
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.
- ^
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ISBN
9780976287551
.
- ^
Oliver, Lynne.
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.
- ^
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. Period Paper
. Retrieved
24 November
2023
.
- ^
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.
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- ^
a
b
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- ^
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on 8 January 2012
. Retrieved
5 December
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.
- ^
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Crisco
green can anywhere"
. Crisco.com. Archived from
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on 18 February 2008.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
25 November
2023
.
- ^
a
b
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
25 November
2023
.
- ^
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.
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. USDA Agricultural Research Service
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The Professional Chef
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:
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.
ISBN
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.
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707248142
.
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.
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. USDA Agricultural Research Service
. Retrieved
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2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
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. United States Department of Agriculture.
- ^
Katragadda HR, Fullana A, Sidhu S, Carbonell-Barrachina AA (2010). "Emissions of volatile aldehydes from heated cooking oils".
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.
120
: 59.
doi
:
10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.09.070
.
- ^
"Oil, coconut, nutrients"
.
FoodData Central
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2020
.
- ^
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.
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. USDA Agricultural Research Service
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Lard, nutrients"
.
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. USDA Agricultural Research Service
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Peanut oil, nutrients"
.
FoodData Central
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.
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- ^
"Rice Bran Oil FAQ's"
.
AlfaOne.ca
. Archived from
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on 27 September 2014
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. USDA Agricultural Research Service
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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"
.
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.
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.
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.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
Look up
shortening
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.