Poll: Do You Bake With Shortening?

Do You Bake With Shortening?

November 16, 2009

This morning, I set the record straight on the baking fat known as shortening. Although it's a nice vegan alternative to butter or lard, a number of you are disgusted with its trans fat content. I can relate to both perspectives — although I recently became enamored with the flaky texture it lends to pie crusts, like the one in traditional apple pie.

Source: Flickr User tellumo

26 Comments

3 years

You have to use it to get the right rise and flakiness out of your biscuits. Every good southern girl knows that.

jmorri26 3 years

I get the butter flavored Crisco for certain cookie recipes and pie crusts. Oh, and most traditional buttercreams I made have a ratio of shortening to butter. All this trans-fat business has gotten old. Were your parents or grandparents worried about it? I don't think so. The hysteria will die down. Already has. For certain things, shortening has its purpose and is better.

3 years

on a complete side note, i heard its excellent for drying pimples.

NurseKimberly 3 years

Spectra 3 years

My mom's family is from the South and they all use Crisco. My dad's family is from Eastern Pennsylvania and had a hog farm and they all use lard. I have tried both and after I found out how bad Crisco is for you, I use lard. It actually tastes better than Crisco and it gives you THE BEST pie crust. Sometimes I use part butter and part lard for better flavor. And while it isn't exactly health food, it's better than chemically hydrogenated stuff in a can.

cupcake_ 3 years

Never.

deanna024 3 years

The lady who taught the pie cooking class we went to last weekend said you can use butter ... but use milk instead of water for the crust recipe. The cold milk gives you a nice, flaky crust. We've used her recipe before and it works! That said, my 93-year-old Grandpa swears by shortening, especially the trans fat-filled ones, for his delicious apple pie. I don't mind eating it, because I only get it every so often.

partysugar 3 years

I haven't used shortening in awhile, but after all this talk about super-flaky pastry, I'm totally going to make a pumpkin pie recipe that uses it!

kiwitwist 3 years

If the recipe calls for it, I use it. But mind you, it isnt very often a recipe calls for it.

Smacks83 3 years

http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/fats_crisco.html So it was first created to make candles, and they didn't change the formula at all when they began to sell it as lard (simply because it looked like lard and electricity was putting the candle businesses out). Most people don't even know whats it made from (Which oils? What processing?) but still use it. *shrugs* As always, my own opinion on it, I just don't get it.

betty kraker 3 years

yes it makes the best pie crust and biscuits ever

3 years

I never suntan without it.

Twinkle 3 years

I just use butter.

mommie 3 years

I've used fats in different combinations. Usually mix both butter and shortening.

3 years

I never use Crisco. Any time it is called for I substitute for butter. Everyone who has tried my pie crust loves it and comments on how good and flaky it is. My mom used to cook with Crisco when I was growing up, but she's switched to butter too now.

3 years

I agree that it's a southern thing! I bake with it often, and most of the recipes I use with shortening are from my grandmother's cookbook. While it's still not much healthier, Crisco brand shortening now makes it without trans fats. I use only the vegetable shortening though, and usually buy the sticks because they're easier to handle (no greasy spoons to wash). Most of the recipes I use it in call for a small amount of shortening along with the butter/margarine. Chocolate chip cookies, pound cakes, and buttercream are just a few recipes I use it in. The butter flavor shortening works great in chocolate chip cookies. At first, I was grossed out when I found out some buttercream icings have shortening in them, but I feel like it truly makes a difference. It only needs about a tablespoon, but it doesn't have the same smooth texture without it. A tiny bit of shortening added to melting chocolate also works great when you're dipping fruit in the chocolate.

3 years

I wouldn't but I've got this completely fail-proof and wonderfully flakey pie crust that says "NO SUBSTITUTIONS" for vegetable shortening. So what's a girl to do??? I use the butter flavored stuff and I checked before I used it the last time to reassure myself that it doesn't have transfats. Now it could be they're playing that game where a tablespoonful -- what they call a serving -- doesn't have enough transfats to have to fess up while a pie has a whopping cup or so of it and that might be a significant amount. But at least according to the package labeling there isn't transfat. ::shrug:: We only have pie a few times a year.

jenrik06 3 years

I absolutely do cook with Crisco! Maybe it's a southern thing. I don't use animal lard like my grandmother-that's just way more gross to me! I use shortening in my biscuit and pie pastry recipes but usually it's normally just a little mixed with cold butter. By the way-If I'm concerned about healthy eating then I'm not eating pies and biscuits! ;D

RoaringSilence 3 years

I'm not telling myself that pie is healthy in any way, so who cares about more fats? I don't use it a lot, only when a recipe calls for it and I'm too lazy to calculate how I'd substitute.

AmberHoney 3 years

I don't make pie crusts and I have no problem with Crisco.

onlysourcherry 3 years

I don't know.... if you are cooking with crisco every day then that is gross, but if once a year you use it to make a pie crust? I think you'll live.

fuzzles 3 years

I've got to agree with Smacks83 about lard making the best crust. Mom makes a crust that is so tender that it practically explodes flakes with the mere touch of a fork. :feedme:

CoconutPie 3 years

No. I don't bake much but when I do I use butter.

Smacks83 3 years

Here's the thing. If you want a flaky pie crust, just use rendered leaf-lard. Thats what Crisco is trying to imitate, so why not just use the real thing? Don't do pork products? There's beef suet or butter. Yes, I've heard the vegan thing, but really, you don't want animal products in your body (thats cool), but you are willing to put up with chemicals and crazy forms of processing?

3 years

I personally do not bake with it, but the best, and flakiest pie crust (like my mom makes) has Crisco. So it's gross, but for the best pie crust, I find it's necessary.

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26 Comments