All shortening
Posted by Anonymous on Oct 12, 2006 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
Hi I was wondering what all shortening is as I've never heard of it in a recipe in the UK and is there an alternative for it? I have checked back in the Q&A posts but couldn't find anything.
Cheers :)
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "all shortening," but shortening is the solid form of vegetable oil.
It'll be hydrogenated as heck, and solid fats are pretty naughty for your health, so careful with it-- but it should be veg unless you see animal ingredients on the label.
Ok I get the idea I think I know what it is but is there a good alternative to use if it is quite fattening? Thanks
Depending on what you're using it for. . .I have substituted with margarine (not the kind in tubs-too high of a water content) in cookies and biscuits. The baked goods will not come out quite so light and fluffy, but it may be a little better healthwise.
Sometimes recipes calling for "shortening" are really leaving it up to you.
Butter, lard, margarine, Crisco... I can't think of any more:)... technically these can all be used in a recipe calling for "shortening" each with slightly different results. In some (rare) cases you can even use "liqiud" oil as a sub... like when making pie crust
ok cheers - I'll try an alternative and see what happens!
Earth Balance also makes a shortening that is 100% vegan and non-hydrogenated.
http://www.earthbalance.net/product.html
oh forgot to mention there is usually something on the package about "vegetable oil content" (? can't remember the exact wording) and you want it above 50 percent, more like 65 for a cookie, if subsituting for a typical shortening
Since I think it's just English to English word confusion, this site might helps us all with recipe/ingredient clarification. And it's just plain fun to read.
http://www.hostelscentral.com/hostels-article-30.html