Spectrum Organic Vegan Shortening

Spectrum organic vegan shortening is a good choice for people who want the flakiness of shortening while using an organic product that is not derived from animals.

Shortening makes biscuits light and flaky.

Traditionally, shortening is a shelf-stable substitute for lard. Also known as pig fat, lard can be used to make flaky biscuits and pie crusts. It is also used for frying various foods.

Lard tastes great and makes whatever you’re cooking more delicious, but it isn’t at all healthy. It can also go bad pretty easily. Shortening was first widely available when Crisco started marketing it in 1911.

The term shortening comes from the idea that the fat gets in the way of the flour making long, chewy strands of gluten and gives baked goods a consistency similar to shortbread.

Shortening is 100 percent fat. Since it's semi-solid at room temperature, some of the fat is hydrogenated to give it that lard-like texture. This makes baked goods cheaper and longer lasting, but it really isn’t any healthier.

The process of hydrogenation creates what’s known in the non-scientific world as trans fats. These fats have been in the news lately because eating too much of them has been linked to heart disease and other health problems.

Some small amount of trans fat is present in meat, but the vast majority of trans fat in most people’s diets comes from processed foods made with hydrogenated oils.

Now that the United States government requires labels on food to list trans fat, many food processors have stopped using or drastically reduced their use of hydrogenated oils. New York City became the first city in the nation to ban trans fats from restaurants, and other communities have followed suit.

The good news is that Spectrum organic vegan shortening is trans fat free. That means you can get the same flaky pastry you’ve always had without any of the health risks of trans fats and without harming animals.

Spectrum organic vegan shortening is made from 100 percent organic palm oil. It’s still not a health food, however, since the product contains 13 grams of fat and 6 grams of saturated fat in a tablespoon serving. Its 110 calories all come from fat.

To make the shortening, Spectrum presses the palm oil and refines it with a chemical-free process. The oil is then whipped with nitrogen, which makes the consistency similar to that of a hydrogenated oil without the unhealthy side effects.

Spectrum shortening comes in a 24 ounce container and is available at natural food stores nationwide.

Shortening is traditionally used in baked goods, including cookies, biscuits and pie crusts. It gives a fluffy, flaky consistency that is the hallmark of good homemade baked goods. Nothing from a grocery store tastes as delicious as baked goods you’ve made yourself.

You can substitute shortening for butter in recipes for cookies and other baked delights, but they won’t taste exactly the same. An even one-to-one substitution is fine. Alternatively, you can substitute half of the butter for shortening and still use butter for the other half. That way you’ll get some of the flavor from the butter.

It probably isn’t a good idea to try to substitute shortening for butter in something like butter cookies, but if you’re making chocolate chip cookies or something else where the flavor is coming from something other than the butter, it is fine to substitute.

Vegan shortening that is trans fat free is a wonderful innovation for home bakers who want a nice result without the harmful hydrogenated oils. It won’t taste exactly the same as those trans fat filled oils, but your heart will thank you for it.

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