Vegetable Shortening

Shortening is a semisolid fat made from vegetable oils, such as soybean and cotton seed oil, used in food preparation, especially baked goods, and is so called because it promotes a "short" or crumbly texture (as in shortbread ). Shortening is fat or lard from an animal or vegetable. The term "shortening" can be used more broadly to apply to any fat that is used for baking and which is solid at room temperature, such as butter, lard, and margarine. Shortening often has a higher smoke point than butter and margarine, and it has 100% fat content, compared to about 80% for butter and margarine. Although the term has been in use for many years, it is now known that shortening works by inhibiting the formation of long protein (gluten) strands in wheat -based doughs. Vegetable shortening is made of soybean oil, cottonseed oil, monoglycerides, diglycerides and citric acids. Vegetable shortening has a bland and neutral flavor and is essentially tasteless. Shortening is used in recipes that call for fats such as butter, lard or margarine. It blends well with flour, making useful in pastry making. It is also useful for greasing pan s before use. One of the most appealing aspects of vegetable is its shelf life, which can run up to a year at room temperature. Vegetable shortening is used for greasing, cooking, grilling and baking.