Some recipes like pie crust or any pastry that crumbles require the dough not to be elastic and stretchy, but to crumble and keep its shape opposite of the pizza dough which stretches and can be easily moved. When using shortening, your dough should look a little denser and stiffer.
It melts into the dough and creates a barrier between the gluten molecules, disabling the dough from expanding. Just like lard, shortening is white, has a semi- solid consistency and melts above room temperature. The best substitute for both of these fats is definitely butter. If you wish to use something else than butter, try coconut oil or olive oil.
I find that baking with butter gives my pastries an extra rich taste. There are a few varieties of shortening. The liquid shortening is usually used for deep frying or for recipes that require melted oil. The solid one is typically used for making pie crusts, bread, or baked goods that is how you get the crumbly dough, by using a solid butter stick or shortening. Margarine is a vegetarian substitute for butter.
As for its uses in cooking, lard seems to be more versatile than vegetable shortening. Many cooks state that lard gives food richness that vegetable shortening cannot give.
Especially for not fully processed lard with hints of pork flavor, the aroma it adds to fried food is desired by many. The melting point of lard can be different depending on what kind of fat it has been rendered from. The melting point of shortening falls within the same range as lard. As the melting points of both lard and shortening are higher than room temperature, they soften only slightly when left out.
As for the smoke point, both lard and shortening can take very high heat. Natural fats are always better than processed vegetable oils.
With this being said, if you are looking for a plant-based substitute for butter or lard, buy non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening.
As hydrogenation increases the level of trans fats, hydrogenated shortening has a negative impact on cholesterol levels. Shortening is more shelf-stable than lard. If stored in a cool and dark place, an unopened tub of shortening will have a shelf life of 24 months. Once opened, it will be good for around 12 months. As for lard, it is best to keep it in the fridge to avoid spoilage. If you store lard in the fridge, it will have a shelf life of up to 12 months. In case you have no room in your fridge and want to keep lard in your pantry, make sure the temperature is stable.
This way, it will last months. However, note that when used instead of shortening for baking purposes, butter leads to a denser dough. You can use coconut oil as a substitute for shortening in baking recipes. Also, while unsalted butter is the closest substitute for lard, it is not an option for those with a dairy-free diet. In such cases, oils , including olive oil and various vegetable oils, are the next best option.
You can use shortening instead of lard. As the fat content in lard and shortening is very similar, a measure for measure substation is the way to go.
Keep in mind that as lard made at home is not processed or clarified, it will still have a taste and smell. Making vegetable shortening at home is also possible. However, it can be a little trickier than making lard.
If you have decided to make vegetable shortening at home, you can try making coconut-oil based shortening. All you have to do is to melt three parts of refined coconut oil and mix it with one part of canola oil.
The mixture should then be frozen. Once it freezes and solidifies, your vegetable shortening is ready. Made from vegetable oils — often soybean, cottonseed, or palm oils — vegetable shortening is a vegetarian alternative to lard. Introduced as Crisco to consumers in , it became a popular "healthy" choice, though research now shows there isn't too much difference between the two when it comes to nutrition.
Crisco can be bought plain or with a buttery flavor added. When it comes to baking, should you choose lard or shortening? Well, it really depends on what you're making.
Both bake up relatively similarly, so if you really need to you can switch one for the other. One cannot help but feel doubtful about such reports as the benefits of vegetable oils over lard has been instilled in our brains since childhood. According to Dr Eknapa, dietitians and medical specialists across the globe have never been of the same opinion when it comes to nutrition because studies on the subject are carried out and published frequently.
But latest research shows that lard is a safer bet. The doctor referred to "The French Paradox" -- the observation of low death rates from heart disease despite a high intake of dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. In , the consumption of vegetable oils was encouraged among its consumers and that year, obesity was significantly higher. Also there were no signs of any decrease in coronary artery diseases," she explained.
What mainly distinguishes lard and soybean oil in terms of health impacts, according to Dr Eknapa, is their different chemical components.
First, it is important to understand that all cooking fats and oils are made up of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in different proportions.
What matters when it comes to lard and soybean oil is polyunsaturated fatty acids. Chemically speaking, polyunsaturated fatty acids are fatty acids that contain more than one double bond -- a chemical bond between two elements.
The more double bonds in the oil, the less stable it is.
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