OIL AND FAT: BAKING FATS
Diagram
Two solid white fats for baking
Lard
Pork fat, rendered from pig tissue. Soft, white, with a faint pork flavour. Gives flaky pastry.
↓
Shortening
A made fat, usually from vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated or interesterified. White, bland and plastic.
Figure 1: Lard comes from pigs, while shortening is a made fat, usually from vegetable oil. Drawn in our own style from the shortening discussion in O’Brien, Fats and Oils, Chapter 5, Shortening Types.
Introduction
Lard and shortening are both solid white fats used in baking, and they look alike in the tub, but they come from different places. Lard is pork fat, rendered from the tissue of pigs, and it is a single animal fat with a faint pork flavour. Shortening is a made fat: it is manufactured from vegetable oil, usually by hydrogenation or interesterification, with emulsifiers and other ingredients added, so that it has the plastic, workable texture a baker wants and almost no flavour of its own.
Quick comparison
Table 1: Lard compared with Shortening
| Aspect | Lard | Shortening |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Pigs, rendered pork fat | Vegetable oil, manufactured |
| How it is made | Rendering pork tissue by heat | Modifying vegetable oil, then blending and plasticising |
| Flavour | Faint pork flavour | Bland, almost no flavour |
| Texture | Soft and smooth | Plastic and workable over a range of temperatures |
| Colour | White to pale cream | White |
| Melting | Melts in the mouth and gives a flaky pastry | Melts higher, so pastry can feel waxy if too much is used |
| Saturated fat | Rich in saturated fatty acids, from an animal | Depends on the oil and the process used |
| Cholesterol | Present | Absent, because it comes from plants |
| Use in pastry | Flaky pastry, pie crusts and traditional baking | Cakes, pastry and biscuits where a bland, plastic fat is wanted |
| Keeping quality | Needs cool storage, can turn rancid | Keeps well, made to be stable |
Scientific explanation
Definition
Lard is the fat rendered from pig tissue, a soft white animal fat used in cooking and baking. Shortening is a manufactured solid fat, usually made from vegetable oil by hydrogenation or interesterification and blended to a plastic texture, used in baking where a bland, workable fat is wanted. O’Brien, Fats and Oils, Chapter 5, Shortening Types, describes shortening as a made product, while lard appears in the same book as a natural animal fat.
Working principle
Lard is made by heating pork tissue until the fat melts out, then straining and cooling it. Its triglycerides give a soft solid that melts easily, so pastry made with lard is flaky and tender, but it carries a faint pork flavour. Shortening is made by taking a vegetable oil, making it solid by hydrogenation or interesterification, then blending it, sometimes with emulsifiers, and working it into a plastic mass. The maker controls the melting range and the texture, so shortening stays workable in the bakery and adds no flavour of its own.
Apparatus
The books used here name no laboratory apparatus for measuring or comparing either term, so no apparatus list is given.
Measurement procedure
The books used here give no standard laboratory procedure with volumes and steps for either term, so no procedure is invented here.
Factors affecting readings
For lard, the pig tissue and the rendering temperature decide the flavour and the firmness: leaf lard from around the kidney is the finest and blandest. For shortening, the base oil, the modification process and the blending decide the melting range and the plastic range. In baking, the amount of fat and the dough temperature decide the texture: too much shortening can make pastry feel waxy, while lard melts cleanly in the mouth.
Formulas and calculations
The books used here give no formula for either term, so no formula is given here.
Industrial applications
- Lard: flaky pie crusts and pastry, where its melting gives a tender, flaky texture.
- Lard: traditional baking and frying, where its flavour is wanted.
- Shortening: cakes and biscuits, where a bland fat that creams well is wanted.
- Shortening: pastry and pie crusts in commercial baking, where a stable, plastic fat is wanted.
- Shortening: frying, where a solid fat that melts cleanly is wanted.
Advantages and limitations
- Lard, advantage: it gives a flaky, tender pastry and melts cleanly in the mouth.
- Lard, limitation: it carries a faint pork flavour, it contains cholesterol, and it is not suited to vegetarian baking.
- Shortening, advantage: it is bland, plastic and stable, so it works in cakes, pastry and biscuits without adding flavour.
- Shortening, limitation: it can feel waxy in the mouth if the melting range is high, and its making depends on hydrogenation or interesterification.
FAQ
What is the difference between lard and shortening?
Lard is rendered pork fat, while shortening is a manufactured fat, usually made from vegetable oil.
Which one is better for flaky pastry?
Lard is prized for flaky pastry because it melts cleanly, while shortening gives a more tender but sometimes waxy crumb.
Does shortening contain pork?
No. Shortening is usually made from vegetable oil, so it contains no pork and no cholesterol.
Why is shortening called shortening?
Because it shortens the gluten strands in dough, making pastry tender and short instead of tough.
Can shortening replace lard in a recipe?
In most baking it can, but the flavour and the mouthfeel will differ, because lard melts lower and tastes faintly of pork.
References and further reading
- FTN books on disk: Technology of Fats and Oils.
- O’Brien, Richard D. Fats and Oils: Formulating and Processing for Applications. 3rd ed., CRC Press, 2008 (Google Books page read)
- Google Books pages read for this article:
- O’Brien, Richard D. Fats and Oils: Formulating and Processing for Applications. 3rd ed., CRC Press, 2008 (Google Books page read)
