Shortening is any fat that is solid at room temperature and used in baking to create tender, flaky textures. In practice, most shortening sold today is made from vegetable oils that have been processed into a semi-solid form. The name comes from what the fat literally does: it “shortens” gluten strands in dough, coating flour particles so they can’t link up into long, chewy networks. The result is a more crumbly, delicate crumb in everything from pie crusts to cookies.
How Shortening Works in Baking
When you mix flour with water, proteins in the flour bond together to form gluten, the stretchy web that gives bread its chew. Shortening physically coats those flour proteins before water can reach them, interrupting gluten development. Shorter gluten strands mean a more tender product, which is why pie crusts call for cold fat cut into flour rather than a smooth dough.
Shortening also has a higher melting point than butter. During baking, butter melts quickly and causes dough to spread before its structure sets. Shortening holds its shape longer in the oven, which is why cookies made with shortening rise taller, spread less, and come out softer and puffier. Because shortening returns to a semi-solid state after cooling, those cookies also tend to stay soft longer than butter-based versions.
One other trait matters: shortening is 100 percent fat, with no water and no milk solids. Butter, by comparison, is only about 80 percent fat, with roughly 15 percent water and the rest milk solids. That difference in moisture content changes how batters and doughs behave in significant ways.
What Shortening Is Made From
Most commercial vegetable shortening starts with soybean, cottonseed, palm, coconut, or canola oil. These liquid oils are converted into a solid or semi-solid fat through hydrogenation, a process that adds hydrogen atoms to the oil’s molecular chains, raising its melting point and making it shelf-stable at room temperature.
Some shortenings also contain tiny nitrogen-filled bubbles that improve their ability to trap air during creaming. Emulsifiers are sometimes added to help stabilize those bubbles and distribute the fat more evenly through a batter. This is especially common in commercial or “high-ratio” shortenings designed for cakes that need to hold a large amount of sugar relative to flour.
The Trans Fat Question
For decades, partially hydrogenated oils were the standard way to make shortening solid. The problem was that partial hydrogenation creates trans fats, which are strongly linked to heart disease. In June 2015, the FDA determined that partially hydrogenated oils were no longer Generally Recognized as Safe, and as of December 2023, the agency finalized rules revoking their authorized use in margarine, shortening, and baked goods. Trans fat hasn’t disappeared entirely from the food supply because it occurs naturally in small amounts in meat and dairy, but the artificial kind is effectively banned from commercial shortening.
Modern shortenings achieve their solid texture through full hydrogenation (which produces saturated fat but no trans fat), palm oil blends, or interesterification, a process that rearranges fatty acid molecules without creating trans fats.
Types of Shortening
Not all shortening is the same product. The type you choose depends on what you’re making.
- All-purpose shortening: The tub of Crisco on most grocery shelves. It typically contains 15 to 30 percent solid (crystallized) fat and holds that consistency across a range of about 60 to 90°F. It works for cookies, pie crusts, biscuits, and frying. Some versions include emulsifiers to improve creaming and air retention.
- High-ratio shortening: Formulated with emulsifiers so it can hold more sugar and liquid than all-purpose shortening. Cake decorators use it for buttercream because it produces a very stable, white frosting. Bakers use it for fine-crumbed cakes.
- Liquid (fluid) shortening: Pourable at room temperature, with only about 5 to 15 percent suspended solids. It looks opaque rather than clear because of those solids, which are usually high-melting emulsifiers or fully hydrogenated fats. It’s mainly used in commercial operations for deep frying and spray coatings.
- Lard and other animal fats: Before vegetable shortening existed, lard (rendered pork fat) was the primary shortening in Western baking. It still produces exceptionally flaky pie crusts. Tallow (beef fat) is less common in home kitchens but falls into the same category.
Shortening vs. Butter: Key Differences
The biggest practical difference is fat content. Shortening is 100 percent fat. Butter is about 80 percent fat, 15 percent water, and the rest milk solids. That water in butter creates steam during baking, which contributes to lift in puff pastry and laminated doughs but also causes more spread in cookies.
Flavor is the other major distinction. Shortening is essentially flavorless, which is why it’s popular for frostings and pie crusts where you want the filling or other ingredients to shine. Butter brings a rich, complex flavor that most people prefer in cookies and cakes. Many bakers split the difference, using a combination of both to get some of butter’s flavor with shortening’s structural advantages.
Substitution Ratios
Because shortening and butter have different fat and water percentages, you can’t swap them one-for-one by volume or weight. Here’s how the math works.
To replace butter with shortening, multiply the butter’s weight by 0.8. That’s how much shortening you need. Then multiply the butter’s weight by 0.15 to find how much water or milk to add to compensate for the missing liquid. For example, if a recipe calls for one cup of butter (226 grams), you’d use about 181 grams of shortening plus roughly 2 tablespoons of water. You can skip the extra liquid if you prefer. Your baked goods will just spread a bit less and turn out chewier.
To replace shortening with butter, multiply the shortening’s weight by 1.25. Then figure out how much extra liquid the butter introduces (multiply the new butter weight by 0.15) and reduce other liquids in the recipe by that amount. For half a cup of shortening (about 95 grams), you’d need roughly 114 grams of butter and would subtract about 2 teaspoons of liquid from the recipe.
Storage and Shelf Life
Shortening is one of the more forgiving pantry staples when it comes to storage. The USDA’s FoodKeeper guidelines recommend keeping an unopened container of solid shortening at room temperature for up to 8 months. Once opened, it stays at best quality for about 3 months at room temperature. You don’t need to refrigerate it, though cool, dark storage away from heat sources will help it last. If it develops an off smell or taste, it has gone rancid and should be discarded.