How many calories are in shortening?

A tablespoon is 115 calories and a teaspoon is 35. Per 100g shortening is 884, and a cup used in a pie crust or a batch of frosting is 1,812. It is 100 percent fat with no water, which is why it edges out butter's 717 per 100g.

Is the trans fat number on this page still accurate?

No, and it matters. The 13.2g per 100g comes from a USDA composite built when household shortening was partially hydrogenated soybean oil. The FDA pulled partially hydrogenated oils from the safe list in 2018, and US shortening sold today is reformulated with fully hydrogenated and interesterified fats that declare 0g trans per tablespoon.

Shortening vs butter: which is better for baking?

They do different jobs. Shortening is 100 percent fat against butter's 81.1g per 100g, and that missing 16 percent of water is what makes shortening produce a more tender, taller cookie that spreads less. Butter brings flavor and browning that shortening cannot.

Is shortening healthier than lard?

Roughly a wash, once modern shortening is reformulated. Lard is 902 calories per 100g against 884, with about 39g saturated fat against shortening's 25g. Lard carries cholesterol and shortening carries none. Neither is a health food; use whichever the recipe was written for.

Is shortening keto-friendly?

Technically flawless and practically pointless. It has 0g carbs, 0g protein and 100g fat, so it never breaks ketosis. But there is nothing in it beyond calories, and olive oil, butter or avocado oil bring flavor and micronutrients for the same 0g carbs.

Vegetable shortening is, being hydrogenated soybean, cottonseed or palm oil with nothing animal in it. The word shortening on its own does not guarantee that, since lard is a shortening in the technical sense and some blends mix animal and vegetable fat. Read the label.

Can you substitute oil for shortening?

In cakes and quick breads, mostly yes, using about 7/8 as much oil by volume. In pie crust and biscuits, no. Shortening is solid at room temperature, so it stays in discrete pieces that melt into steam pockets, and liquid oil coats the flour instead and gives you a dense, greasy crust.

How much saturated fat is in shortening?

25g per 100g, so 3.2g in a tablespoon. That is well under butter, which is around 51g per 100g, and under lard at 39g. Most of shortening's fat is monounsaturated at 41.2g and polyunsaturated at 28.1g.

How long does shortening keep?

A year unopened in the pantry, and six months to a year after opening if it stays sealed and out of the sun. Hydrogenated fat resists rancidity far better than liquid oil does. If it smells sharp or like crayons, it has turned.