Your favorite pie crust formula might call forbutterorshortening , but are they really one in the same ? Meaning , can you use butter when you’rebaking biscuit , cookies , Proto-Indo European and other recipes that call for shortening and vice versa ?
Technically , yes . Youcanuse them as a one - to - one trade , according to butter brandLand O’Lakes . But should you ? Probably not — if you’re able to deflect it . Swapping one for the other could leave to different flavor , texture or appearances — something you may be able to deal with , but it ’s good to exhaustively empathise each fatty tissue first .
Butter add important fatand flavorto recipe it ’s used in ; it contain 80 percent butterfat and about 20 pct piss . Shortening , on the other hand , is all fat , no flavor . It ’s typically made with vegetable oil and used for its ability to help scorched commodity retain shape while staying diffuse .
So what really is the difference between butter and shortening ? We blab to North Carolina cooking teacher , professional food writer and seasoned recipe developerSheri Castleto excuse the ins and outs of butter and shortening .
Composition Differences
The differences between butter and shortening vary , embark on with how they ’re produced in the first place . Butter comes from an animate being , typicallycow Milk River , Castle says . Shortening is more closely related to margarine . It ’s a mannequin of vegetable oil , often hydrogenate medallion and soybean oils , and never comes from an creature . That meansshortening technically is vegan .
One of the most obvious differences between butter and shortening is manifest when the fats confront warmth . " Butter will get soft at room temperature , but it ’s immobile when refrigerate . It has a lower smoke point , and will burn fairly quickly in heat , " Castle says . " Shortening is upstanding at room temperature . Butter melts , but shortening never would . "
While butter is yellow , shortening is a soft , powdery ashen — something Castle articulate manufacturers used for marketing . " It ’s snowy , gross and blanched , which gave the sense of its high quality , safety and purity , " she says .
Flavor Is a Key Differentiator
If you prefer for shortening alternatively of butter , expect no append flavor in your recipe . Butter is inherently salty and rich , while shortening is entirely tasteless . That ’s why multitude spread butter on their simoleons , not shortening . It ’s also why James Cook use butter in all sort of smasher , while shortening is typically used only for baking .
Of course , not all butter is created evenly . Salted butteris apotheosis for spreading on toast or using in alimentary paste . you may expend it when you do n’t necessitate to to the full control the amount of salt in a recipe . While it may be less salty , unseasoned butter also has a nice taste . It ’s sweeter , mellower and closer to butter in its pure mannequin . ( That said , it does go bad more quickly as salt helps keep salted butters . )
Textures Also Vary
Shortening is ideal for scorched good that necessitate to hold their shape , such as pie crusts . Since it does n’t melt at way temperature , shortening can keep the concluding production looking unclouded and find diffuse for drawn-out periods . " consider of those fabulous cake at the grocery store ; they always use shortening [ in the frosting ] to hold the pattern , " Castle say . " Butter would get spicy and run . That ’s why a lot of butter creams are actually shortening ointment . "
Castle says she often uses shortening when learn novel baker how to make Proto-Indo European crusts as well . " It does n’t melt in the warm kitchen or with strong hand holding it , " she says . " Shortening gives strong point to the bread . " The divergence in a pie crust with shortening versus butter is that the former would be less flavorful than a crust made with butter .
Cookies are another great example of butter versus shortening differences . With only shortening , cooky will retain their material body through cookery . They normally end up standing improbable and feeling softer . But they also misplace that fat , buttery flavor . That ’s why most cookies call for butter , even if this go away them a bit flatter ( since butter does n’t retain conformation as well ) . Butter also pass on adust good with a slightly crispier texture .
Use Butter and Shortening Together
Since butter and shortening bring something unlike to each formula , it only make sentiency to use them in tandem . " Butter gives you the spirit and color , while shortening give you intensity level in dough , " Castle aver . " I made two dozen biscuits recently , and I wanted them to be thick , so instead of one reefer of butter ( eight tablespoons ) , I used six tablespoons of butter and two tablespoon of shortening . " For cookies , a mix of both could leave in fat , buttery smack with a taller , easygoing terminal ware .
