Shortening - History and Market

History and Market

Originally, shortening was synonymous with lard, and with the invention of margarine by French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès in 1869, margarine also came to be included in the term. Since the invention of hydrogenated vegetable oil in the early 20th century, "shortening" has come almost exclusively to mean hydrogenated vegetable oil. Vegetable shortening shares many properties with lard: both are semi-solid fats with a higher smoke point than butter and margarine. They contain less water and are thus less prone to splattering, making them safer for frying. Lard and shortening have a higher fat content compared to about 80% for butter and margarine. Cake margarines and shortenings tend to contain a few percent of monoglycerides whereas margarines typically have less. Such "high ratio shortenings" blend better with hydrophilic ingredients such as starches and sugar.

Hydrogenation of organic substances was first developed by the French chemist Paul Sabatier in 1897, and in 1901 the German chemist Wilhelm Normann developed the hydrogenation of fats, which he patented in 1902. In 1907, a German chemist, Edwin Cuno Kayser, moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, the home town of US soap manufacturer Procter & Gamble. He had worked for British soap manufacturer Joseph Crosfield and Sons and was well acquainted with Normann's process, as Crosfield and Sons owned the British rights to Normann's patent. Soon after arrival, Kayser made a business deal with Procter & Gamble, and shortly thereafter presented the company with two processes to hydrogenate cottonseed oil, with the intent of creating a raw material for soap. However, since the product looked like lard, Procter & Gamble instead began selling it as a vegetable fat for cooking purposes in June 1911, calling it "Crisco", a modification of the phrase "crystallized cottonseed oil".

While similar to lard, vegetable shortening was much cheaper to produce. Shortening also required no refrigeration, which further lowered its costs and increased its appeal in a time when refrigerators were rare. With these advantages, plus an intensive advertisement campaign by Procter & Gamble, Crisco quickly gained popularity in US households. As food production became increasingly industrialized and manufacturers sought low-cost raw materials, the use of vegetable shortening also became very common in the food industry. In addition, vast American government-financed surpluses of cottonseed oil, corn oil, and soy beans also helped create a market in low-cost vegetable shortening.

Crisco, since 2002 owned by the J.M. Smucker Co., is still the most well-known brand of shortening in the US, nowadays consisting of a blend of partially and fully hydrogenated soybean and palm oils. In Ireland and the UK, Cookeen is a popular brand, while in Australia, Copha is popular, although made primarily from coconut oil.