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why do you need such shortenings, can't you use the original version of all the shortening... butter? I have never seen "shortenings" in france. pastries is don

why do you need such shortenings, can't you use the original version of all the shortening... butter? I have never seen "shortenings" in france. pastries is done with butter and that's all.

kop316 7y ago
Depends on the recipe I want to use. Tortillas call for lard, and I don't think butter would be a good substitute on that. (Actually, I think the only reason I have lard/shortening is to make flour tortillas) But you are correct, I would prefer to use butter when I can! EDIT: My parents are also vegan, and I like to cook with them. So I also use it then.
- wigl 7y ago
  Same here, but butter and ghee can also be used to make great pliable flour tortillas. I use european butter though, YMMV.
  - kop316 7y ago
    Do you cool off the flour tortillas to prevent the butter from melting? I'm curious now!
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Tortillas call for lard because pigs (lard and not well milkable) are native to the Americas but cows (butter and tallow) aren't.
  - kop316 7y ago
    True. I may have to try out the tortillas with other fats to try it.
- yellowapple 7y ago
  I've used butter to make flour tortillas before. Works pretty well. I've also used Crisco, on that note. Works not-quite-as-well, but still better than expected.
- pkroll 7y ago
  Lard is also good for frying potatoes, though no where near the tastiest (beef fat used to be used for McD's fries, duck fat is amazing... probably goose fat though I've never actually had that one).
emodendroket 7y ago
The original reason for many was that it was believed that saturated fats were uniquely unhealthy, although it turns out that hydrogenated oils were even worse, so, whoops. Cost is also a factor in commercial preparations.
- wirrbel 7y ago
  It's not entirely wrong but it kind of started with an industry having a surplus of vegetable oils and looking for other markets that they could sell it on (it was used for soaps till then). So they started finding out how to make it food-ready and introduced additional processing so the oil wouldn't go rancid as fast and closer to fats that people were accustomed to (lard, butter). They were cheaper than the traditional fats, which opened a market. Then, traditional fats were pushed out due to health concerns. Nina teichholz has written about the history and offers a dissenting opinion to the recommendations of unsaturated oils if you are interested https://thebigfatsurprise.com/ https://thebigfatsurprise.com/ It seems the

why do you need such shortenings, can't you use the original version of all the shortening... butter? I have never seen "shortenings" in france. pastries is done with butter and that's all.

kop316 7y ago

Depends on the recipe I want to use. Tortillas call for lard, and I don't think butter would be a good substitute on that. (Actually, I think the only reason I have lard/shortening is to make flour tortillas) But you are correct, I would prefer to use butter when I can! EDIT: My parents are also vegan, and I like to cook with them. So I also use it then.

wigl 7y ago
Same here, but butter and ghee can also be used to make great pliable flour tortillas. I use european butter though, YMMV.
- kop316 7y ago
  Do you cool off the flour tortillas to prevent the butter from melting? I'm curious now!
lonelappde 7y ago
Tortillas call for lard because pigs (lard and not well milkable) are native to the Americas but cows (butter and tallow) aren't.
- kop316 7y ago
  True. I may have to try out the tortillas with other fats to try it.
yellowapple 7y ago
I've used butter to make flour tortillas before. Works pretty well. I've also used Crisco, on that note. Works not-quite-as-well, but still better than expected.
pkroll 7y ago
Lard is also good for frying potatoes, though no where near the tastiest (beef fat used to be used for McD's fries, duck fat is amazing... probably goose fat though I've never actually had that one).

emodendroket 7y ago

The original reason for many was that it was believed that saturated fats were uniquely unhealthy, although it turns out that hydrogenated oils were even worse, so, whoops. Cost is also a factor in commercial preparations.

wirrbel 7y ago
It's not entirely wrong but it kind of started with an industry having a surplus of vegetable oils and looking for other markets that they could sell it on (it was used for soaps till then). So they started finding out how to make it food-ready and introduced additional processing so the oil wouldn't go rancid as fast and closer to fats that people were accustomed to (lard, butter). They were cheaper than the traditional fats, which opened a market. Then, traditional fats were pushed out due to health concerns. Nina teichholz has written about the history and offers a dissenting opinion to the recommendations of unsaturated oils if you are interested https://thebigfatsurprise.com/ https://thebigfatsurprise.com/ It seems the