Which shortening for banana bread?

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Greg Who Cooks

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I just don't use shortening on a regular basis but my banana bread recipe uses shortening. I don't want to buy shortening for just this one thing--it will be bad the next time I need shortening.

I know oil or butter won't work for this recipe. I've got coconut oil and I've got palm oil. (They're really both fats--because they're solid at room temperature, or nearly so, just like Crisco. Coconut melts at 76, I forgot palm's melt point, maybe a bit lower 'cuz it's usually softer.)

Or I can use lard. It keeps a long time and I like it in Mexican recipes, and in fact I have plans to cook Mexican soon.

So which? Lard? Coconut? Palm? Or do I gotta buy a whole package of shortening for this one recipe?
 
Thanks all! I've got coconut all the time (I buy it by the gallon) and I have plenty on hand, so this one is a no brainer for me, no need to spend extra money, no need to worry about shelf life of something I don't usually buy.

Thanks PF and all! :)

I've started using coconut oil and am very happy with the results. A good extra virgin makes a wonderful coconutty flavor with a tablespoon added to a serving of oatmeal.
 
I can't get shortening where I live so I have had to use butter in its place for everything.

INGREDIENTS: Makes 2



  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup butter or margarine
  • 11/2 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed, about 1 cup mashed banana
  • 11/2 vanilla
 
Canola oil user

My recipe for "Banana Nut Bread" calls for canola oil. I love this bread.
 
My banana walnut bread turned out okay but not great. It didn't rise as much as usual and I recall this recipe being much better. Part of the blame is this flaky oven I have. I don't trust the thermostat one bit, and I'm starting to mistrust my oven thermometer too. (I think I'll get a new one, they're only a couple bucks.) Just for the ducks of it I stuck my new radio remote oven thermometer in the oven and it went totally nuts, finally started telling me it was HHH degrees! (I think that means cursing in oven thermometer language.) I used new baking powder and new baking soda, the flour is sort of old but it hasn't started moving on its own yet. ;)

Maybe my bananas weren't ripe enough but when you want banana bread for Thanksgiving it's not going to wait until Sunday. Or maybe it was the coconut oil. I might try butter just for the heck of it, I've still got more bananas and they're getting better every day. :)

While we're on the subject of coconut oil, does $26/gallon sound good or bad? That's like 7.7 pounds, about $3.50 a pound. My oilmonger supplies the cosmetic industry so it's the purest grade you can buy, and also I haven't found much coconut oil at the consumer level. WFM has it for ridiculous prices.
 
I have two grades of coconut oil, the Lou-Ana that can be purchased at Wally World has no coconut flavor, I think it was $6.97 for 31.5 fluid oz. I use it for general cooking, greasing a pan, etc. The Virgin, Cold Pressed, Unrefined, I use by the tablespoonful in my morning hot cereal, has a light coconut taste that I am enjoying and is not "greasy." It was $9.95 for 20 fluid oz, from NOW Healthy Foods. I got it at Natural Grocer's, which just opened here in Missoula, they are owned by Vitamin Cottage out of Colorado.
 
If you have a Vitamin Shoppe near you, they carry a good selection of virgin coconut oils. I've also seen it at Trader Joe's.

I'm willing to bet that it is your oven. If your leavening was new it should have worked fine, and the coconut oil shouldn't make any difference with the rise. A good, hot oven to start gives things a good "jump", if they don't get that initial jump, they won't be as tall as they should be.
 
I have two grades of coconut oil, the Lou-Ana that can be purchased at Wally World has no coconut flavor, I think it was $6.97 for 31.5 fluid oz. I use it for general cooking, greasing a pan, etc. The Virgin, Cold Pressed, Unrefined, I use by the tablespoonful in my morning hot cereal, has a light coconut taste that I am enjoying and is not "greasy." It was $9.95 for 20 fluid oz, from NOW Healthy Foods. I got it at Natural Grocer's, which just opened here in Missoula, they are owned by Vitamin Cottage out of Colorado.

I really like how "light" and non-greasy coconut oil tastes. I really need to get some more and try it in my oatmeal.
 
Here's another tip for great banana bread, from Cooks Illustrated: Microwave peeled bananas for a couple minutes, to release their liquid (thawed frozen bananas release liquid on their own, so this step isn't necessary). Put the liquid in a small saucepan and reduce to 1/4 cup. Add the liquid to your batter. This banana essence adds great flavor to the bread.
 
Here's another tip for great banana bread, from Cooks Illustrated: Microwave peeled bananas for a couple minutes, to release their liquid (thawed frozen bananas release liquid on their own, so this step isn't necessary). Put the liquid in a small saucepan and reduce to 1/4 cup. Add the liquid to your batter. This banana essence adds great flavor to the bread.
Thanks for the reminder. I've heard of that and couldn't remember the details. I almost always have black bananas in my freezer. :chef:

Another reason for less rise could be waiting too long to put the batter in the oven after the liquid was added. Baking soda starts giving off gas (the leavening) as soon as it gets wet. Double action baking powder does too, but some of its leavening is initiated by heat, hence the name "double action".
 

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