Shortening substitute?

[stephylynn]

I am making some peanut butter truffles and it calls for shortening for the coating, is there anything that I can use instead of shortening? I hear that it adds an odd flavor.

Thanks,
Stephanie

 

[Alix]

You could try butter or margarine instead.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Lard.

 

[CWS4322]

When I used to make truffles, the recipes often included adding some parafin (sp) to the coating...wonder if coconut oil would work. I tend to use it for my skin in an attempt to get the wrinkles out of my birthday suit, but it is another type of shortening...

 

[bakechef]

my mom always put paraffin in her melted chocolate for dipping.

 

[Dawgluver]

Paraffin here too.

 

[jennyema]

When I used to make truffles, the recipes often included adding some parafin (sp) to the coating...wonder if coconut oil would work. I tend to use it for my skin in an attempt to get the wrinkles out of my birthday suit, but it is another type of shortening...

Paraffin is wax.

Coconut oil isn't shortening. Shortening is oil that's been hydrogenated to be solid at room temp. That's why it's used for a coating.

 

[bakechef]

yes it is wax, and yes we put a bit in meted chocolate. I guess it was a shortcut instead of tempering, it seemed to work for mom.

 

[Addie]

yes it is wax, and yes we put a bit in meted chocolate. I guess it was a shortcut instead of tempering, it seemed to work for mom.

Gee, that gives me second thoughts. I have enough junk in my arteries. I would rather take the time to temper.

 

[Zhizara]

TV chefs are always adding a little butter to sauces to make it glossy. Wouldn't that be better with chocolate than wax?

 

[taxlady]

Paraffin is wax.

Coconut oil isn't shortening. Shortening is oil that's been hydrogenated to be solid at room temp. That's why it's used for a coating.

No,

"Shortening is any fat that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry. The reason it is called shortening is because it prevents cross-linkage between gluten molecules." from Shortening - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, lard is shortening and so is palm oil, which is solid at room temperature. Butter is often used as the shortening agent in pastry.

 

[jennyema]

No,

"Shortening is any fat that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry. The reason it is called shortening is because it prevents cross-linkage between gluten molecules." from Shortening - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, lard is shortening and so is palm oil, which is solid at room temperature. Butter is often used as the shortening agent in pastry.

I was referring to vegetable shortening, sorry.

"vegetable shortening
A solid fat made from vegetable oils, such as [SIZE=-1]SOYBEAN[/SIZE] and [SIZE=-1]COTTONSEED OIL[/SIZE]. Although made from oil, shortening has been chemically transformed into a solid state through hydrogenation (see [SIZE=-1]FATS AND OILS[/SIZE]), a process that creates [SIZE=-1]TRANS FATTY ACIDS[/SIZE] and converts the mixture into a saturated fat, thereby destroying any polyunsaturate benefits. Vegetable shortening is virtually flavorless and may be substituted for other fats in baking and cooking. It can be stored at room temperature for up to a year."

Read More vegetable shortening Definition in the Food Dictionary at Epicurious.com

Coconut oil isn't shortening.​

 

[Addie]

TV chefs are always adding a little butter to sauces to make it glossy. Wouldn't that be better with chocolate than wax?

Butter makes everything taste better along with giving the food good looks!!!

 

[CWS4322]

I don't use the coconut "oil" for cooking. It was left at the rental property in the fridge and then on a Dr. Oz show I saw that it was good for putting on one's skin in the winter, so that's what I've been doing with it--trying to get the wrinkles out of my birthday suit!

 

[auzzi]

Originally, the definition of shortening was either a solid fat or a liquid oil, which could be either animal or vegetable in origin. Shortenings include butter, margarine, vegetable oils, processed oils [partially or completely hydrogentated] and lard. Over time this generalised term has treated as a more specific term. Modern-day usage, in some countries, has come to focus on hydrogenated vegetable oil as "shortening" without any reference to the other types of shortenings.
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At room temperature, Palm oil is semi-solid, coconut oil is solid, and hydrogenated coconut fat [aka Copha in Australia] is also solid. These are all vegetables shortenings.
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Coconut oil [solid] is fine with chocolate. Australian confectioners and chocolatiers have been adding copha to chocolate for decades .
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Parrafin wax, although edible, is not digested by humans [goes straight through ..] and it has been used for centuries in food production .. No problems with that one, either .. If you eat M&M's or chewing gum, you eat parrafin ..