Shortening

[Infidel]

What the **** is shortening?

How can I make, or acquire this?

[kuan]

Any kind of fat you put in a something made of flour. For example, oil is the shortening in cake, or lard in tortillas.

[Infidel]

So, what is the ideal shortening for making soft tortillas/ flatbreads?

[kuan]

What kind of flatbreads? Naan, prata, injera, pita? For tortillas I would say lard.

[Pete]

While Kuan is right, if you are reading a recipe from the US, geared towards the home, then it probably refers to hydrogenated oil (oil that has been altered to make it a solid at home temp.) But, as Kuan, states "shortening" can really refer to a number of different products, all depending of the application.

[Infidel]

Yes, it's a US recipe for tortillas.

Am basically trying to make "wraps" for meat. Tried crepes but they weren't strong enough, the meat broke through.

[Chef Kaiser]

Originally Posted by Pete

While Kuan is right, if you are reading a recipe from the US, geared towards the home, then it probably refers to hydrogenated oil (oil that has been altered to make it a solid at home temp.) But, as Kuan, states "shortening" can really refer to a number of different products, all depending of the application.

pete,

right the oil they sell soo cheap this days and it bubles like ****. Well we kicked it out of the kitchen and we use an old traditional oil with a high smoking point and respect the rules, when the deep fat fryer is not in use we lower the temperature half. At the end of the day we clean (filter the oil), and when the oil turns brownish we simply change it. Well cost control vise, i just add 10% of oil cost for the volume of the main ingredient i deep fat fry. Well at least i know some how my oil is paid by the customer.

regards

[kuan]

Originally Posted by Chef Kaiser

Well cost control vise, i just add 10% of oil cost for the volume of the main ingredient i deep fat fry. Well at least i know some how my oil is paid by the customer.

Hey good idea. Why didn't I think of that before? Pretty obvious isn't it?

[Pete]

Chef Kaiser, while I somewhat agree with your assement of cheap oils for use in deep fat frying, I was discussing the term shortening in terms of solid fats used in cooking, more specifically baking. While shortening does get a bad wrap nowadays, my grandmother swore by the stuff for her pie crusts, after she gave up lard. She would never use butter, and her pie crusts were some of the most tender, flaky crusts I have ever eaten. She would put most pastry chefs, here and abroad, to shame!

[Jock]

Infidel, it may help to understand the term and what it means.

You may know that when a liquid (but not oil) is added to flour, gluten forms. Depending on various factors, the gluten strands get longer and tougher the more the dough is worked. Shortening literally helps to keep the gluten strands short and prevents the end product from being tough. Any kind of fat - butter, oil, lard, solid vegetable oil (Crisco), does the job. Traditionally Lard is used for tortillas but the store bought lard these days is hydrogenated and if you have a problem with that your only recourse is to render your own. I've never done it but someone else here might be able to offer advice on that.

Jock

[Chef Kaiser]

Originally Posted by Pete

Chef Kaiser, while I somewhat agree with your assement of cheap oils for use in deep fat frying, I was discussing the term shortening in terms of solid fats used in cooking, more specifically baking. While shortening does get a bad wrap nowadays, my grandmother swore by the stuff for her pie crusts, after she gave up lard. She would never use butter, and her pie crusts were some of the most tender, flaky crusts I have ever eaten. She would put most pastry chefs, here and abroad, to shame!

hi,

out here they are selling cheap forms of shortening for frying , and when you use them for frying it bubbles like when adding liquid soap into water. I have done some tests on it and the live span is nearly have of regular frying oil only.

regards

[Infidel]

So, were I to search hard I may find a shortening product for sale here.

Otherwise I should use lard for my tortillas. Or, could I make a healthier alternative with other ingredients? One of the recipes I was reading suggested using "shortening instead of lard" so I assume they are fairly different. And using lard seems so barbaricly unhealthy...

I live in Bangkok so not always easy to find things.

[Chef Kaiser]

Originally Posted by Infidel

So, were I to search hard I may find a shortening product for sale here.

Otherwise I should use lard for my tortillas. Or, could I make a healthier alternative with other ingredients? One of the recipes I was reading suggested using "shortening instead of lard" so I assume they are fairly different. And using lard seems so barbaricly unhealthy...

I live in Bangkok so not always easy to find things.

hi,

i understand you, living in Asia is a step away of what they are recommending. As at times we get products here which are truley second hand, eventhough it is imported, just made for Asia i suppose.

just use lard first and dont eat it every day untill we find an alternative here in Asia. send me your recipe, will look at it.

regards

look up this site http: //www.public.iastate.edu/~rjsalvad/scmfaq/tortilla.html it seems he knows how to make them

[kuan]

Can't you use rice paper wrappers for wraps like they use in Vietnam?

[skilletlicker]

Originally Posted by Infidel

So, were I to search hard I may find a shortening product for sale here.

Otherwise I should use lard for my tortillas. Or, could I make a healthier alternative with other ingredients? One of the recipes I was reading suggested using "shortening instead of lard" so I assume they are fairly different. And using lard seems so barbaricly unhealthy...

I live in Bangkok so not always easy to find things.

You mentioned in earlier posts you were looking at a US recipe. I think it's safe to assume the writer had Crisco or some thing like it in mind. It's true that lard is traditional and shortening is the most common alternative but I recomend you use neither. Why would you want to use anything you think is "barbaricly unhealthly"? In the early 20th century Crisco was marketed as more civilized and healthy than lard but I doubt it's either one.

Luckily tortillas are quick and easy to experiment with. Try a 1/2 cup flour with a half tablespoon of whatever fat or oil you're comfortable with. Add a good pinch of salt. If baking powder is handy add a good pinch; if not, skip it. Stir in a couple tablespoons of water (just enough to form a dough).

I don't think you can learn to make tortillas by reading about them. It's nice if you have a friendly Mexican or Texican lady to show you how but mainly you have get your fingers in the dough (masa).

Let us know how it turned out.