# Shortening goes bad!!!



## foaly

Oh golly, I had no idea shortening goes bad. I have a container of vegetable shortening that I keep in the refrigerator. I bought it this summer so I expected it to last a while. I opened it and was greeted with the most awful vinegar-y smell. Ewww! 

So, now I know. Sure hope butter works well in the bread recipe I am making cause I cannot use the shortening now.


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## hippygirl

Oh yes, shortening (or any other fat) will go bad, but to me it doesn't smell vinegar-y, but just like old grease (it's not easy to describe so I just call it "rank").


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## opalcab

it sound to me like it fremented maybe some yeast or other thing got into it and lacticly changed it, because wild yeast in the air can get in when you had it open and it would change all the sugars in the fat to acid , it is like making sour dough starter it will change the starter to a different flavor, if you live near a field it will blow in the wind or if you live in a older house it maybe growing in the house
if it went bad it would smell like a very nasty old grease smell
Good Luck 
Stan


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## foaly

Hippygirl--My surprise arises from the fact that it was refrigerated. So, I'm going on strike with shortening. 

BTW, love your avatar. That's totally my cat most of the time.


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## foaly

opalcab said:


> it sound to me like it fremented maybe some yeast or other thing got into it and lacticly changed it, because wild yeast in the air can get in when you had it open and it would change all the sugars in the fat to acid , it is like making sour dough starter it will change the starter to a different flavor, if you live near a field it will blow in the wind or if you live in a older house it maybe growing in the house
> if it went bad it would smell like a very nasty old grease smell


It wasn't an old grease smell. It was definitely vinegar-y. So much so my nose is still burning. Not sure what happened to it.


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## oregon woodsmok

That is a surprise to me. I thought the stuff was indestructible. Had the can been opened before? Had something gotten into the can with the shortening. Maybe a used spoon used to dip shortening out?


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## foaly

Oregon--The can had been opened but it had been refrigerated since being opened. The center of the shortening was kind of orange. Really strange stuff.


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## Ardie/WI

foaly said:


> Oh golly, I had no idea shortening goes bad. I have a container of vegetable shortening that I keep in the refrigerator. I bought it this summer so I expected it to last a while. I opened it and was greeted with the most awful vinegar-y smell. Ewww!
> 
> So, now I know. Sure hope butter works well in the bread recipe I am making cause I cannot use the shortening now.



Butter improves everything including bread. I use it for making bread all the time!


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## kasilofhome

Ok, you now can use it to start fires. --Cotton ball melt and dip. Waste nothing


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## hippygirl

foaly said:


> Oregon--The can had been opened but it had been refrigerated since being opened. The center of the shortening was kind of orange. Really strange stuff.


Gross...sounds like you got yourself some funky fungi there!


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## peteyfoozer

Butter works great in bread. I never use shortening, but use lard instead. Did u know shortening wasn't even intended to be a food product originally?  It was to replace lard in soap and candle making as a less expensive substitute. I have found lard to outperform shortening in pie crusts, frying chicken and in biscuits.
For other things I use ghee, which is fabulous!:thumb:


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## RedDirt Cowgirl

Peteyfoozer, that's a bit of history that really tells the tale. The manufacturers just took the word "shortening" for their product, it was used in receipts (recipes) to denote ANY kind of fat one used - lard, butter, etc. So when you see those old recipes that call for shortening, they don't mean the manufactured stuff. I make clarified butter (ghee) for pie crust and save the solids for my breakfast eggs & toast, too yummy. Can't figure out why most instructions say to discard it, tho it can be salty - unsalted butter cures that one, the solids are lovely stuff.


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## peteyfoozer

RED DIRT COWGIRL-I didn't realize they had kidnapped the term shortening. I find it somehow comforting to know it really meant real food in older recipes. I have not kept the solids from making my ghee, cuz it always looked kinda gross being all foamy, but I think I will try it now! Thanks for the tips!


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## stef

Foaly, here's a link to "still tasty", a very good referance to the shelflife of many different foods. 

An opened can of shortening generally has a shelf life of a year. I would think refrigerated it would be even longer. Perhaps something got into the can?

How Long to Keep / Best Way to Store Shortening, Solid, Commercially Packaged In Can &mdash; Opened | StillTasty.com - Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide


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## foaly

Thanks everyone for all your kind responses!

I guess I've been part of the brainwashed Crisco generation. No more shortening for me.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl

peteyfoozer said:


> RED DIRT COWGIRL-I didn't realize they had kidnapped the term shortening. I find it somehow comforting to know it really meant real food in older recipes. I have not kept the solids from making my ghee, cuz it always looked kinda gross being all foamy, but I think I will try it now! Thanks for the tips!


Well, they didn't know about transfats in those days, but it was pushed as being "pure" "white" "pre-creamed" "healthful" "modern" - you can sense what folks were up against with no refrigeration, rancid times. Spry was an early company along with Crisco. Lesson is, beware of cookbooks from food companies and any recipe that specifies a brand. (Those muffins you can squeeze the oil from :yuck You can be sure the amount of the branded item is maximized. Sometimes you have to really look close to see that the "author" home economist is an employee.

I have to add though, the books by associations of nuts and fruits producers are quite good - like chocolate, you can never have too much of those things!


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## TamiJoyFarm

After reading these posts and the article in Mother, I think I'll switch to lard and continue on with butter!


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## notbutanapron

Butter/Shortening/Lard etc are all perfectly interchangable by volume. The only difference will be flavour and flakiness. Lard/Beef render creates a sturdier structure [like in pies] with a strong delicious flavour. Butter is always amazing but has to be worked quicker because it warms so quick - in a warm recipe this means nothing. For frying, they have different smoke points [the point where they go rancid from heat an taste awful] which is why shortening is used most in American cooking. To counteract this, find an oil with a high smoke point [grapeseed, canola, etc] and combine it with the butter [for flavour] and the smoke point will now be much higher so you don't burn the butter.

All of the purified fats go off and for the most part, shortening is pretty processed so it's one of the worst for you, but the least likely to go off. Healthwise though, it's not that great.

My favourite for frying is a combination of olive and butter for low heat or grapeseed and butter for high heat. Butter is my pastry friend but mostly because I love the flavour; most people prefer lard or beef render. For cakes and breads, it doesn't even remotely matter. For savoury dishes, it doesn't really either. It's only in structural/high heat instances these things matter for the most part.

That and you can't turn lard into butter in a pinch.


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## paul98604

Definitely use lard and butter. Pig fat is really easy to render, just make sure you're getting the fat from a quality raised pig. The key point here is a quality raised pig not a factory farmed animal or a pig that was fed trash. Ask a local butcher or farmer if you can get some leaf fat or back fat from a pig. Leaf fat is the highest quality for crusts and baking but the back fat works also. Plus it has a high smoke point. I rendered some fat from our pigs yesterday. Made about three gallons of lard. Stay away from all processed fats, especially hydrogenated fats. Butter will work in anything that calls for shortening if you don't have a good quality true lard.


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