WTF is shortening?

Everything you've ever wanted to know about vegetable shortening; its birth from a cotton byproduct, why people use it, why it's called "shortening," and whether or not it's going to kill you.

SOURCES IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Record of Wallace McCaw's 1905 trademarks for shortening and soap: https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/annualreportofco1905unit

Short bio of Wallace McCaw and info on the McCaw-Massee house in Macon: https://books.google.com/books?id=JSpiW4kx6WsC&lpg=PA120&ots=UxB0FwUYKd&dq=massee%20mccaw&pg=PA117#v=onepage&q=massee%20mccaw&f=false

History of hydrogenation and the invention of vegetable shortening: https://lipidlibrary.aocs.org/resource-material/scientific-milestones-in-lipid-research/the-battle-over-hydrogenation-(1903-1920)

Soap scene from "Fight Club" (1999): https://youtu.be/spDiEh9P6P8

Oxford English Dictionary entry on shortening: https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/178605?rskey=WqbXwA&result=2#eid

OED entry on "short" (culinary definition is #20): https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/178579?rskey=pGX0dM&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

1915 book on soils and manures: https://books.google.com/books?id=76ZBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=%22short+manure%22&source=bl&ots=Sl6Iq6OSdH&sig=ACfU3U0EO4PZrKwdmQPG4nYzuFja_Jz3bQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjL_JXr65vkAhULA6wKHTYpDhIQ6AEwDXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

1994 commentary in the American Journal of Public Health raising concern about trans-fats: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1615057/

2006 New England Journal of Medicine meta-analysis showing the danger of trans-fats (not free): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra054035

I Can't Believe it's Not Butter ad from 1996: https://youtu.be/xszIaNpYILY

U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy on partially hydrogenated oils, including deadlines and extensions: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/21/2018-10714/final-determination-regarding-partially-hydrogenated-oils

World Wildlife Fund for Nature position on palm oil: https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/palm-oil

2018 article in Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease raising some health concerns about interesterified fats and pointing out the lack of labeling requirements: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5933641/

Dr. Sarah Berry at King's College: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/dr-sarah-berry

Dr. Berry's 2017 article, "What are interesterified fats and should we be worried about them in our diet?": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5497165/

GRANDMA SJORSTROM'S RECIPE FOR PEANUT BLOSSOM COOKIES (slightly adapted by me)
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

14 oz package of Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar and a dab of molasses (or 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar)
1 cup butter-flavored shortening (or 1/2 cup softened butter and 1/2 cup unflavored shortening)
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
sugar for coating

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Cream sugar and fats, then mix in all the other ingredients except for the chocolates. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in a bowl of sugar before placing them on parchment-lined baking sheets. They won't spread much, so you should get at least a dozen per sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they've spread and started to crack. As soon as you pull them out of the oven, gently press a chocolate into the center of each cookie. As Grandma Sjorstrom says, "MAKE EVERY YEAR."

Видео WTF is shortening? канала Adam Ragusea