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Shortening substitute?

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Munchkin

Brilliant_Rock
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Nov 3, 2004
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I am currently learning how to cook and bake out of desperation. A few months ago, I discovered that I have a slew of food allergies. Rather than risk eating foods that I am ot 100% sure of ingredients, I am trying make my own.

Currently, I am planning to make a wheat free, soy free, nut free cheesecake to bring to a Christmas party. I went to the grocery store to buy my ingredients today, and discovered that the primary ingredient in shortening is soy. Being completely baking naive, this was news to me!

So, short question long, is there anything that can be used as a substitute for shortening?

Thank you!
 
Geez, Munchkin, I have no idea. But can I ask, why soy-free? I would think soy would be ok (unless you know you are definitely allergic), since dairy -based allergies are what seems to be pretty common. Just wondering?
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I just googled "substitute shortening" and a bunch of stuff came up, including this, from Cook's Thesarus:

shortening = vegetable shortening Notes: Crisco is a popular brand. Substitutes: butter (1 cup shortening = 1 cup + 2 tablespoons butter; butter is better tasting than shortening but more expensive and has cholesterol and a higher level of saturated fat; makes cookies less crunchy, bread crusts more crispy) OR margarine (1 cup shortening = 1 cup + 2 tablespoons margarine; margarine is better tasting than shortening, but more expensive; makes cookies less crunchy, bread crusts tougher) OR lard (1 C shortening = 1 C - 2 tablespoons lard; lard has cholesterol and a higher level of saturated fat) See also: fat (for low-fat or no-fat substitutions)

Hope this helps.
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Dani,
If I eat nuts, wheat, soy or tomatoes my lips, tongue and throat swell shut and I go into anaphylactic shock.

Blenheim,
Thank you!
 
OMG!! Well, I guess that answers my question.
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Good luck.
 
Hmm, I''ve always used butter instead of shortening, but didn''t realize I was supposed to use slightly more if I was using butter and not shortening. Oops! Don''t think it''s made too big of a difference in how the stuff turned out, although now I wonder if it''d be even better with a little extra butter. Thanks for the info, Blenheim!
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I use coconut oil. It is solid at 68° and below. You have to trial and error until you get it figured out. But the benefits of coconut oil is worth the effort. §
 
Currently, I am planning to make a wheat free, soy free, nut free cheesecake to bring to a Christmas party

hey...I just reread your post. You aren''t using shortening for your cheesecake are you? No need in a cheesecake for shortening.

Just checking.
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DKS-
The shortening is for the wheat free crust.
 
I''ve never seen a recipe that called for shortening for crust. I always use graham crackers and regular butter for the crust. You can substitute wheat-free cookies and still use butter.
 
I second the graham butter crust. Shortening is usually used for pastry crust, and it is full of trans fats anyway, plus it doesnt have great flavor so no loss, hey?


Random question--if you go into shock from those items, how did you only discover a few month ago that you are allergic to all of them? They are all so common, I would have though you''d be carrying an epipen since childhood! (FI has to carry one for his fish allergies)
 
i agree re butter for the crust...most things i have seen are cookies or graham crackers with butter then pressed down. i have even seen healthy crusts made up out of fiber one and light butter!
 
Ditto Thritto and Quarto...shortening and cheesecake shouldn''t go together. All you are going to get is grease. You aren''t looking for a flaky crust as in a pie crust. You aren''t looking for crisp either.

In a cheesecake you are reaching to achieve decadence. Layers of flavor. Butter is one your palette can detect. Sorry to veto this...but if you use shortening, well the cheesecake police will just have to arrest you!
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Frankly you don''t need a oil. You can just use crumbs. Moisten with a spritzer to stay in place bake for a little bit and fill. You don''t have to go up the sides.

I am constantly striving to achieve a new creation. We have no nut allergies so I have used crushed nuts for my crust. Works and no added carbs. I have also used whole wheat honey sweetened graham crackers. And here is one I bet you never would have considered...cereal. I use whole wheat or no gluten cereals and mash them into a fine grain. Add some maple sugar, malted barley, cinnamon or ginger depending on my recipe...and opt to use butter, coconut oil or even flax oil.

OH!!! You can add ground flax for the fat you are searching for...too. Make it heart healthy!!

But NO TO SHORTENING!!!!
 
I forgot to add...parchment paper is your best friend on a low crust cheesecake. You form a collar of paper to be the side support and bake when it cools you remove the paper and the sides are perfect.

Since you are lessening the high fat ingredients...be sure to bake with a Bain Marie. This will ensure you cake will be cook evenly stay moist and less crack on the top. Have an topping plan on stand by if the cracks are too severe. Glazed Cranberries or cherry or chocolate or caramel drizzle. Chocolate or carob shavings to hide...coconut can do too. §
 
I bought a wheat-free crust mix. (Can't use commercial graham cracker crusts or mixes as they have wheat.) The mix calls for shortening. Being a novice, I didn't want to deviate from the instructions. (I'm too fearful of creating something that tastes horrible!)

Rainbow trout:
I have had environmental, animal and bee allergies as well as persistant asthma my entire life. Therefore, I was thankfully caring Epipens already!

The food allergies started with a reaction to a nut platter a drug rep brought me a few months ago. I had eaten nuts my entire life up to that point. I LOVED peanut butter. A few weeks later, my tongue, lips and throat swelled after eating a turkey sandwich on wheat bread with tomatoes. I had also eaten all those ingredients my entire life! The RAST testing identified my specific allergies.

My mum had a similar experience. She ate shrimp her entire life and anaphylaxed at age 23 from eating two shrimp.

DKS: Unfotunately, almost all cereals, crackers and bread crumbs contain wheat or soy. Margarine is also basically all soy. It is ridiculous how many places what and soy are hidden! Even twizzlers have wheat! Thanks, for your help, though!
 
I've heard that you can actually make cheesecakes without a crust. Does anyone have a recipe?

I now get what you are saying. It didn't dawn on me that I likely purchased a crust more appropriate for a flaky pie rather than a cheesecake. I swear I am an intelligent person - but I am NOT gifted in the kitchen! I had to learn to cook scrambled eggs when all this happened. I had seriously never made an egg before!
 
Oh, a mix...well then. Can''t mess with that. Coconut oil is solid and bright white. You would swear it was shortening. Since the cake is baked at a low temp, I think coconut oil is the best substitute in this particular excercise.

You are right about the cereals... I should have said I used rice or wheat free.

There are cookies at my healthy food store Health Valley I think. They offer Original Oat Bran Graham Crackers, Original Amaranth Bran Graham Crackers, Original Rice Bran Graham Crackers the latter is wheat and gluten free. You have to be a detective to find a product and then a scientist to create a new purpose for it.

Here is a link. Cereals are the same. If you can eat a cereal you can mush it crush it and smash it to use elsewhere. You can also use coconut, shredded for a crust.

Yes, I was aware of the margarine thing. It should be avoided at all costs, anyway. But butter should coincide with the dairy you are using in the cheese cake. You should really look into coconut oil. It adds a rich flavor and health benefits as it is a GOOD fat! Flax ground and flax oil will add a delicious buttery, nutty flavor when you are substituting dairy butter. (Flax oil would be my second choice for your recipe.)

Munchie...you don''t really need a crust for a cheesecake. No recipe...Just bake your original one using parchment collar. However, you can also just place crumbs of what ever WHEAT FREE substance you can come up with in the bottom of your pan. About 1/4 to a 1/2 inch. Usually the cheesecake mixture is thick like cake batter and not runny like pancake batter. You just slowly pile up the cheesecake mixture on top of the crummy mixture and bake. Usually the crumbs will meld enough that you can cut and remove a slice with perfection. It will be still crummy but you will achieve the end result. Usually a cheesecake is left on the spring form base so there is no need to transfer it off onto another platter or plate.

§

Oh call your local health food store. They offer shortening replacements and they are in the refrigerator section. Ask them to recite the ingredients to you. I have never bought it...nor do I recall the ingredients.
 
It''s not absolutely necessary to have a crust. It does make for easier serving because the bottom does not stick as much. You can use any recipe and totally omit the crust. You can also make mini-cheesecakes in individual ramekins or lined muffin cups and avoid the issue of cutting and serving a cheesecake without a crust.
 
DKS: Please don't laugh at me, but I am guessing a "parchment collar" is a ring of parchment paper inside the pan?

Also, I think I found cereal I can use on Gluten Free Mall.com. (YAY!) I can just smush it up on the bottom? It seemed like you were saying that the cheesecake mix would add enough moisture to the crumbs to make it crust-y? Right? Would it be any better if I mixed it with butter? If so, how much butter would you suggest?

Thank you so much for all your help. I wish they had home-ec in my high school! Thank goodness DH is a decent cook!

Baby Monster: The mini cheesecakes sound awesome! Should I change cooking time or temperature? Should I line the cups with those paper things?


I am so sorry I need so much hand-holding. I am truly a terrible, inexperienced cook.

ETA: Sorry, just noticed that you specified lined muffin tins.
 
Use liners for easy removal and bake the mini-cheesecakes for 20 min at 350 (this is for small muffin tins not the large ones). Your oven may be a little different so make sure not to overcook them. If you never made cheesecake before, I''d suggest you do a practice run before bringing to the party
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NO prob. Yes parchment collar is a sleeve you form and slide it down to form the sides. Again Parchment...not waxed. Waxed is bad...bad...gets hot smokes transfer the smoke into what ever you are making.

Baby Monster has got your back!!! The minis would really be a great idea for you!!
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One thing you could stack them and display them really pretty with say twirled ribbons and Christmas balls and make the presentation really something festive. Wish there was something non allergen you could use to add some red and green. There are edible markers...but don''t know how the cheesecake top would take the marker ink.

Ok, now that I know you are a chef in training...let me explain to you what I added in my previous post about a Bain Marie. This is a pan you have in the bottom of your oven and you fill it 1/2 to 2/3 full of hot water. Not quite boiling. Then your cheesecake bakes above it on the next rack. This ensures your cheesecake cooks even...and it doesn''t dry out-and CRACK. This is cheesecake 101. Many don''t use it, but once they do they can tell the creamy loveliness that it makes. Once a water bath user you never go back to dry sauna!!
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On the cereal stuff...I hate for you to do it on such an important endeavor. Without a trial run. Especially on my advice. The last one I did I used half and half with hazelnuts and pecans. My sil was on a no carb thing. Found a cereal that 1/4 cup wasn''t that high in carbos. Not sure what cereal you found...or the taste ...or the results. But yes...great for you! You now have the detective bug. You have to be gutsy enough to fail...in order to succeed. Well, my motto is no guts no glory! There have been many flops. Including one last night...by the way...it was a cheesecake. I got the brilliant idea to top it with coconut macaroon topping. It didn''t brown...and it looked like tuna fish. So I turned on the broiler, turned my back ...and seemed to forget the oven deal...scorched it. So I scraped off the top and drizzled it in melted honey sweetened chocolate and served it today with a raspberry sauce. He never knew! Whew!

On the butter substitute on your mix. I would use a little under what the recipe calls for. If it was 1/4 cup I would use say a tablespoon less. Not sure why...again I don''t know the mix, or the effect the shortening was intended. I really think it was just a binder and a release agent. Surely it wasn''t for flavor. Ok...here is the tricky part of baking with butter. There is salted and unsalted. I would tell you to use the unsalted. If salted is all you have...you can use it ...but if you have an option use non. As again the shortening was not salted. Most of your replies on this thread all said butter. For a reason...so I too agree and think you should be fine. I like an element of salt in many sweet things. It adds depth. But if you have an choice...again go non. You know the consistancy of shortening...not quite solid...so you want your butter to be similar. Warmed but not melted...firmer than soft soft.

You can always do a no crust and sprinkle or pile a little scoop of the crust crumbs on top. I would use 1/2 a teaspoon and pile it in the center on some. §
 
I substitute applesauce for shortening in cookies and baked goods. Works like a charm!
 
Thank you so much for all your help!!

I thought Bain marie was an ingredient. I googled it after your first post and was trying to figure out why all my hits were pans!

I really appreciate all of the time you all took to help me. Gotta love p-scope.
 
Goodness, there have certainly been a variety of responses here!

Munchkin, I am assuming the shortening in the recipe is for the cheesecake crust? If so, you can use butter as long as your recipe calls for baking your shell (even for a few minutes.)

The rule is: you can substitute butter/margarine in place of shortening EXCEPT with cookies that will not be baked. So that covers a lot of stuff, so it looks like butter will be your best friends.

Other things: Duck fat will be your best friend for pie crusts, it makes a superior pie crust to both butter and shortening, so you certainly won''t miss shortening here.

Also, you can buy palm shortening! So with butter, duck fat, and palm shortening, your baking bases are totally covered. Can you tell I like to cook?
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You can find the palm shortening online at tropicaltraditions.com if you can''t find any in a health food store near you.
 
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