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Which Fat Makes The Best Pie Crust: Shortening or Butter?

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Which Fat Makes The Best Pie Crust: Shortening or Butter?

The basic components for a pie crust are oil, flour, and water (plus a pinch of salt), but how you mix them may make all the difference in the final product. For decades, pie lovers—that is, those fascinated with creating pie—have been discussing what to use and how to use it, and there are virtually as many ideas on how to make a pie as there are pie-crust recipes. You might assume that choosing the filling is the most difficult part of pie cooking, but the fat you choose has a big influence on the slice of pie you're about to consume. Plant the finest present this season with a pie crust crisco vs butter .


1. Lard is the first ingredient.


When you think of a lard-based pie crust, you could imagine an elderly woman named Ma milling hand-milled flour from rendered fat from a long-dead pig while looking out over the old farm years ago.


The benefits: Lard creates a crisp, flaky crust. It's also easier to deal with since it has a greater melting point than butter, so it doesn't soften or threaten to dissolve into the flour as soon.


Try this recipe if you want to blend lard with butter, which some people believe gives you the best of both worlds:


2. Condensation


Vegetable shortening is a solid, hydrogenated fat manufactured from palm, cottonseed, or soybean oil. It gained popularity in the 1950s as a low-cost, shelf-stable substitute for butter. Shortening is one option for making a vegan pie crust (though we recommend using the newer, non-hydrogenated varieties).


The benefits: Because shortening has a greater melting point than lard or butter, it's simple to integrate into and roll out pie crust. It's also useful for producing any type of ornamental pie crust because shortening-based doughs keep their shape the best when baked. In the oven, the edges of a nicely crimped rim or a magnificent fall leaf-covered pie will remain crisp.


3. Vegetable oil


Pie crust may be made using oils such as canola, coconut, or even olive oil. Another alternative for preparing a vegan pie crust is to use oil.


The advantages: Oil quickly mixes with wheat and water to form a dough. More flavoured oils, such as olive, may give crusts a rich, distinct flavour, especially when used in savoury quiches or tarts.


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