Help! I need healthy shortening substitutes...

[ehirsch83]

Ghee!!!

[warneral]

palm oil is better for the heart and is supposed to be a great substitute for crisco. it doesn't have the coconut taste. I have some but haven't had a chance to try it. I believe it is medium chain fatty acids. Definitely better than trans fat

http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/whole-wheat-pie-crust

[shootingstar]

Reading this whole thread reminds me how long ago I have baked with butter. Of course for shortening that was...3 decades ago.

Have a great holiday luncheon party.

[Susan]

Ghee!!!

As much as I like Ghee for cooking, it's not a good alternative for baking. Ghee works good to roast sth. because the protein part of butter has been removed and thus can not be dangerously altered by the high heat. It also doesn't spray at high heat.

Still, Ghee consists of nothing else than Butter, just without most of the protein and water that is in butter.
For baking it's better to use Butter because of the consistency that Ghee can't provide. You don't bake cake or cookies at very high temperature, so it's not a problem to use just plain butter. Used at moderate temperatures, Butter is healthier and lower in calories than Ghee.

[crazycanuck]

Sorry to hijack the thread but i want to ask..

How bad is Ghee for you???

[Susan]

I'm not sure if I understand your question

I didn't intend to say that Ghee is bad for you, only that it's not well suited for baking. It's intended to be used in small amounts for cooking at higher temperatures that would destroy polyunsaturated fats and proteins contained in seed-oils or Butter.

[ehirsch83]

yeah.. I have never baked with Ghee actually, i use it for everything else though(I am just not a baker..) I do know that the container says you can bake with it! So that was a very uneducated answer on my part.

Ghee, coconut oil and olive oil are the 3 that I use religiously... I don't own anything else.

If i do try to bake in the future, I will now know not to try to use ghee. thx! (I don't bake b/c I have a huge sweet tooth and problems with self control... so I opt just not to make anything that can get me into trouble)

[Owlie]

I wonder if there are Indian baked sweets that use ghee. Most of the sweets that I can think of are either kulfi,fudge-type or deep-fried. (They're like heart attacks or diabetes waiting to happen--they're all very sweet too. But they're sooo good!) I think some of the Goan ones may use coconut oil, though. I don't really remember.

[Susan]

yeah.. I have never baked with Ghee actually, i use it for everything else though(I am just not a baker..) I do know that the container says you can bake with it! So that was a very uneducated answer on my part.

Ghee, coconut oil and olive oil are the 3 that I use religiously... I don't own anything else.

If i do try to bake in the future, I will now know not to try to use ghee. thx! (I don't bake b/c I have a huge sweet tooth and problems with self control... so I opt just not to make anything that can get me into trouble)

Oh yes, I know where you're coming from, if I bake, I have to give it away to friends/family immediately because I cannot stop myself if "it's there". A reason why I try not to bake regularly
And I like to cook with Ghee too, I like the rich flavor it gives.