a N. American expression for any fat or oil used in baking to make the finished item short (tender) in texture. The type of fat used as shortening depends on individual recipes, and the term has the advantage of being neutral and non-specific. In the past butter and lard were the most important; oils were of less use to the home cook, as they tend to give greasy, mealy textures in baked goods. In the 20th century, margarine, and various compounds of lipids (often vegetable derived and partly hydrogenated), combined with emulsifiers and pre-creamed for easier mixing, have been designed for shortening particular bakery products in industry.
Although the word shortening is rarely used on the east side of the Atlantic, the concept exists, in the terms shortbread, shortcake, and short pastry, all of which require a high proportion of fat blended into flour giving a friable result. The common rationalization of the function of shortening is that the added fat breaks up gluten masses created when flour is made into dough. However, Harold McGee (1984) remarks that ‘the role of added fats and lipids in doughs and batters is not so straightforward’ and provides for scientifically minded bakers a much more complex explanation of what happens, insofar as it is understood.
Laura Mason has written about several aspects of British food in books including Sugar Plums and Sherbet (1998), Farmhouse Cookery (2005), and Traditional Foods of Britain (1999), which she co-authored with Catherine Brown.
McGee, Harold (1984), On Food and Cooking, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
