How to Make Vegan Shortening - Coconut Oil Base
As I progress in my vegan baking adventures I strive for quality ingredients that give me as much control as possible over the flavors and textures I'm trying to convey. I also love breaking foods down to their most basic components and building them back up again, learning and getting unnecessarily excited along the way. For some people it's TV. For me it's this sort of food hacking.
I recently decided that I wanted to create a high quality vegan butter because I began to tire of the store bought yellow goop that I was so steadily relying on. What if I don't want all that diacetyl flavoring, beta carotene coloring, palm oil and who knows what else? My vegan butter experimentation ended up being more successful than I imagined. What if I made my own shortening?
Understanding shortening
What is shortening and why is it used in baking? Shortening is flavorless and consists of 100% fat. It's designed to be used in baking applications where its ability to remain solid at room temperature can benefit the ease of preparation of the food as well as the consistency of the dough.Shortening is frequently used to inhibit gluten formation doughs such as in pie crusts, puff pastry and short bread. Solid fats are commonly utilized in baking to make short doughs. That is, doughs that crumble, flake and crunch. You can think of the term short to mean shortened flexibility. This texture comes about because solid fats enable the following:
- The compounds in wheat-based flours that form gluten; glutenin and gliadin, have trouble binding together and creating structure because they get slippery as they get coated by the fat. This causes the gluten bonds to become blocked partially or completely, depending on the amount of fat present. This is also why adding a couple Tablespoons of any type of oil to a loaf of bread dough will cause the loaf to bake up more soft and tender.
- The fats also repel and displace water, which is needed to activate the glutenin and gliadin into gluten.
- When there are streaks of shortening or other fats in doughs such as pie crusts or puff pastry the fat separates the layers of dough from each other, allowing them to further separate as they trap rising steam and gas during baking. Shortening does this job well because unlike vegan butter which contains water that would activate some of the gluten, shortening is 100% fat so the gluten bonds are minimized as much as possible. This results in crispy, crunchy, flaky goodness. Using a fat that is solid at room temperature such as shortening is critical because a liquid oil would be soaked up by the flour and evenly dispersed in the dough too evenly during mixing which would result in a crumbly, mealy finished product.
- After baking has completed and the baked item has cooled down, the solid fats solidify, adding a sense of dryness to the finished product.
Applying shortening food science to vegan shortening
It wasn't until I started Veganbaking.net that I realized that the US is one of the only countries in the world where shortening can be easily found. This recipe allows you make shortening if you're unable to find it in your area. It also gives you the option of avoiding regular store-bought shortening which is usually based on palm oil. As of this writing, palm oil is currently associated with rainforest destruction in Sumatra as well as other places. Isn't it ironic that a vegan product can negatively affect environmental and animal welfare? Coconut oil is still flown half way around the world but at least it's a step in the right direction.I recommend refined coconut oil in this recipe. Refined coconut oil has been deodorized by passing it through a filter which removes its naturally occurring coconut flavor and aroma. If you want a strong coconut flavor in your baked item then go with unrefined coconut oil by all means.
One of the most powerful things about making your own ingredients is that you have more control over the outcome. Try using unrefined coconut oil instead of refined to make a true coconut flavored shortening. Then use it in the pie crust you use to make a coconut cream pie. You could utilize this trick anywhere a hidden layer of coconut flavor could enhance your dessert!
A Note of Caution Coconut oil melts at about 77F (25C) so if you're going to be using this shortening in frostings and other preparations where it's not being baked into actual products like pie crust, and the temperature exceeds that temperature, the shortening will melt and your frosting will slide down your cake. If you do need things like frostings to be more temperature stable and similar to traditional frostings, I recommend a version of this vegan shortening that's based on deodorized cocoa butter which is forthcoming.
Learn more about the melting temperatures of fats.
Vegan Shortening Recipe - Coconut Oil Base
¾ cup refined coconut oil1) Melt and mix your fats
2) Transfer the Vegan Shortening to a mold and freeze
User reviews
can this substitute
Can this be used as a substitute for vegetable shortening? I'm baking a cake for my little bro, and I want to know if I can use this instead of the vegetable shortening for the frosting?
vegan shortening
Hi, I really applaud your efforts to be more conscious about the ingredients you use and especially thank you for becoming vegan. However, I would like to point out that canola oil is not healthy for you. A genetically modified product, canola oil is a Canadian invention that is backed by their government, cheap to manufacture, and many processed or packaged foods contain it. Canola oil was first created in the early 1970s as a natural oil, but in 1995, Monsanto created a genetically modified version of canola oil. Naturally grown rapeseed contains a high amount euric acid (54%) which damages heart muscles. Always use natural nut or seed oils and leave the canola alone.
And a little tip, if you add a small amount of tumeric to your shortening, you have a golden colored substitute for butter.
Cheryl
Hi, I'm just starting to eat vegan. Just wondering about the Vegan shortening. Do I have to keep it in the freezer? The ingredients used are not kept in the freezer. Just wondering. Things in our freezer seem to get forgotten sometimes. Thank you.
Megan
Worked great!
Thank you for this recipe! It was so easy and worked well in a frosting recipe that called for vegetable shortening. I'm glad this allowed me to avoid using palm oil.
Cierra
Hi this recipe is an incredible find for my kiddo with so many food allergies. However, I do need an alternative to Coconut oil as I need to make an allergen free birthday cake for her in 4 weeks and need to make my own icing, have you posted the cocoa butter recipe yet??
Soap Making
Could you use this homemade shortening then buying vegetables shortening for soap making?
Thank You
Rosie
Mg
Doesn't roll in my recipe...
Thank you for this recipe. Can you link me to your recipes that uses your shortening? I have been trying to make empanadas (de camote y pinia) several ways. I have used this recipe, but I cannot get it to work. My dough is to "wet" and cannot be rolled. It falls apart. I'm trying to figure out how to get it to work by looking at other recipes. :) I haven't given up on these empanadas... TIA.
Maureen
going to make this tomorrow!
Here in South Africa all the vegetable shortening has whey added to it - no idea why - and I also have no idea why it took me so long to think of looking on your site for a shortening recipe! Yay!! Also posting this on our local vegan site for others to see and use - thanks so much :).
Substitute for canola, olive oil?
Will macadamia nut oil or avocado oil work in place of the canola oil? Thanks. Excited to try this out.
The coconut oil
Hi....
I'm new to vegan baking for this few months. I have a question regarding this shortening. Here in my country, the room temperature is about 35-37 Celcius. It's rather hard to find a coconut oil that is not liquid. Is there any other solution? I've been trying to figure it out this past month.
Thank you so much.
mehak
is this shortening suitable for making fondant?
Cliff
does have to be refined coconutoil?
I've been looking for the real natural vegan shorting in my country for so long,
and now, this is it! Tks for the magical recipe :D
So glad you're able to make shortening now Sandy! Happy baking!
Jenni
Spectrum palm shortening and Tropical Traditions shortening are both sustainable and forest friendly. Both sites offer great information on the issue.
diana
allergy free birthday cake for my daughter.
Great idea! now i can start experimenting an allergy free cake for my daughter.
i wish i could come up with recipes like that ha ha!
peace
I just got unrefined cocosnuts oil
Hi Mattie, I am trying to do a vegan Fondant and it has been very hard to find out how to do it. One of the ingredients I would need is a shortening and I will use your recipe. However, today I went through the whole city trying to find refined coconuts oil but could just got unrefined. Do you think that there is any problem with that?
I thank in advance your advice!
Greetings,
Abril
Hi Abril! There should be no problem- both refined coconut oil and unrefined coconut oil behave exactly the same in food. The only difference is that refined coconut oil is passed through a filter that removes the coconut oil aroma and flavor. Your fondant will probably just taste a little more like coconut than you planned. Yum! Hope it worked out!
Coconut oil?
Thanks for this very helpful article! I'm now one step closer to understanding this shortening business. I've really struggled with it, and now I just have one question, I hope you can help me with.
Where I live, we have this 100% coconut oil block in stores. It's completely solid, almost too solid to use sometimes... It's mostly used to cook or "deep fry" these traditional Danish pastries in a pot, but I am wondering if this is all I need for, let's say, a vegan pie crust? Is it necessary to mix it with something else, as you have done above, when it's already a solid block of oil?
I'd really appreciate any help!
Great question Line! I assume you live in Scandinavia? They also may have what you're talking about in Australia I believe. I'm pretty sure the coconut oil you're referring to is hydrogenated, which lowers the temperature at which it becomes solid, hence the extremely hard nature of this product.
Since I have no experience with this product, it's difficult to tell how it measures up to American-style shortening. Since the product you're referencing is 100% fat, it's probably extremely similar. I recommend substituting it where shortening is called for and see what happens. A pie crust would be the perfect place to start!
Hi, I live in a hot climate, often above 25 degrees celsius, I'm trying to make cupcake frosting and the coconut oil version will melt if the weather is hot? How do I make vegan shortening with deodorised cocoa butter?
Hi apple15! The frosting will melt if the weather us much hotter than 25C. I'm still working on a cocoa butter version and don't have it finished yet. In the meantime, you can try making my latest recipe of Vegan Butter using a cocoa butter base that you should be able to use for a frosting instead of shortening: http://www.veganbaking.net/fats/vegan-butters/818-regular-vegan-butter-cocoa-butter-base
Good luck!
Amy
You're the vegan Alton Brown!! Science + Art = del
I became vegan this year and have struggled to re-learn how to cook. I am so glad to have found your site today. Thank you so much for sharing your work! I'm making my first vegan pie crust today (for international pi day tomorrow), substituting your vegan butter and shortening in the Cook's Illustrated foolproof pie dough recipe that I used for years as an omnivore. I believe it will work!
Thanks Amy! It should work fine. My pie crust is actually heavily influenced by the Cook's Illustrated version and I use this shortening in it all the time. Have a great Pi Day!
Kris
Can you explain why you need to mix the coconut oil with another liquid oil? I have tried just using coconut oil by itself. I am interested in your vegan butter. I will find that recipe. Thanks!
Robert Cesaric
I made this shortening for the vegan frosting recipe and it worked fantastically.
This is just my own personal opinion but there hasn't been enough research on coconut oil to deem it unhealthy. Regardless, this is a great way for one to take control and cut out the hydrogenated ingredients normally found in shortening.
Philfromcal
How to make vegan shortening
coconut oil is one of the most highly saturated and therefore one of the most unhealthy oils, vegan or not
Apple
Omg! Thank you so much! I've always stayed away from shortening...but I want to try making this! ^^
Other Info
Thanks Apple! It's so easy!
Can I use the shortening recipe in baking recipes that require butter? Can I whip it with an electric beater while making the cake batter? It is difficult to procure xanthan gum. It is so exorbitantly priced. I cannot make vegan butter solely due to this reason.
Hi Gemini, This is definitely not recommended as a vegan butter substitute. Regular butter (and my vegan butters on this site) is about 78% fat, 18% water and 4% solids. Shortening is 100% fat so your recipes won't turn out right if used in the place of vegan butter.
Also, in the vegan butter recipes I call for lecithin for emulsification and xanthan gum for minimal foaming during whipping. Since my shortening recipe is just fat, it won't whip at all. For convenient vegan cake baking I recommend vegan recipes that don't require whipping. Good luck!
Danibelle
I am not sure if this will work for me :( I live in the Caribbean where it is very hot and coconut oil is liquid at room temperature... maybe I will still try.
Hi Danibelle,
This will totally work for you! Just skip the step where you melt the coconut oil- it's already been done for you by Mother Nature;) Regular shortening melts at around the same temperature as this one so it's all the same once it's solidified in your refrigerator.
Gosh
I am SO making this right away with light olive oil. You rock!