Regular Shortenings

Appears in
Professional Cooking: 10th Edition
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2025

  • About
These shortenings have a tough, waxy texture, and small particles of the fat tend to hold their shape in a dough or batter. This type of shortening does not melt until a high temperature is reached.

Regular shortening has good creaming ability. This means that a large quantity of air can be mixed into it to give a batter lightness and leavening power. Therefore, it is used in products mixed by the creaming method, such as certain cookies.

Because of its texture, this type of shortening is used for flaky products such as pie crusts and biscuits. It is also used in breads and many pastries. Unless another shortening is specified, regular shortening is generally used.