Shortening household soybean (hydrogenated) and palm

Household shortening is a solid, white, flavorless fat sold in blocks or tubs, made by blending hydrogenated soybean oil with palm oil so it stays solid and scoopable at room temperature, even without refrigeration. Bakers use it in place of butter for pie crusts and biscuits because its higher melting point and lack of water content create a flakier, more tender crumb, and it's a standard ingredient in classic buttercream frostings, where it helps the icing hold its shape without melting in warm rooms or under kitchen lights. It's also used for deep frying and for greasing baking pans and cake tins, since it has a neutral taste and a smoke point suited to high heat, and some cooks fold a spoonful into cookie dough alongside butter for extra height and a softer texture.

Store shortening tightly sealed in a cool, dark pantry; it doesn't need refrigeration and keeps for a long time thanks to its solid, low-moisture form and hydrogenated fat structure. Nutritionally it is essentially pure fat, at 884 calories and 100 g of fat per 100 g, with no protein, fiber, sugar, or carbohydrate, so it functions purely as a cooking and baking medium rather than a source of any other nutrient. Because it's used in small tablespoon amounts for texture rather than eaten on its own, it's worth measuring carefully in recipes that call for it, since even a single tablespoon (13 g) carries a meaningful calorie load relative to its small volume, and swapping it one-for-one with butter changes both texture and flavor.