Goodbye Crisco

       

        Do you remember baking in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s?  If you do, then you probably remember that we had a choice of shortenings- Crisco and Fluffo, both made by Procter & Gamble.  Crisco was the boring white shortening in the blue can; it is still available today.  Fluffo was the golden yellow shortening in the yellow can.  It is no longer available in the U.S., but back in the day Fluffo was the only shortening for those of us who really cared about our baking.  Just listen to Mike Wallace in this T.V. ad from 1955.  

Mom always bought Fluffo, and it was the one I used also.  Fluffo was great for Snickerdoodles, roll & cut cookies, and especially for pie crusts.  

        In the 1970’s I got married, moved to Ohio and had three children.  Ohio was a very nice place to raise a family, but there was one important thing missing in my life- Fluffo Shortening.  Fluffo was still sold in New York state, so when I went home for a visit Mom would buy an extra can for me to take back to the midwest.  All too soon that can would be gone, and I would be left with the depressing white Crisco.  My pie crusts were flaky, but I longed for the yellow shortening of my childhood.    

        Then in the 1980’s, Butter Flavor Crisco was introduced, and it was available everywhere- even in Ohio!  This wonderful new shortening was a pleasing, golden yellow color, and came in a yellow can with red letters- just like Fluffo.  Best of all, they had added artificial flavors to make it taste and smell like butter.  We all loved it!  Every once in a while I would experiment with more natural fats for pie baking.  Butter crust were very tasty but lacking in flakiness, and I never could get used to the taste, or the idea, of lard.  After these experiments I always came back to Butter Flavor Crisco. 

        Everything was fine until about ten years ago, when we all started to worry about trans-fats.  I had always known that canned shortening wasn’t exactly a health food, but I told myself that the nutritious, natural foods I served most of the time would compensate for the scary list of ingredients on the Crisco label.  By 2007, though, public pressure had become too much for the J.M. Smucker Co., who now owned the Crisco brand.  In 2007 the product was re-formulated to drastically reduce the trans-fat content.  Although no one complained, I knew that my pie crusts were not as flaky as they once had been.

        Finally, at the suggestion of my daughter Melissa I decided to try Spectrum organic shortening, which has no trans-fats at all and a much shorter list of ingredients.  In fact there is only one ingredient- pressed organic palm oil.  Unlike Crisco, Spectrum shortening is “non-hydrogenated”, obviously a good thing or they wouldn’t advertise it on the label.  The company also brags about the “family farmers in Colombia who cultivate and press our palm oil in an environmentally sustainable manner.”  

        Okay that’s all good, but how would my pie crust turn out?  The white shortening in a blue container put me in mind of my early days in Ohio, but I am older and theoretically wiser now, more concerned with health than with appearance.  Spectrum was easy to mix into dough for a crust, and rolled out nicely.  I found the dough to be a little softer and more fragile than one made with Crisco, so I did not try to fold the crust.  Instead I got both hands under the rolled out dough and carefully dragged and lifted it onto the pie plate.  Then I baked it as usual.

        Good news- the pie turned out great!  I was a little unhappy with the paleness of the crust, but when I mentioned this to my daughter she had a suggestion.  Melissa solves the white shortening problem by brushing the pie crust with an egg wash before baking, so I tried it with my next pie.  Not only was the pie gorgeous, but my husband (unprompted) pronounced it the best pie I had ever made. 

I'm not sure that pie crusts made with Spectrum are as flaky as those made with Fluffo or the old Butter Flavor Crisco, but they are absolutely delicious and they are healthier.  Other bakers must have complained about pale crusts made with Spectrum, so there is now a golden colored Spectrum Butter Flavor Shortening. 

I just tried it, and although the result was very good I think I may prefer pie crust made of the original Spectrum with egg wash, which is pictured above.  

        Now that I have converted to Spectrum, my only problem is that Giant Eagle has apparently just decided to stop carrying it, and we don’t live close to a Whole Foods.  Luckily I can order Spectrum shortening from Amazon.