Characteristics and performance of some commercial shortenings

Six different brands of commercial shortenings were evaluated for their physicochemical characteristics and baking performance of cakes and biscuits (cookies). Three of the samples were locally made shortenings supplied by three different refineries (coded A, B and C), and the other three samples were imported shortenings obtained from supermarkets in Kuala Lumpur (D, E and F). Analyses and evaluations included slip melting point, solid fat content, fatty acid composition, triglyceride composition, creaming power and baking performance. All of the shortenings had slip melting points above 40°C. Sample A had the highest solid fat content at all temperatures. However, in terms of baking performance in cakes, sample C gave the highest volume, followed closely by samples B and A. Results indicated that the cakes were significantly different (P < 0.05) in terms of grain size and eating quality. Sensory evaluation on biscuits indicated that samples made with shortening D were preferred by a majority of the sensory panel, followed by those made with shortening C. The third, in order of panel preference, was biscuits made with shortening E.