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Page 2 of 5
Shortening
The functionality of shortenings to be used in cakes, "buttercream" fillings, biscuits and pastry is dependent on several factors, such as a smooth consistency to facilitate mixing & a fine crystal structure in the solid fat phase. This contributes to smoothness, and is essential in cake making and creaming applications.
A further requirement in bakery shortenings is that they should not melt too quickly during baking. The fat must retain the air bubbles until the cooking process has created structural materials from the other ingredients, mainly gelatinizing starch and egg proteins.
Many manufacturers in countries that are major producers of liquid oils such as rapeseeds, soya or sunflower oils, use them in partially hydrogenated forms as major components of shortenings. In this case, it is difficult to obtain a fine smooth structure because of the tendency of these fats to form rather coarse beta type crystals. It has been established that the incorporation of 15-20% palm oil in formulas based on these hydrogenated oils induces the desirable beta prime type of crystals, and consequently improves performance. This property is equally important in margarines. The shortening formulas in Table 2 are equally suitable for use in various shots pastry and biscuit recipes.
Texturized palm oil on its own, although it has a suitable solid fat content, does not have the right mixing properties for these products. However, one application is of interest. Palm oil can be used as the fat in a convenient "ready mix" short pastry for household use. The mixture is placed in cold store, when it develops a hard brittle texture. It is then mixed with the other ingredients in a powder mixer. All the ingredients are precooled and the mixer is also cooled. Under these conditions, a good distribution of the fat is obtained; but the finished mix retains a powdered form, and can be filled into retail packs using conventional powder packing equipment.
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