Product Description
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Certifications
WHAT IT IS
Nutiva has created an amazing product: A shortening, made from coconut oil and sustainable red palm oil, that cooks well, and isn’t full of garbage.
Trans fats and substitutes for it, like high fructose corn syrup, are bad for you.
Crisco, the go-to brand for a lot of America, is horrible stuff, full of partial and fully hydrogenated palm oil. On top of the hydrogenation, the non-organic extraction methods for palm oil are equally not good for you. In my opinion, you should Star Wars Crisco products:
Stay far, far away…
Red Palm Oil: Good AND Sustainable
Red palm oil is NOT palm seed oil, its cheaper, weaker cousin.
Red palm’s antioxidants, vitamin E and carotenoids, have been shown to prevent atherosclerosis, blood vessels’ narrowing.
It’s also responsibly grown, under the guidelines of one of the top standards organizations in the world: Palm Done Right (PDR).
PDR is a sustainable palm oil initiative. It promotes regenerative agriculture practices that protect the environment. It also focuses on the well-being of small agricultural communities, and their farmers.
Coconut Oil: The Good Saturated Fat
Yes, coconut oil is saturated fat. According to both a UC Berkeley study, and a Brazilian study in 2009, some of coconut oil’s fatty acids come from lauric acid, a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT), which raises good cholesterol (HDL).
MCTs are easily metabolized by the body, making them a good quick source of energy.
Some research suggests that MCTs may aid in weight management, improve cognitive function, and provide antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects.
High in other, more harmful, saturated fats, use, in moderation, is the key.
Between red palm-coconut shortening and the hydrogenated palm oil and butter, you’re still doing better with the Nutiva.
WHAT IT DOES
Baking, for pastries, pies, crusts, etc., is all about the fats. They separate layers of flour to create “flakiness.” They’re the softness, and richness, of a pie, or a hand held pastry, like an empanada, or a Cornish Pasty.
When it comes to taste, flour is not a component taste. Salt and sweeteners accentuate flavor. Fats, though, are the name of the game, in the base taste of crusts, pastries, and more. Our brains are wired for sugar, and fats as our big happies. How a fat tastes is primo in your considerations of everything, from cookies to muffins. Nutiva has a great taste, far better than common mass market shortenings.
It also handles well. At room temperature, it greases pans, and tins, better than anything else that I’ve ever tried.
NUTRITION INFORMATION
MY TAKE
I’ve baked with a bunch of alternative shortenings, and, quite frankly, most of them fall flat. The “healthier” ones have shortcomings as shortenings. Nutiva’s shortening handles like any other good shortening both in feel and in mouthfeel and taste. In spite of its advertising, I don’t get a pronounced coconut taste out of it either, which is good. Add in that it works for vegans and vegetarians is a win-win.
Nutiva Coconut Shortening gets my five diamond Choicestuff™ nod because it really is the most choice stuff in baking that requires solid shortening.
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