Shortening usually refers to vegetable shortening, which is a solid fat made from hydrogenated vegetable oils. Vegetable shortening contains trans fatty acids, which are known to raise bad LDL cholesterol and lower good HDL cholesterol. For this reason, it is best not to consume vegetable shortening too often.1
Lard, on the other hand, is rendered pig fat. If you find a brand that has not been hydrogenated (or if you make it yourself) you can use it in place of vegetable shortening to avoid trans fats.2
Both vegetable shortening and lard are used to make flaky pastries and pie crusts as well as light and fluffy cookies and cakes.3
Shortening and lard can be substituted for one another using a 1:1 ratio.4 You can substitute butter for shortening or lard when baking, but the texture of your baked goods will not be quite the same. This is because butter is about 85% fat, while shortening is pure fat.5
Nutrition DNA
The nutrition DNA of one shortening lard. For example, you can see that 100g shortening and lard covers 245% of your daily need of Saturated Fat and 154% of the recommended Fat intake. Hover over the bars to see which nutrient is covered.
