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If vegetables don’t make oil, what’s Crisco?



It's taken me this long to brave the truth about Crisco.

In my book UnDiet I wrote the following:




Crisco, first used to make candles,  was invented in pre-civil war days by candle maker William Proctor and his brother-from-another-mother, soap maker James Gamble (get it -- Proctor and Gamble?)



If vegetables don't make oil, what's in Crisco? via @MeghanTelpner

What is actually in Crisco today?

Crisco Ingredients


This is where it gets confusing.

They call this product an "all-vegetable shortening." Soybeans and palm fruit (the oil is derived from the pulp of the fruit) are not vegetables. Incidentally, cottonseed oil also doesn't come from vegetables. Vegetables don't make oil. Corn is a grain. Soy is a grain. Olives are fruits. Coconuts are fruits. Flax and hemp? Seeds. Carrots and celery? Nope... No oil (though you can get oil from the seeds of carrots- great for sunshine).




Gram for gram, fat is fat - whether it comes from coconuts, cows, olives, chemistry experiments, or chemical-laden, genetically modified soy and cotton crops.




Every choice counts and some choices are difficult to make. This one isn't. Eat real food. Crisco just isn't part of that club. Crisco? Crisco is just gross.

What is Crisco really made of? via @MeghanTelpner


55 Responses to “If vegetables don’t make oil, what’s Crisco?”

  1. Delila Dimery said…
    Yes, and Yes! Thank you. I have been so conflicted of shortening that stated vegetable? There's no oil in Vegetables. Learn that in Home Economics. So from this day forward, I will switch to Lard. I know everything in moderation. Thank You so much for the truth. On one note. I had read some time ago that crisco was bleached? that turned me off completely. Thank you! 01/17/2019
  2. Erin quinn said… March 20, 2019
    I’ve used Crisco to coat cast iron pans for a year now. Didn’t use one pan for 6 months now I try to boil the Crisco out ant it breaks down into this ugly gooey mess that is hard to wash off my impetruscible trays. Imagine what it does to your body. No more Crisco in my house.
  3. Kay Sauer said… May 21, 2019
    I’ve had similar issues lately that I never had with Crisco before. It turns hard and glue like in the pan and on the spoon rest. It worries me now what it does to our insides. It is also of s thinner consistency than before. I threw away a new large container of it because I thought something was wrong with it. Only to find my new one does the same thing. I will not be buying it again. 😳
  4. Miriam said… September 6, 2019
    Thank you for this great article. The crisco I bought is going to be thrown out and my pie crust will be perfectly crumbly.
  5. Natalie said… September 18, 2019
    I had no idea people were still using Crisco in 2019. I didn't think they were even still selling it. I wonder if perhaps it's use is a regional or cultural thing? Fascinating.
  6. Atomsk said… November 7, 2019
    Wait a minute...Jews spread Crisco ON TOAST and use it as cake frosting? Did I just read that right?



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