Substituting Salted Butter with Vegetable Shortening + Salt

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You will need:

½tspSalt
0.0cupVegetable Shortening
Substitution ratio: 1 cup Salted Butter = ½ tsp Salt + 1 g Vegetable Shortening

Nutrition Facts

For Substitution Ingredients
Serving size
4g
Calories 10
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g
2%
Total Carbohydrates 0g
0%
Dietary Fiber 0g
0%
Total Sugars 0g
0%
Protein 0g
0%
Sodium 1179mg
51%
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Best Uses

Cookies
Cakes
Muffins
Pie Crusts
Pastries

Effects on Your Baking

Flavor Impact

Butter has a rich, slightly sweet flavor while shortening is flavorless. Adding ½ teaspoon salt helps compensate, but the final product may still taste a little less buttery. If butter flavor is important in your recipe, add some butter extract or your favorite flavored oil.

Texture Changes

This is a great replacement because shortening is 100% fat, while butter contains water and milk solids. This means baked goods made with shortening tend to be softer, taller, and less crispy than those made with butter. Cookies won’t spread as much, and pastries will be extra flaky.

Structural Effects

Shortening usually creates a more tender and stable structure in baked goods. It helps trap air, leading to a fluffier texture in cakes and a flakier texture in pastries. However, it lacks the steam-creating moisture of butter, so some baked goods may not develop the same richness.

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