Vegetable Shortening (US household, partially hydrogenated)
Also: Shortening, Vegetable shortening, Shortening, vegetable, All-vegetable shortening, Household shortening, Crisco, Soybean shortening.
Calculate a 100 % Vegetable Shortening bar
That is stoichiometry on a measured composition rather than a guess, and it is about as well determined as a published figure: checked against the 36 Codex oils where both fields come from the same standard, the method's median error is 0.84 % and its 90th percentile 2.44 %, and it runs slightly high, by 0.55 % on average. The formula page shows the working. If you have a certificate of analysis for your lot, enter its measured value in the calculator and this estimate is set aside.
Published values
| Saponification value | not published |
| Derived from composition | 192.6 ± 3 % mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 192.6 mg KOH/g (derived) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1373 g/g |
| Iodine value | — |
| INS (SAP − IV) | — |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | — |
Soapmaking books print about 0.136 g NaOH per g (median of 2 books), which agrees with ours to within 2 %.
A bar made of 100 % Vegetable Shortening
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 65.2 g | 91.5 g |
| 1 kg | 130.5 g | 183.0 g |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 59.2 g | 83.0 g |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 118.4 g | 166.0 g |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
Saturated : unsaturated 26 : 74
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 0.13–0.21 (typical 0.18) | 0.2 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 12.23–14.53 (typical 13.22) | 13.2 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0–0.08 (typical 0.02) | 0.0 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 10.55–12.92 (typical 12.11) | 12.1 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 43.58 | 43.6 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 27.81 | 27.8 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 1.25–2.59 (typical 2) | 2.0 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0.27–0.51 (typical 0.45) | 0.5 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0–0.29 (typical 0.09) | 0.1 |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 · saturated | 0.31–0.53 (typical 0.39) | 0.4 |
| Lignoceric acid | C24:0 · saturated | 0–0.17 (typical 0.06) | 0.1 |
Compared with other oils
Where these numbers come from
Read from FoodData Central's SR Legacy download (FoodData_Central_sr_legacy_food_csv_2018-04.zip, food_nutrient.csv) because the API's shared demo key was rate-limited that day; g per 100 g, seven analysed samples per acid (derivation code A) with mean, minimum and maximum; total lipid 99.97 g, water 0 g.
Read from the FNDDS download (FoodData_Central_survey_food_json_2024-10-31.zip). Its only input food is SR 04615 'Shortening, vegetable, household, composite' at 100 g per 100 g, so USDA's current survey database still describes shortening with the composite used here.
Cross-check in notes only; older data without derivation codes, 11-19 samples per acid.
Cross-check in notes only; one to three samples per acid.
Ingredients: 'Soybean Oil, Fully Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Palm Oil, Mono And Diglycerides, TBHQ And Citric Acid (Antioxidants).' Per 1 Tbsp (12 g): total fat 12 g, saturated 3.5 g, trans 0 g, polyunsaturated 6 g, monounsaturated 2.5 g. Used only to say what today's product is; no figure from it enters the record's fields.
WHICH SHORTENING THIS IS. The profile is USDA's composite of US household vegetable shortening, FoodData Central SR Legacy 'Shortening, vegetable, household, composite' (fdcId 173584, NDB 04615): seven analysed samples (derivation code A), brands not named, with a mean, minimum and maximum for each acid. Most of those samples were partially hydrogenated: trans fatty acids average 13.16 g/100 g (trans 18:1 10.77 g, 0.54-15.65 g across the seven; 18:2 isomers 2.40 g, 0.07-3.39 g). It describes the partially hydrogenated soybean/cottonseed shortening, not today's product. Crisco (B&G Foods) now declares soybean oil, fully hydrogenated palm oil, palm oil, mono- and diglycerides, TBHQ and citric acid, and its label gives per 12 g serving 12 g fat, 3.5 g saturated, 0 g trans, 6 g polyunsaturated and 2.5 g monounsaturated: about 29 g saturated, 21 g monounsaturated and 50 g polyunsaturated per 100 g of fat, against 25, 41 and 28 g here. No analysis of the reformulated product in an allowed document could be found, and USDA's current dietary-survey database (FNDDS 2021-2023, 'Shortening, NS as to vegetable or animal') still takes all its values from this composite. Brands differ and change their formulas; a certificate of analysis for the lot beats this record. WHAT THE DIFFERENCE MEANS FOR SOAP: the lye figure barely moves, because both are C16/C18 fats (this dataset's Codex records give soybean oil 189-195 and palm oil 190-209 mg KOH/g), so the derived value serves either within its 3 % band. The qualities do move: today's product carries about 20 more grams of polyunsaturated fat per 100 g, so it makes a softer bar that goes rancid sooner than this profile suggests. NUMBERS: USDA publishes grams of fatty acid per 100 g of shortening; they are stored here as percent of total fatty acids, divided by USDA's own total (SFA 24.98 + MUFA 41.186 + PUFA 28.097 = 94.263 g/100 g). Means with the min-max across samples, g/100 g: 14:0 0.167 (0.121-0.197); 16:0 12.46 (11.527-13.693); 17:0 0.095 (0-0.151, no key); 18:0 11.412 (9.947-12.18); 20:0 0.428 (0.254-0.484); 22:0 0.367 (0.295-0.501); 24:0 0.052 (0-0.161); 16:1 0.021 (0-0.075); 18:1 41.076 (cis 30.309, 27.073-35.958; trans 10.767, 0.535-15.646); 20:1 0.088 (0-0.277); 22:1 0 (0-0); 18:2 26.213 (n-6 cis,cis 23.76, 18.453-31.567; conjugated 0.057, 0-0.151; other isomers 2.397, 0.066-3.391); 18:3 n-3 1.883 (1.183-2.438). The bounds were divided by the same mean total, so they hold to about 1 % of their value. USDA prints no range for total 18:1 or total 18:2, only for their isomers, which cannot be added sample by sample, so oleic and linoleic carry the mean only. Under this dataset's isomer rule the oleic and linoleic keys hold those totals, trans and other isomers included; elaidic acid (trans 18:1) makes a harder soap than oleic acid, so the quality numbers understate hardness a little. NO SAPONIFICATION OR IODINE VALUE is published by USDA or on the producer's label, so both are null: the build derives the saponification value from this profile (about 192 mg KOH/g), and the profile implies an iodine value of about 91 (AOCS Cd 1c-85 factors); today's product, at 50 % polyunsaturated, will read higher. CROSS-CHECK, not merged: two older SR Legacy entries for the same kind of product, g/100 g. 'Shortening, household, soybean (partially hydrogenated)-cottonseed (partially hydrogenated)' (fdcId 171011, NDB 04031; 11-19 samples, older data without derivation codes): 14:0 0.4, 16:0 14.1, 18:0 10.6, 18:1 44.5, 18:2 24.5, 18:3 1.6. 'Shortening household soybean (hydrogenated) and palm' (fdcId 172332, NDB 04559; one to three samples): 8:0 0.1, 10:0 0.1, 12:0 0.4, 14:0 0.24, 16:0 14.04, 18:0 10.74, 16:1 0.1, 18:1 42.22, 20:1 0.19, 18:2 25.16, 18:3 1.48. Both sit within a few points of the composite. The NF monograph 'Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil' (the hydrogenated-vegetable-oil record) is a different product, a single hydrogenated oil rather than a household blend. CosIng has no INCI name for a shortening, which is a blend, so inci is blank.
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL), which you can download as CSV or JSON. Found an error or a better primary source? Corrections with a link to the document are welcome at support@soapformulator.com.