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An equivalent for Crisco or Shortening?? From Australia!

post #1 of 44
3/8/09 at 6:59pm
Thread Starter 
Hi there,

I have noticed a lot of the recipes listed here use either Crisco or Shortening in them. Does anyone know what the equivalent would be over here in Australia for those?

We have shortening (called Copha) but it is a hard white vegetable based product looking like a hard fat product which melts to a clear liquid when heated. Is your shortening like butter or margarine?

Also, what is Crisco? We have a spray on oil based product here which can be used to grease your tins that is called Crisco but it's obviously not the same thing.

So, any physical descriptions of the products would be good, or anyone who has lived here and knows what our equivalents are called would be brilliant. Thank you! Kerry
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post #2 of 44
3/8/09 at 7:09pm
I am from Australia and I figured Copha is our closest substitute but apparently it isn't anything like Crisco. Another Aussie put me on to this website based in Melbourne which sells the Crisco http://www.usafoods.com.au/c14/cake-mixes-baking-chips-amp-flour/
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post #3 of 44
3/8/09 at 7:09pm
I am pretty sure by the way that you described Copha thats it! Ours is called Crisco (just by brand), but it is also called "all vegetable shortening." The ingredients are Partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils with vegetable mono and diglycerides. (Right off of the label!) It is kind of a thick white fat. I have heard that you can use all butter, but I haven't ever tried it.
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post #4 of 44
3/8/09 at 7:13pm
Looks like I was told wrong about Crisco being very different! Thanks ClassyMommy. I wonder why recipes call for cups rather than weight? So much easier to weigh the Copha and get the right amount rather than melt it and hope for the best when you measure it!
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post #5 of 44
3/8/09 at 7:47pm
From what I have gathered from this site Crisco comes in tins and is quite soft - nothing like the hard blocks of copha so I don't think you could substitute it. Having said that I've never really used copha - does it soften at room temperature?

Can't help any further as I don't decorate with buttercream, maybe some other Aussies have recipes that work well over here?
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post #6 of 44
3/8/09 at 9:00pm
Thread Starter 
Copha does soften a bit but not so much that you could mix it up or whatever. It's very solid stuff generally. It is often used to grease work surfaces and hands when working with sugarpaste if you want to avoid cornflour or icing sugar.
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post #7 of 44
3/8/09 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 
Other than the above use I've only ever known copha to be used to make chocolate crackles....not sure if you have them in the US...they're yummy things made of rice bubbles, coconut, cocoa, icing sugar and melted copha and are a staple part of any childs birthday party here. If you don't have choccy crackles and fairy bread, then it ain't no party!

Thanks for your help so far, I'm sure someone will come in who knows.....
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post #8 of 44
3/9/09 at 4:20am
haha copha is what I use chocolate crackles for icon_smile.gif

Unless you are doing bulk baking, a 10 dollar tin of crisco will last you a really long time - I also buy from usa foods.
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post #9 of 44
3/9/09 at 4:59am
Hi Aussie friends. Crisco is the most popular US brand name of solid white vegetable fat. We (Americans) often just call it shortening. It is frequently used in baked goods as a substitute for part or all of the butter (particularly in cookbooks from the 70s...perhaps as a cost saving measure.) It is sold in a large tin and in smaller "sticks" and is generally stored at room temperature.

In the UK the comparable product is called Trex. It is sold in blocks in the refrigerated case at the grocery. When left at room temp is the same consistency as Crisco. (I have both in my house.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Melnick

I wonder why recipes call for cups rather than weight? So much easier to weigh the Copha and get the right amount rather than melt it and hope for the best when you measure it!



In the US cooking measures are done by volume...but here is the catch: We differentiate between "dry" measures and "fluid" measures. The same measure, e.g., 1 cup - will have different volumes based on wether is is dry/solid or fluid/melted. We use different measuring cups for dry and fluid. In US recipes, shortening is always measured as a dry/solid in "dry" measuring cups. It is only melted if specifically stated in the recipe.

Awhile back I weighed Crisco for someone here on the board, My result was that 1 1/2 (one and one half cups) solid shortening weighs 278 grams. So one cup is about 185g.

Finally, I think weighing ingredients makes much more sense, and do it whenever I can.
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post #10 of 44
3/9/09 at 5:10am
Try this information http://www.cakesandmore.org/blog/2008/08/shortening-crisco-copha-solite-cream-cup/

You can use copha, you need to melt it first, you can buy a product called solite here in Oz from some Cake Decorating suppliers and it is pretty much the closest equivalent to crisco. The US crisco for baking is NOT equivalent to our oil crisco! ;D

HTH
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post #11 of 44
3/9/09 at 5:12am
Hi fellow Aussie

Yes Chrisco is similar to copha but depending on what you are making sometimes there are alternatives - as I found out from a post a while ago. One lovely Aussie lady gave me a buttercream recipe and advised to use cream cheese instead of the chrisco/shortening. It was fabulous, tasted brilliant and lasts forever in the fridge!

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post #12 of 44
3/9/09 at 5:27am
Thanks miss_sweetstory. That was a GREAT explanation! I didn't know you guys have different measuring cups for dry and liquid ingredients! It seems so strange! It's all what you are use to I suppose! Thanks also for the conversion. I will find 185g far easier to work with!!!!
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post #13 of 44
3/9/09 at 2:19pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your replies. I think I have a handle on this now and might even be brave enough to give it a try!

I will also grab some Solite next time I'm at my local cake decorating shop and give that a whirl too..

I knew I'd get the answers here!

Thank you again!
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post #14 of 44
4/14/09 at 5:23pm
Australian living in the US here.

CRISCO and COPHA are no where equivalent. Crisco is very soft and does not set up like copha does and it has a really awful taste to it. And you definitely can't use it for Chocolate Crackles. I would be very careful subsituting copha for crisco in some of these recipes.
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post #15 of 44
6/16/10 at 7:35pm
Hi all
I know this is an old thread but just wanted to say thanks for the link to
http://www.usafoods.com.au/

I have been looking for crisco in melbourne for a long time and have now found it at this shop, went there yesterday and got a tin, also came out with slabs of Dr pepper cherry, bottle of peanut butter and jelly , and a bunch of other stuff, shop was packed with people.

cheers
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