Buttercream with shortening

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nzbrat, Jun 7, 7:43pm
I read heaps of posts on Facebook where woman overseas use shortening instead of butter for buttercream. Does anyone know what brand we could use and the ratios of the recipe. apparently its better than butter. Thank you in advance

eljayv, Jun 7, 8:35pm
Possibly something like this
Spectrum-Naturals-Organic-All--
Vegetable-Shortening

strowan1, Jun 8, 3:20am
I see Kremelta is labelled Vegetable Shortening. I’ve never used it for icing.
Kremelta must be fresh, if it is, it has very little taste. Let us know how you get on. Sorry can’t help re amounts.

buzzy110, Jun 8, 4:03am
Kremelta is hydrogenated coconut oil. Why would anyone want to stick that crap into their bodies? Even the Americans have banned hydrogenated fats.

uli, Jun 8, 4:45am
If I make buttercream once a year I really stick to a very expensive nice non-salted butter.

Of course if that is something you eat every week then you might have to compromise to keep the cost down. Try using a soft margarine type spread.

Or you could try these which are not hydrogenated:
https://www.ceres.co.nz/ingredients/oils/palm-shortening/ http://www.wisecicada.co.nz/spectrum-organic-all-vegetable-shortening-non-hydrogenated-680g

Of course that brings us to the palm oil debate .

buzzy110, Jun 8, 5:09am
Do you mean that palm oil is depleting orangutan habitat, altering and causing massive loss of biodiversity and making natives in the area it is grown into virtual slaves to one single monoculture at risk of massive financial losses if the crop begins to fail, - that sort of thing?

strowan1, Jun 8, 7:45pm
What is the matter with you that you need to come on and preach in your overbearing manner. The rest of the replies were merely offering assistance to OP., not judging their merits.
This is why we see less and less participation in Recipes, who wants to be jumped on for offering an alternative that differs from yours.

uli, Jun 9, 6:07am
Yes buzzy110 - THAT sort of thing. And I am amazed that an organic wholesaler sells that .

To the poster above - buzzy110 was sarcastic - in case you know what that means . and I was not going to say much because it incites exactly that sort of response you just gave.

It helps to inform yourself and not just buy the cheapest available alternative - in case you want to look at yourself in the mirror every morning.

kay141, Jun 9, 7:20am
I, for one, still cook from scratch, as, no doubt, do many others who used to post.

I now very seldom post recipes, queries or comments in any thread. Too much abuse, too many personal comments taken from here, edited and reposted in this and other forums.

I'm guessing, there are many like me, who now read but don't post.

slimgym, Jun 9, 8:40am
I have always used kremelta and butter in my icing, very fattening but everyone that eats them enjoys the icing. It helps the icing keep its shape.

strowan1, Jun 9, 8:40pm
Agree with you 100% Kay, as I’ve just found out why would you contribute simply to be rubbished. I never wanted to associate with the bully girls group during my school days, most definitely not starting now! Thankfully tho they are fewer in number than the genuine helpful nonjudgmental posters who’s contributions are much enjoyed.

madj, Jun 9, 10:43pm
This is the one I use, if you live in Wellington there is a little shop that sells it, also the USA shop in Johnsonville can probably get Crisco if you really want. This place also does online orders. https://cupcakesweeties.co.nz/products/sno-creme-large-720gm-vegetable-creme-shortening I have made 'buttercream' with this and it gives a great base for vibrant colours but doesn't taste as good as real buttercream (in my opinion). You can do half and half and it is a little better. It doesn't taste terrible but it isn't as good. You can also buy Lorann oils for flavouring which does improve it considerably. Until this become available I used to try and use kremelta but it really was quite difficult to use, the snocreme is soft and ready to use and lasts for ages.

autumnwinds, Jun 9, 11:10pm
Sno Creme (sometimes called Sno Whip) is also available on TM.

Cake decorators use it instead of butter to achieve a much whiter buttercream for bridal cakes, and one can also buy colourless vanilla for the same purpose (a whiter icing or cake).

samanya, Jun 9, 11:16pm
Very judgemental post, uli.
Not all of us use packets etc to cook with.
This forum is not only for people who cook from scratch, is it?
Has it ever occurred to you that this could be a learning curve for a lot of people . so helpful comments would be desirable, instead of a couple of posters putting down posters food choices that don't fit with their own ideas?
Cooking is not a 'one size fits all' thing & it's not up to any of us to judge food choices, is it?

davidt4, Jun 10, 12:27am
Thankfully I missed that one Uli. It is tragic to see how people's ideas of cooking have been shaped by the manufacturers of fake food.

davidt4, Jun 10, 12:32am
I agree - this forum has a lot of potential to help new cooks, and I always try to be helpful when I can. However when someone specifically asks for advice on "flavour sachets" I have no expertise. It would be a waste of time typing out a "from scratch " slow cooker chicken recipe when that is not what was requested.

uli, Jun 10, 12:45am
Well . be careful davidt4 :)
You might go onto the list of those "very judgemental people" which obviously includes me and buzzy110, if you post another of your lovely recipes without packages and all done from scratch.

By the way - have you got some great chestnut recipes? If yes please open another thread, so we won't interfere here. I have about 25kgs all cooked and painfully peeled in the freezer now and am running out of new good ideas on how to use them - and yes I have googled.

davidt4, Jun 10, 1:51am
Sorry, I have hardly ever done anything with chestnuts other than boiling them and serving with butter. I’ll have a look in some of my cook books and will start a new thread if I come up with anything.

kay141, Jun 10, 2:05am
Wow, #16, 17 and 18 are, IMO, prime examples of the condescending and unhelpful posts which have taken over this forum.

Thank goodness for the net and the many helpful FB groups, where people can ask questions without being judged, criticised and abused. Where very few recipes have packets in them but if they do, they are accepted.

Of course FB groups do not suit the bullies as they are not or shouldn''t be anonymous.

samanya, Jun 10, 2:08am
That's true . I don't use them either, obviously a lot do.
I used one once & it was awful, so never again.
I have used a lot of recipes that you have given & thanks for them.
As I said it's not a 'one size fits all' scenario.
imo it's better to be helpful where one can, rather than put people off by being judgemental about their food choices.

uli, Jun 10, 5:20am
Yes that is my problem too - however as it happens the trees grow up around you and after more then 20 years you get more and more interesting things to harvest and are expected to do something with them of course (never mind the pigs who always know what to do with anything you throw at them - even onion peels! ).

The best I did recently was cook them in red wine, then add cream and chilli, salt and some fresh herbs and serve them instead of potatoes etc.

I have tried all the "cakes" that float around the net, but since I do not eat cakes anyway it seemed a bit of a waste for all those hours of cooking and peeling.

Maybe I will be "organized" next season and sell them on TM - they sold for $12 a kilo here at the local Growers Market - so I might get rich yet (or at least pay my Osteopath. )

uli, Jun 10, 5:23am
WOW again - I post here about once or twice a month - which means you must have lots and lots of other bullies - who are they?

As to FB - if you think those people are really using their own names and not post anonymous - then you must be very naive. I never thought that of you kay141. Actually very disconcerting for me.

samanya, Jun 10, 6:00am
leave it uli.
Learn when to pull your head in & stop targeting people.
It would be great if recipes could get back to being a helpful forum, without the negativity shown by a couple of posters . simply because not every one has the time to be 'slow cooks' or grow their own food, like you & me.
If there are threads asking advice re packet mixes . fine, as davidt4 said, don't contribute if you are not familiar with packet mixes.
The people asking about them don't need a lecture about what they should be eating.
Who knows, if people feel welcome here, they may read other threads & not be afraid to ask/comment, for fear of being shot down by those who think they have the perfect diet & superior knowledge about everything & hence they may learn a lot & their choices re food may change, because they are given helpful suggestions about choices, without aggression.
david4t manages this very well & you could too.
You are knowledgeable about a lot of things relating to cooking & can be helpful, but there is no need to disparage others who are seeking advice that doesn't relate to your ideals.
Staying out of threads where you can't offer anything positive would be a start.

samanya, Jun 10, 6:02am
I'm sorry that this thread has become rather off topic . I hope you got the answers that you were after.

kay141, Jun 10, 6:06am
What a personally insulting post. Try debating the subject and not the person.

I don't know what you do on FB but they do have a policy of real names being used. It is also in their rules. All those I have had contact with on the various groups are following the rules. Also the administrators of those groups are much stricter and do delete member and posts which are unfair, critical or in any other way demeaning to others. That obviously doesn't happen here.