I feel like this is such a strange one…
Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs being on-display, it felt like Watterson didn’t include a lot of “name brands” because I thought you couldn’t really get away with showing a name-brand without some kind of advertising deal.
So it feels strange to have Crisco mentioned by name and then mom saying “shortening?” as though Watterson (correctly) assumed that vegetable shortening was something most children may not actually be familiar with but they’d be familiar with the name Crisco, as they surely would see that in their parents cupboards.
In 2024, I can’t even imagine it, it feels like everyone gets the sort of stuff that would use Crisco straight from a bakery anymore. COVID created a quick resurgence of people baking at home, but I would assume kids these days wouldn’t even know what Crisco was at all. The brand name won’t help anymore because so few people seem to bake at home.
I was one of those kids who didn’t know what Crisco is.
I’m guessing it was just prominent enough that it was shorthand for shortening, like how band-aid became the name for bandages. Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs feels more like an amalgamation of multiple cereals (and it’s just funnier than any brand name)
I also think theres been a real move away from using hydrogenated fats like vegetable shortening. I know on the rare occasion I bake, I avoid shortening and use butter/lard. I’m not sure I’ve bought Crisco or any other shortening in my adult life…
but yeah… it used to be used in everything.
Doesn’t lard have a better flavor profile than Crisco anyway? At least for certain baked dishes, I definitely think it’s better in pie crust.
I really enjoy lard in pie crust but mostly for a pie that’s savory. The problem is that you can risk making it taste slightly like pork if it’s not a very strong flavored pie. For most pies I’ll use butter and it’s just a better all around flavor imo.
I used to use Crisco, but that’s because when I was taught by a lady from work how to make her recipe, I just went with it. Completely agree though, it’s just gross to use. It’s hard to clean off of anything and doesn’t add any flavor you’d want over butter or lard.
I mean, I certainly think it does…
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Natural saturated fat
Artificially saturated fat
