Crisco is an American brand of shortening that is produced by B%26G Foods. Introduced in June 1911 the liquid form of hydrogenation was perfected and patented by Wilhelm Normann in 1903.

Joseph Crosfield and Sons acquired Normann's patent ostensibly for use in the production of soap. Their chief chemist, Edwin C. Kayser, was hired by Procter & Gamble's business manager, John Burchenal, and they patented two processes to hydrogenate cottonseed oil. Further success came from the marketing technique of giving away free cookbooks in which every recipe called for Crisco.

left|thumb|By the mid-20th-century, home cooks often substituted Crisco for butter in baked goods, as was the case in this orange cake recipe

Crisco vegetable oil was introduced in 1960. In 1976, Procter & Gamble introduced sunflower oil under the trade name Puritan Oil, which was marketed as a lower-cholesterol alternative. In 1988, Puritan Oil was switched to 100% canola oil.

In 2002, Procter & Gamble divested the Crisco (oil and shortening) brand, along with Jif peanut butter, in a spinoff to their stockholders; the two brands then immediately merged with the J. M. Smucker Co.

B%26G Foods acquired the Crisco brand in December 2020.

Changes in fat content

In April 2004, Smucker introduced "Crisco Zero Grams Trans Fat Per Serving All-Vegetable Shortening", which contained fully hydrogenated palm oil blended with liquid vegetable oils to yield a shortening much like the original Crisco. From January 24, 2007, all Crisco shortening products were reformulated to contain less than one gram of trans fat per serving; the separately marketed trans fat-free version introduced in 2004 was consequently discontinued. , Crisco consists of a blend of soybean oil, fully hydrogenated palm oil, and palm oil. According to the product information label, one 12-g serving of Crisco contains 3.5 g of saturated fat, 0 g of trans fat, 6 g of polyunsaturated fat, and 2.5 g of monounsaturated fat. This reformulated Crisco is claimed to have the same cooking properties and flavor as the original version of the product.

According to the FDA, "Food manufacturers are allowed to list amounts of trans fat with less than 0.5 gram (1/2 g) per serving as 0 (zero) on the Nutrition Facts panel."

thumb|upright|Cover of the original Crisco cookbook, 1912

Some nutritionists argue that while the formula has been changed to remove the trans fatty acids, the fully hydrogenated oil used to replace them may not be good for health. Crisco and similar low-trans fat products are formed by the interesterification of a mixture of fully hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils. The composition of the resultant triglycerides is random, and may contain combinations of fatty acids not commonly found in nature. A recent study showed that interesterified fat increased volunteers' blood sugar by 20%, while simultaneously lowering the body's HDL cholesterol.

Kream Krisp

thumb|upright=.8|left|Kream Krisp logo

While Kayser's patents were filed in 1910 and granted in 1915, Hugh Moore, chief chemist for the Berlin Mills Company in Berlin, New Hampshire, filed his patents by 1914 (granted 1914 and 1916). Berlin Mills's vegetable shortening (later trademarked in 1915 as Kream Krisp) appeared on the market in 1914.

Sexual use

Around the time of the gay liberation movement of the 1960s–1980s, men commonly used Crisco as a lubricant for anal fisting since it was inexpensive and widely available. It was prominently featured in gay pornography such as Erotic Hands (1980) before specialized products became available.

According to Drew Sawyer, a Ph.D. student who presented commentary on art history<!-- see https://www.columbia.edu/~sf2220/TT2007/web-content/Pages/subjects.html and https://www.drewsawyer.com/Info and https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2021/06/25/drew-sawyer/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-sawyer-48b37218/. He got his M.A. in 2007 and his Ph.D. in 2015. This talk was in 2007. --> in a 2007 "Thing Theory" seminar class at Columbia University, in the 1970s, cans of Crisco were "so synonymous with gay sex that discos and bars around the world took on the name, such as Crisco Disco in New York City, one of the premiere clubs during the 1970s and early 1980s". The DJ booth at Crisco Disco was designed to resemble a giant Crisco can.

In 2013, Detroit-based artist Jerry Vile placed a 4-ft. tall empty can decorated to look like a can of Crisco in front of the fist-shaped Monument to Joe Louis for "helping to ease the pain of Detroit's bankruptcy." Many interpreted the can as a reference to the sexual practice of fisting.

Notes

References

  • Official gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 253