On Feb 1, 1:08 pm, "wff_ng_7" > wrote:
> "Dee Dee" > wrote:
> >I made the choice to buy Crisco for seasoning my cast-iron pans (vs.
> > olive oil, lard, etc), so I bought a large can of it at BJ's ($5+). I
> > will use it solely for seasoning and as I haven't used it in years,
> > and will probably keep the can of Crisco for years for this use, I'm
> > wondering whether to refrigerate it. I don't know if it turns rancid
> > (does Crisco turn rancid?) if it will make the cast-iron have a rancid
> > taste - Yuk!
>
> Crisco does eventually go rancid, even if stored in the refrigerator. I
> believe it will last longer though, the cooler it is stored. That's where I
> keep mine. I primarily use it for pie crusts. One day I was making a pie
> crust and something just didn't smell right. It didn't occur to me
> immediately where the odor was coming from. Then I smelled inside the Crisco
> can... rancid!
>
> I don't think rancid Crisco would have any effect on seasoning cast iron,
> but it might smell more while you are "curing" the pan in the oven. When
> done, it should be fine, I would think.
>
> You must have an awful lot of cast iron, or plan on reseasoning on a
> frequent basis. I can't imagine using up a normal sized can of shortening (3
> lb) in a lifetime on reseasoning alone. The standard can sizes I'm aware of
> are 1 lb and 3 lb. What size can did you get?
>
> Just as a side note... the trans fat free Crisco disappeared from my
> supermarket a while back, and I thought it was poor inventory control by the
> supermarket. Turns out the green label trans fat free product has been
> discontinued, and now all Crisco shortening is trans fat free. I read that
> in the food section of the paper (Washington Post) yesterday, and saw
> there's a press release on the Crisco web site about it too.
>
> --
> ( #wff_ng_7# at #verizon# period #net# )

Thanks Andy, and thanks wff for your thoughtful answer.

Thanks for the WP newspaper article, which I just found and in part
says this:
"Trans fat-free Crisco shortening was introduced to consumers in 2004
but was discontinued because of production and performance
problems."

and I understand from your reference to
http://www.crisco.com/whatsnew/press_releases.asp
that it no longer will be shipped containing the transfat.

Very interesting: my 6# can which has an expiration date of Aug 24,
2008 and has a Total fat content for 1 Tablespoon serving of 12g, of
which1.5g is transfat. It says on the blue labeled can "Partially
Hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, mono-and diglycerides."

I certainly would have preferred to waited. I may just try to return
this if they will take it back. It all depends who is working the
'return' section whether or not they will take something back without
a bunch of tailspinning.

6# -- well, I looked at it this way -- I was in BJ's killing some time
between a dental appointment and I picked up 10# of KA flour, saving
money of course, costing $.449 a lb. I knew that if I went to a
regular grocery store a 3# can (which is what I probably would have
bought) would have cost me almost as much. With BJ's and Costco, I
feel I can break even over buying a product in a regular grocery
store, even if I throw out a third. So, it was there. I definitely
would've preferred to buy the transfat as I would've tried a pie using
it, instead of lard, just to see how it turned out.

I don't have a lot of cast iron to be seasoned, but DH hasn't a knack
for seasoning and without my supervision (tee hee), I wonder how many
re-seasonings will have to be done before it comes out to MY
satisfaction. :-))

Thanks for the information. I'm a little ticked off for not waiting
for the honest-to-goodness NEW Crisco.
Dee