What to Know About Shortening Color Measurements

The color of shortening may not be something many casual bakers consider, but as a manufacturer, it's your job to ensure a consistent color for anyone who needs it. HunterLab is here to help you make your choice in quality color measurement solutions for shortening.

Understand the Differences in Types of Shortening

When measuring the color of anything, one of the most important things is to ensure you're comparing the color to other foods that are meant to be exactly the same. So when you're measuring shortening, make sure you know which type of shortening you're measuring. There are four types of shortening:

• Solid: This is the most common type of shortening, usually bought in cans or sticks like butter. It's meant for bread-based recipes like cake and pastries.
• Liquid: When solid shortening melts, it becomes liquid shortening. It can also be used for cakes, but it finds better uses in frying.
• All-purpose: All-purpose shortening does not use emulsifiers.
• Cake/icing: Cake shortening uses emulsifiers to help maintain moisture in finished products.

Fatty Acid Measurements Determine Edibility

Like all foods, shortening has a shelf life, and over time, it can become unstable and not fit for cooking and baking. When shortening starts to go bad, its color can change, which is yet another reason color measurement of shortening is valuable to manufacturers.

Eventually, the chemical bonds in shortening break down, leading to the formation of free fatty acids. These fatty acids will darken the color and change the flavor of shortening, making it both unsafe and unappealing for use. Keeping an accurate measurement of shortening color helps you know when a batch may be off and ill-advised to sell to consumers.

Measure the Shortening Properly for Color Measurement

Because color measurement can determine the feasibility of long-term shortening sales, precise scientific methods should be utilized during every measurement. All circumstances, from lighting and temperature to when in development you test the colors, should stay consistent. Some other things to keep in mind include:

• Sample size: Measuring the same amount of shortening every time will ensure you're reading color instead of opacity or other factors.
• Tools used: The best way to measure any food is with a quality spectrophotometer capable of adjusting to your process and reading color the way human eyes will perceive it.

Get Accurate Color Results With HunterLab

When it comes to color measurement tools, HunterLab is an industry leader you can trust. We create specialized equipment for every food, and when it comes to shortening, Vista's on-screen interface and quality-control software are ideal for liquid form, while ColorFlex EZ offers a solution for semi-solid options. Request a quote today and learn more about how we developed our suite of color measurement tools.