Is shortening vegan?

Shortening is a solid fat used in baking and cooking to give foods a crumbly, flaky texture. It is produced by processing fats and oils, traditionally through hydrogenation, to ensure they remain solid at room temperature. Shortening can be derived from plant sources like soybean, palm, cottonseed, or coconut oil, or from animal sources such as lard from pigs or tallow from cattle. It frequently appears on ingredient lists for commercial baked goods, pie crusts, cookies, pastries, shelf-stable frostings, and fried snack foods.

Shortening is considered possibly vegan because ingredient labels rarely specify the origin of the fat. While many modern formulations rely entirely on vegetable oils, some varieties are made from animal fats or a blend of both plant and animal fats. Because the term shortening alone does not identify the base ingredient, consumers must look for an explicit vegetable shortening declaration or a vegan certification on the packaging. When these are absent, contacting the manufacturer directly is the only way to confirm whether the ingredient is plant-based.