Are there low-fat substitutes for shortening in baking

fatslow-fatshorteningsubstitutions

My husband has just had stints put into his heart and is now on a fat/salt/sugar diet. I do all the cooking and enjoy making things from scratch. I am trying to adjust my recipes for his new diet. Shortening is used in rolls, biscuits, cakes, etc. (you get the idea) what can I use in place of shortening? I need something that will not be greasey or tasteless. I do not mind if I have to use a different ingredient for different applications (sweets, breads, etc.) I just need a way to make the food compliant with the prescribed diet without losing flavor.

Best Answer

If you can find a copy, Graham Kerr's "Minimax Cookbook" has guidance and several recipes for low-fat baking. He used to be the galloping gourmet, and produced recipes with outrageous amounts of fat, sugar, and so on. Then his wife had a stroke and he re-examined how he cooks in order to be able to meet her dietary requirements while not losing flavor, texture, and mouth-feel. It covers much more than baking, and is a good guide to low-fat cooking in general. Unfortunately it's out of print (published in 1992), but there seem to be lots of copies available from second-tier distributors.