Ok, I have read so much about this my mind is going numb. I have noticed a difference since the crisco change. I want to try hi ratio, but do not have enough time to on line it and the closest place is 35 minutes away - and its a 50lb pail!!!.
I bought a generic that has 2grams transfat in it. The ingredient list is partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed and mono and di glycerides.
1. If anyone has hi ratio, is that all there is to it in the ingredient list?
2. Is there another difference that I will find that will make it worth the trip?
Thanks so much for responding,
Catherine
Well a 50lb bucket cost like 80 bux where I am.......
so be prepared.
I have bucket of CK high ratio. ingrediants: partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils WITH PG mono emulsifer added. what ever that is.
Definitely miles ahead of crisco.
Sweetex Hi-Ratio shortening ingredients:
partially hydrogenated soybean and Palm oils with mono- and diglycerides.
About $100 - 50lbs
I love working with it, makes a a huge differenec in the smoothness... taste, don't really know but hear that it's much better.
Hope this is helpful.
Same here, I buy bakemark hi ratio from CK..pay about 46 dollars for a 50 lb brick. Our local dist has another brand, but I didnt like it for buttercream, it was soo light, but I am using it for my non dairy mousses and other fillings. Not all hi ratios are alike! So try different brands.
I just bought some sweetex at a cake shop and tried it out...love it!! Only problem for me as well is i live a distance from this shoppe so i'm unable to just buy it when i need it. Like you i don't want to buy buckets of the stuff, i don't do enough cakes yet to make it worth it. Our bulk food store sell high ratio but i'm not sure the brand.
50 lbs for 27 bux?!?!??!?!?!
DANG! I pay like 8.99 for 3 lbs... 
Boy, my cake shop is ripping me off. I just bought a 3lb tub of CK brand hi-ratio and paid $14.93 for it!! 
I am definitely going to order from one of the online stores next time.
Terrie
I use the Food Lion off name brand and it has 3 grams of trans fat in it and it works GREAT. I bought Kroger's off name brand and it had only 1 gram of trans fat in it and I ruined an entire 6 lbs of buttercream b/c the consistency was horrible, and it was grainy.
I think that you need to find the off name shortening and try using that. The more trans fat the better it performs, IMHO.
hope that helps!
Oh, the off brand shortening at Food Lion is $2.96 per container
I decided to take the plunge today and see just what would happen when I did not use the hi ratio that I have come to LOVE! I bought the GV from walmart. I HATED IT!!! It was so grainy and slimy looking! I will NEVER use anything BUT HR again!
HTH
Debi
Debi!
Sorry your experiment didn't work.. but at least you tried! hope you can find SOMETHING to do with it.
I've never used this Hi-ratio shortening. Is Hi-Ratio the name of the shortening or does that mean it has the trans fat in it? And knowing that trans fat is bad to consume is it worth the health factor to use it anyway? I really don't know how much transfat it takes to be harmful. I tried a brand from wal-mart that had 2 grams of transfat and the shortening was soooo soft and so was my bc when I made it so I went back to Crisco. I've still searching for the perfect bc recipe and ingredients. Any suggestions.
Melissa
I'm in Canada, so this might not apply to most of you ... but I can buy hi-ratio at my local Bulk Barn (bulk store). I am not a pro baker, so I don't use that much of it, or I would probably buy it in larger quantities. However, for my needs, to buy it close to home (can't get hi-ratio anywhere else even remotely close to me) and in a quantity I can select, it's great. Maybe it's for sale in a bulk type store near you??
I'm in Canada, so this might not apply to most of you ... but I can buy hi-ratio at my local Bulk Barn (bulk store). I am not a pro baker, so I don't use that much of it, or I would probably buy it in larger quantities. However, for my needs, to buy it close to home (can't get hi-ratio anywhere else even remotely close to me) and in a quantity I can select, it's great. Maybe it's for sale in a bulk type store near you??
I'm sooo glad you posted. I just posted a question about the bulk food store hi ratio shortening on another cake site. I was wondering if it was any good? Texture? Taste? I've purchased hi ratio stuff at a cake shop in michigan but i can't be running over there all the time. When i went to the bulk store i was surprized to see it and am curious on the qualtiy indeed. I asked them at the store what brand it was and she said it didn't have a name on the bin but she did say cake decorators buy it all the time, so i figured it has to be pretty good. What has your experience been with it?
My only drawback is my son as severe nut allergies and being that it comes from the bulk store this may be an issue. But perhaps i can ask them to order me a small quantity unopened.
I just saw this thread...just now decided to take the plunge to use hi ration...found the CK brand here: http://www.fondantsource.com/hirash3lbs.html as my local bakery supply doesn't carry it. He told me its a good price though.... I bought the 6 tubs for $36 and then shipping was just over $14. Hope it works good for me!
Especially for my whipped icing (recipe posted in my recipes)....sometimes it seems with that recipe the regular shortening has a little bit more of a waxy feel in the mouth.
Someone just mentioned that shortenin all has to be trans fat free by 2010. What does everyone plan to do then? I do not want toget use to hi ratio shortening and then have to start all over again. I tried the dream whip icing and it was not a pure white and I still had air bubbles.
You can definitely freeze it. I portion it out into 1c mounds (using a scale) and then wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap before sealing as many as possible into a ziploc. Of course you can portion it out in larger amounts too. I don't know how long it lasts in the freezer but I'd guess it lasts as long as anything can...6 mos to a year before things start suffering from irreversible freezer burn, wouldn't you say?
To answer the PP, yes I suppose you are right, in CA they are phasing out trans fats (Other major US cities already do this) It only pertains to restaurants+bakeries so theoretically you should be able to BUY it, but you just can't sell goods containing TF's. This was signed into law by Arnie and I don't think it's a big deal for most industries since so many have already cut out TF without problems (in fact that's a selling point nowadays: "TF free!") However I am sure that will be a bigger challenge for bakers...I wonder if the baking industry will try to get an exemption? Oh actually I just read a blurb that baked goods have til 2011 to phase out.
I have to admit, when I look at the list of restaurants that have already phased it out, and also the goodies (think: Oreos, the first "victims") I think to myself, well, the food still tastes the same so what's the problem? TF's are pretty darned awful, and they are not saying you cannot consume them, but if you choose to do so you must make the product yourself. Probably because it's not realistic to require restaurants and bakeries to offer you a "choice" - like a TF and TFF version of each dish? LOL, as IF!
I read a post once from Leahs that said there is a good quality TF free baking shortening but it's $$$ expensive! Maybe as it becomes a more commonly used product in our state, the price will come down because more people will begin to produce and offer it (i.e. more competition in the marketplace.) Right now it's just a specialty item.
I'm so glad to find this thread...I tried a week or so ago to ask a question so I could understand what Hi-Ratio even means...had little luck. This really helps. I am looking for trans fat! Is that right???
I've never used this Hi-ratio shortening. Is Hi-Ratio the name of the shortening or does that mean it has the trans fat in it? And knowing that trans fat is bad to consume is it worth the health factor to use it anyway? I really don't know how much transfat it takes to be harmful. I tried a brand from wal-mart that had 2 grams of transfat and the shortening was soooo soft and so was my bc when I made it so I went back to Crisco. I've still searching for the perfect bc recipe and ingredients. Any suggestions.
Melissa
Hi-Ratio is NOT brand name. It's a "style" of shortening and means that it is formulated to hold an emulsion with more liquid to fat ratio than Crisco which is an all purpose shortening. There are frying shortenings formulated to not break down at high temps. IOW, shortenings are specifically formulated to do a specific job.
For cakes and icings you can generally use the same shortening, more so if you have chosen a shortening specifically formulated for cakes and icings. Vremay and Alpine are two brand names. They are both excellent. I personally haven't used Sweetex, but always considered it an icing shortening. Crisco is not specifically formulated to hold an emulsion so it will make icing that will, at some point, break down. Hopefully you will have eaten the cake first.
Newnancy,
Thanks for the tip, but I'm not in Piggly Wiggly country!
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