Bakery products were improved significantly when emulsified shortening was introduced in 1933 (Hui, 1996). Pure vegetable shortenings were accepted as premium products both by housewives and the commercial bakers due to their uniform white colour and smooth texture that improves stability, creaming properties and bland taste. The advance in technology, especially in the food service and processing sectors, has created the need for new shortenings, and liquid, chips, fluid and powdered shortenings have joined the current plasticized products (Miskandar et al., 2004). Fluid shortening is a suspension of hard fats, emulsifiers and additives or combinations in liquid oils, formulatedto be of pourable or pumpable consistency atroom temperature and stable overthe temperature range 15.6°C-32.2°C (O’Brien, 2004). Fluid and liquid shortenings are both pourable, but the liquids are clear while the fluids opaque from suspended solids (Weiss, 1983; O’Brien, 2004). The fluid nature of the product provides better control of the formulation volumetrically and for pouring. Similarto plasticized shortenings, it can be formulated to contain emulsifiers for the end product performance.

Main Research: Miskandar Mat Sahri