Vegetable shortening

One US cup of vegetable shortening weighs between 184 and 205 grams, depending on how the cup is filled and which source measured it. That range is the answer; a single number would not be. Every figure behind it is below, with the method each source used.

Also called shortening, solid shortening, hydrogenated vegetable shortening, all-vegetable shortening.

Vegetable shortening is a solid fat product manufactured by hydrogenating vegetable oil, historically soybean or cottonseed. Modern shortening (post-2018 FDA ban on partially hydrogenated oils) is typically made from a blend of fully hydrogenated palm oil and other vegetable oils, with essentially the same physical properties as the older formulation. It is 100% fat and 0% water, and sits between butter and oil in physical behaviour: soft enough to scoop, firm enough to hold a shape.

The two accepted sources for cup weight disagree beyond the 5% tolerance this site applies to fats. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 172332, Shortening, household, soybean hydrogenated and palm) publishes 205 grams per cup, implying a density of 0.8664 g/mL. King Arthur Baking publishes 184 grams per cup, implying 0.7777 g/mL. The gap is 11.4%. Because both are legitimate measurements of the same substance, and because the difference reflects a real physical variable rather than a source error, this site publishes the range they cover rather than choosing one.

The physical variable is packing method. Solid shortening at room temperature is a soft mass that can be scooped gently, spooned lightly, or firmly pressed into a measuring cup. Loose scooping traps air; firm packing removes it. The gap between USDA at 205 g per cup and King Arthur at 184 g per cup is consistent with one source measuring firmly packed shortening (the higher figure) and the other measuring a gentler spoon-and-level fill. Neither source states its packing method explicitly, so the entry publishes the range and names the physical reason.

For accuracy in baking, weigh the shortening on a kitchen scale rather than measuring by volume. A recipe developed with one measurement method will produce a different fat quantity if the cook uses the other, and the difference is large enough to affect the outcome of pastry doughs and biscuits where the fat-to-flour ratio matters.

This entry covers standard hydrogenated vegetable shortening. It does not cover palm shortening (King Arthur lists that separately at 180 g per cup, essentially the same density as vegetable shortening); lard (a rendered animal fat with different composition and slightly different density); butter (which contains water and milk solids in addition to fat, and is measured differently); or coconut oil (which is solid at cool temperatures but liquid at warm ones and is entered separately).

The confidence grade is low because sources disagree beyond category tolerance and the entry publishes a range rather than a single figure. A third independent source measuring shortening under a stated packing method would resolve the ambiguity.