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Crisco is a brand of cooking and baking shortening that has been around since 1911. This product not only has a long history in the kitchen, but it also has an interesting story behind its creation. Developed by Proctor & Gamble as a replacement for lard, Crisco revolutionized the way people cooked and baked. But, is Crisco vegan?
Several Crisco products are vegan such as Blends Oil, Pure Canola Oil and Crisco Professional Grill Master No-Stick Grill Spray just to name a few. They are vegan because they don’t contain any ingredients sourced from animals.
Below is a table showing Crisco products and how many of them that are vegan.
| Flavor | Amount of Vegan Flavors |
| Cooking Oil | 4 out of 5 flavors are vegan. |
| Shortening | 0 out 4 flavors are vegan. |
| Cooking Spray | 4 out of 5 flavors are vegan. |
| Coconut Oil | 2 out of 2 flavors are vegan. |
Is Crisco Cooking Oil Vegan?
Crisco Blends Oil, Frying Oil Blend, Pure Canola Oil, Pure Corn Oil and Pure Vegetable Oil are all vegan because they don’t contain any ingredients derived from animals.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Blends Oil | Vegan. |
| Canola Oil and Omega-3 DHA | Maybe, contains Tocopherols.(Can be made from animals) |
| Frying Oil Blend | Vegan. |
| Pure Canola Oil | Vegan. |
| Pure Corn Oil | Vegan. |
| Pure Vegetable Oil | Vegan. |
Is Crisco Shortening Vegan?
Crisco vegetable shortening maybe vegan, but they all contain ingredients that can be sourced from animals.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| All-Vegetable Shortening | Maybe, contains Mono And Diglycerides. |
| All-Vegetable Shortening Baking Sticks | Maybe, contains Mono And Diglycerides. |
| Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening | Maybe, contains Natural and Artificial Flavor and Mono & Diglycerides. |
| Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening Baking Sticks | Maybe, contains Natural and Artificial Flavor and Mono & Diglycerides. |
Is Crisco Cooking Spray Vegan?
Almost all flavors of Crisco Cooking Spray are vegan except Butter Flavor No-Stick Cooking Spray, which contains natural and artificial flavors that could contain animal-sourced ingredients.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Butter Flavor No-Stick Cooking Spray | Maybe, contains Natural and Artificial Flavor. |
| Crisco Professional Cooking Pro No-Stick Cooking Spray | Vegan. |
| Crisco Professional Grill Master No-Stick Grill Spray | Vegan. |
| Olive Oil No-Stick Cooking Spray | Vegan. |
| Original No-Stick Cooking Spray | Vegan. |
Is Crisco Coconut Oil Vegan?
Refined Organic Coconut Oil and Unrefined Organic Coconut Oil are both vegan.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Refined Organic Coconut Oil | Vegan. |
| Unrefined Organic Coconut Oil | Vegan. |
Crisco Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Ascorbyl Palmitate
- Beta-Carotene (Pro Vitamin A)
- Citric Acid (Antioxidants)
- Canola Oil
- Dha Algal Oil
- Dimethyl Silicone (For Anti-Foaming)
- Fully Hydrogenated Palm Oil
- Mono & Diglycerides
- Natural And Artificial Flavor
- Palm Oil
- Peanut Oil
- Soybean Oil
- Sunflower Oil
- Tocopherols (Antioxidants)
- TBHQ And
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Questionable Ingredients
Palm Oil
Palm oil is a controversial ingredient. Not only by vegans but also by people all around the world. This oil is known for its vast productivity per square meter, which makes it a very profitable ingredient in many products.
Companies are cutting down trees in order to make room for palm oil plantations and this has led to wildlife such as orangutans and rhinos being forced away from their homes. There are videos on YouTube showing orangutans trying to fight away the excavators.
However there is a way for the palm oil to become more vegan-friendly and it’s through a non-profit organization called RSPO. They help companies produce and buy sustainable palm oil that has minimal impact on the environment.
Natural Flavor
The next questionable ingredient is natural flavor and the reason why it’s questionable is because it’s an umbrella term, meaning that it can consist of several ingredients. This makes it very hard to know for sure if it’s vegan friendly or not.
Companies can add any ingredient they wish and only call it natural flavor, which means that ingredients sourced from animals could be added and it’s impossible to know for sure.
Mono & Diglycerides and Tocopherols
These ingredient can be derived from animals.
Conclusion
It’s amazing that so many Crisco products are vegan-friendly, making this a good brand for vegans to keep in mind. Some of the products are questionable because they contain ingredients that could be sourced from animals, but they might be vegan as well.
Thanks for reading, take care!
