Crisco

The process of the hydrogenation of organic substances in gas form was developed by Paul Sabatier in the late 19th century. Building on James Boyce's 1890s work in the successful development of a consumable solid lard substitute, Cottolene, in the U.S.,The Holland Evening Sentinel; Holland, Michigan; 4 June 1935 (obituary); retrieved June 2010. the liquid form of hydrogenation was perfected and patented by Wilhelm Normann in 1903.Jackson & List (2007). [http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=210614 "Giants of the Past: The Battle Over Hydrogenation (1903–1920)"], Inform 18.

Joseph Crosfield and Sons acquired Normann's patent ostensibly for use in the production of soap. Their chief chemist, Edwin C. Kayser, was hired by Procter & Gamble's business manager, John Burchenal, and they patented two processes to hydrogenate cottonseed oil. Although their initial intent was to completely harden oils for use as raw material for making soap, these processes ensured that the fat would remain solid at normal storage temperatures and could find use in the food industry.

After rejecting the names "Krispo" and "Cryst" (the latter for its religious connotations), Procter & Gamble called the product Crisco, a modification of the phrase "crystallized cottonseed oil". They used advertising techniques that encouraged consumers not to be concerned about ingredients but to trust in a reliable brand.{{Cite news|last=Veit|first=Helen Zoe|date=December 25, 2020|title=How Crisco toppled lard – and made Americans believers in industrial food|url=https://news.yahoo.com/crisco-toppled-lard-made-americans-154832350.html|access-date=2020-12-27|work=Yahoo News|agency=The Conversation|language=en-US}} Further success came from the marketing technique of giving away free cookbooks in which every recipe called for Crisco.

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Crisco vegetable oil was introduced in 1960. In 1976, Procter & Gamble introduced sunflower oil under the trade name Puritan Oil, which was marketed as a lower-cholesterol alternative. In 1988, Puritan Oil was switched to 100% canola oil.

In 2002, Procter & Gamble divested the Crisco (oil and shortening) brand, along with Jif peanut butter, in a spinoff to their stockholders; the two brands then immediately merged with the J. M. Smucker Co.{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071028115232/http://www.smuckers.com/fc/newsroom/archive/jcris02.asp | date = October 10, 2001 | title = J.M. Smucker announces stock deal with P&G for JIF and Crisco: Smucker combines three #1 classic food brands | publisher = Smuckers.com | archive-date = October 28, 2007 | url = http://www.smuckers.com/fc/newsroom/archive/jcris02.asp }}

B%26G Foods acquired the Crisco brand in December 2020.{{cite web | date = December 1, 2020 | title = B&G Foods Completes Acquisition of Iconic Crisco® Brand | publisher = bgfoods.com | url = https://www.bgfoods.com/investor-relations/news/article/13851 }}

In April 2004, Smucker introduced "Crisco Zero Grams Trans Fat Per Serving All-Vegetable Shortening", which contained fully hydrogenated palm oil blended with liquid vegetable oils to yield a shortening much like the original Crisco. From January 24, 2007, all Crisco shortening products were reformulated to contain less than one gram of trans fat per serving; the separately marketed trans fat-free version introduced in 2004 was consequently discontinued.{{cite web | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080218044416/http://www.crisco.com/about/shortening_0gramstransfat_faq.asp | archive-date = February 18, 2008| title = Frequently Asked Questions: I can't find the Crisco green can anywhere | publisher = Crisco.com | url=http://www.crisco.com/about/shortening_0gramstransfat_faq.asp}} {{As of|2022|10}}, Crisco consists of a blend of soybean oil, fully hydrogenated palm oil, and palm oil. According to the product information label, one 12-g serving of Crisco contains 3.5 g of saturated fat, 0 g of trans fat, 6 g of polyunsaturated fat, and 2.5 g of monounsaturated fat.{{Cite web |title=All-Vegetable Shortening |url=https://crisco.com/product/all-vegetable-shortening/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018193312/https://crisco.com/product/all-vegetable-shortening/ |archive-date=2022-10-18 |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=Crisco |language=en-US}} This reformulated Crisco is claimed to have the same cooking properties and flavor as the original version of the product.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}

According to the FDA, "Food manufacturers are allowed to list amounts of trans fat with less than 0.5 gram (1/2 g) per serving as 0 (zero) on the Nutrition Facts panel."{{Cite web |url=http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html |title=FDA website |access-date=2006-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820083834/http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html#s3q3 |archive-date=2006-08-20 |url-status=dead }}

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Some nutritionists{{who|date=December 2017}} argue that while the formula has been changed to remove the trans fatty acids, the fully hydrogenated oil used to replace them may not be good for health. Crisco and similar low-trans fat products are formed by the interesterification of a mixture of fully hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils. The composition of the resultant triglycerides is random, and may contain combinations of fatty acids not commonly found in nature.{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/society/2006/sep/27/health.food | title = Alex Renton investigates the health risks of trans fats: Grease is the word | author = Alex Renton | date = 27 September 2006 | newspaper = The Guardian }}{{cite web | url = http://class.fst.ohio-state.edu/fst821/Lect/Inter.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040415054736/http://class.fst.ohio-state.edu/fst821/Lect/Inter.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2004-04-15 | title = Unit FST 821: Food Lipids; Lecture notes: Interesterification | author = David B. Min | publisher = Ohio State University }} A recent study showed that interesterified fat increased volunteers' blood sugar by 20%, while simultaneously lowering the body's HDL cholesterol.{{cite news | url = https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070116131545.htm | title = New Fat, Same Old Problem With An Added Twist? Replacement For Trans Fat Raises Blood Sugar In Humans | date = January 2007 | publisher = Science Daily }}

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While Kayser's patents were filed in 1910 and granted in 1915, Hugh Moore, chief chemist for the Berlin Mills Company in Berlin, New Hampshire, filed his patents by 1914 (granted 1914 and 1916). Berlin Mills's vegetable shortening (later trademarked in 1915 as Kream Krisp) appeared on the market in 1914. Procter & Gamble became aware of the competition by February 1915. Burchenal contacted Berlin Mills claiming that they were infringing on P&G's patents and suggested they meet to discuss the issue. When this approach failed, P&G filed suit against Berlin Mills (see Berlin Mills Co. v. Procter & Gamble Co., 254 U.S. 156 (1920), also known as Procter and Gamble vs. the Brown Company).{{efn|In 1917 the Berlin Mills Co. became the Brown Company.}} Procter and Gamble lost the suit, but they bought Kream Krisp in the mid-1920s.{{cite web | url= http://www.sia-web.org/chapters/nnec/pdf/Brown%20Paper%20Company%20by%20John%20Rule.pdf| title= Brown Paper Company| access-date= July 15, 2012}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Around the time of the gay liberation movement, men commonly used Crisco as a lubricant for anal fisting since it was inexpensive and widely available.{{Cite journal |last=Navin |first=Helen |date=1981-03-01 |title=Medical and Surgical Risks in Handballing: Implications of an Inadequate Socialization Process |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J082v06n03_06 |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=67–76 |doi=10.1300/J082v06n03_06 |issn=0091-8369|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Barcelos |first=Chris A. |date=2023-05-04 |title=Adventures in fisting |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/share/DPWUMPWCVITJDH2EKU2R?target=10.1080/14681811.2022.2061441 |journal=Sex Education |language=en |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=279–286 |doi=10.1080/14681811.2022.2061441 |issn=1468-1811 |s2cid=248197422 |url-access=limited}} It was prominently featured in gay pornography such as Erotic Hands (1980) before specialized products became available.{{Cite web |title=Erotic Hands |url=https://gay.aebn.com/gay/movies/125210/erotic-hands |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=AEBN}} As a result, "Crisco" became a euphemism for fisting in gay slang.{{Cite book |last=Heidenry |first=John |title=What Wild Ecstasy: The Rise and Fall of the Sexual Revolution |date=1997 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-4184-7 |location=New York |pages=67, 162-163}}{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Harron |date=2020-01-30 |title=The Fisting Emoji Has Arrived |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/new-fisting-pinched-fingers-emoji-2020/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Vice |language=en-US}}

According to Drew Sawyer, in the 1970s, cans of Crisco were "so synonymous with gay sex that discos and bars around the world took on the name, such as Crisco Disco in New York City, one of the premiere clubs during the 1970s and early 1980s."{{cite web |last=Sawyer |first=Drew |date=2007 |others=Instructed by Sev Fowles |title=Crisco or how to do queer theory with things |url=http://www.columbia.edu/~sf2220/TT2007/web-content/Pages/drew2.html |access-date=February 24, 2021 |website=Thing theory (2007) |series=Anthropology g6085 |publisher=Columbia University}} The DJ booth at Crisco Disco was designed to resemble a giant Crisco can.{{Cite web |last=Small |first=Rachel |date=2014-04-01 |title=Of Lilies, Monarchs, and Wayfarers |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/eric-marx-lisle-richards |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}{{cite web |last=Musto |first=Michael |date=February 18, 2015 |title=8 Forgotten Hangouts That Made NYC Special |url=http://www.papermag.com/8-forgotten-hangouts-that-made-nyc-special-1427513337.html |access-date=8 March 2016 |website=Paper}}

In 2013, Detroit-based artist Jerry Vile placed a 4-ft. tall can of Crisco in front of the fist-shaped Monument to Joe Louis for "helping to ease the pain of Detroit's bankruptcy."{{Cite web |date=2013-08-08 |title=Detroit's massive jar of Crisco up for sale on eBay |url=https://www.michiganradio.org/offbeat/2013-08-08/detroits-massive-jar-of-crisco-up-for-sale-on-ebay |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Michigan Public Media |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Olshansky |first=Clara |date=2013-07-31 |title=Artist Gives Detroit Crisco, "To Ease the Pain" |url=http://artfcity.com/2013/07/31/artist-gives-detroit-crisco-to-ease-the-pain/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Art F City |language=en-US}} Many interpreted the can as a reference to fisting,{{Cite web |last=Broderick |first=Ryan |date=2013-07-31 |title=A Local News Station Posted A Fisting Joke On Their Facebook Page |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/a-local-news-station-posted-a-fisting-joke-on-their-facebook |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=BuzzFeed News |language=en}} a sex act in which Crisco is sometimes used as lubricant.{{Cite journal |last=Barcelos |first=Chris A. |date=2023-05-04 |title=Adventures in fisting |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2022.2061441 |journal=Sex Education |language=en |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=279–286 |doi=10.1080/14681811.2022.2061441 |issn=1468-1811|url-access=subscription }}

• Crisco Disco

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{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|https://crisco.com/}}
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=0_-MEhP3YzUC&dq=invention+of+Kream+Krisp&pg=PA749 Official gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 253 ]

{{B&G Foods|state=collapsed}}

Category:Cooking fats

Category:Former Procter & Gamble brands

Category:The J.M. Smucker Co. brands

Category:Products introduced in 1911

Category:Food product brands

Category:Fisting subculture