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JohnnyBoy

Oct 20, 2008, 4:34 PM

Post #1 of 25 (8369 views)

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I need Mexican Crisco

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I am trying to figure out what the Mexican equivalent of Crisco is. And by Crisco I mean the solid white stuff in a can that my mother used to call "shortening" and used in her baking.

Is manteca the same as Crisco?

If not, is there a direct equivalent?

Thanks.

jb

esperanza

Oct 20, 2008, 5:16 PM

Post #2 of 25 (8361 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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Manteca is lard--rendered pork fat. If you decide to use manteca, buy it from a butcher, by the half-kilo or the kilo. Pre-packaged lard bought in a supermarket is awful.

As far as I know, there is no Mexican equivalent to Crisco. Crisco is solid vegetable shortening.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

(This post was edited by esperanza on Oct 20, 2008, 5:17 PM)

jennifer rose

Oct 20, 2008, 6:16 PM

Post #3 of 25 (8350 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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The equivalent is grasa comestible vegetal.

Inca is one brand, and then there are usually house brands. It looks like Crisco, and it works the same as Crisco. The only difference I could ascertain was that it came in a plastic bag instead of a can.

Anonimo

Oct 21, 2008, 4:44 AM

Post #4 of 25 (8330 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] I need Mexican Crisco

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Inca is hard, nasty stuff, better suited for melting than for pastry making. I had to break off chunks with a heavy knife. Our first year here, I tried to make pie crusts with it and had a devil of a time.

I've found a product called "Cristal", in tall, plastic jars with a red lid to be decent for baking. In fact, I made biscuits with it yesterday. (But biscuits are better with Mantequilla Kirkland. The Cristal leaves a somewhat greasy taste. But it keeps without refrigeration, at Pátzcuaro's cool temperatures. Still, it's useful in some baking applications.)

On the label, it says, "Elaborado por Aceites, Grasas y Derivados; S.A. de C.V.
Av. Vallarta No. 5106, Zapopan, Jal. 45120"
There's a tel number, but it's too small print for me to read right know.

I think I got it at the Super Codallos on the edge of Pátzcuaro, and I may have seen it in Wal-Mart.

esperanza

Oct 21, 2008, 1:29 PM

Post #5 of 25 (8304 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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Thanks to JR and Anónimo, I learned something new today. Inca and Cristal, grasa vegetal.

I suspect, though, that I'll continue making biscuits with manteca. In fact, I need to grab another quarter kilo from our butcher, tomorrow when we see him at the tianguis. Our household loves the way the biscuits turn out: light, fluffy, wonderful layered 'crumb', perfect for breakfast with a bit of butter and some jam.

Anónimo, you mentioned Kirkland butter. That's what I use for vegetables, toast, etc. I think it's Land O'Lakes in plainclothes. What do you think?

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JohnnyBoy

Oct 21, 2008, 2:17 PM

Post #6 of 25 (8294 views)

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Re: [esperanza] I need Mexican Crisco

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Do you all, who have participated in this thread, think that using manteca would be appropriate for pie crusts? That is why I need the Crisco.

I have never made a pie crust, but I am not afraid to try.

I make some easy cheese cakes using canned pie filling, but that pie filling is getting harder and harder to find around here. We recently came across what we thought was pie filling in the new Mega store, only to get 20 cans of it home and discover that it is not pie filling. It is just fruit in a can for making pies. These are all cherries. I opened one can and they are definitely pie cherries.

I thickened the juice from the can I opened with corn starch then put the cherries back in and it made an OK cheese cake, but not as good as when I am able to use cherry pie filling. So now I have 18-19 cans of pie cherries in water and so I guess I better try to make cherry pies. Then it occurred to me that I would probably need Crisco. And hence my post.

So, what do you all think? Manteca instead of Crisco for pie crusts, or should I go the Inca route?

Anonimo

Oct 21, 2008, 2:17 PM

Post #7 of 25 (8294 views)

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Re: [esperanza] I need Mexican Crisco

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Esperanza, I don't know if Kirkland butter is, indeed Land 'o Lakes in disguise. Could be. I like it because it's good and it works, and many of my home baking measurements are in sticks or tablespoons, so its very conveniently predivided. I'd imagine that Sam's Club, in Morelia, has Mid-Am butter, but I don't get over to that store as often as I do Costco.

On the other hand, I've never used one of those huge blocks of Anchor Brand New Zealand butter, as sold at Costco. Someone here recommended it to me for top quality, but they're just too big to manage. I have used Mantequilla Gloria with success (contains powdered milk!), and sometimes, "mantequilla natural", sold in la Tienda Don Chucho, in Pátzcuaro. The latter, however, is very variable.

John; I'd choose manteca (lard) over Inca, any day. Inca might be good for making candles. ;-) Just be sure that the lard is reasonably solid at room temp. And free of asientos, so it's a creamy white.

(As to cherry pie filling made from canned sour cherries, you may use a drop of red food coloring for appearance and a tiny drop of almond extract to enhance it. I'd probably add a dab of butter as well, once the juices have thickened.)

(This post was edited by Anonimo on Oct 21, 2008, 2:23 PM)

Rolly

Oct 21, 2008, 2:27 PM

Post #8 of 25 (8290 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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Cherries are also good for relieving the pain of gout.

Rolly Pirate

mskitty

Oct 21, 2008, 2:39 PM

Post #9 of 25 (8287 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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I grew up in the deep south a long time ago, and lard was used for baking pastry and biscuits long before Crisco came along. Many people still use it. It really does add a better, flakier texture.

However, nowadays I make my biscuits with pure butter, and if the dough is handled minimally [as in not at all] the results are wonderfully light and flaky, and tasty. No rolling allowed -- my biscuits are hand formed with love and care.

sioux4noff

Oct 21, 2008, 4:00 PM

Post #10 of 25 (8273 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] I need Mexican Crisco

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Both Mega (Comercial Mexicana) and Soriana sell Anchor butter here in Puerto Vallarta. Theonly thing I use butter for is on bread or vegetables, and we like Anchor the best. We haven't bought Kirkland, but will try it some time.

esperanza

Oct 21, 2008, 4:16 PM

Post #11 of 25 (8272 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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In Reply To

DEFINITELY manteca instead of Crisco/Inca/Cristal. And definitely get it at a butcher shop, not at a supermarket in a package. And let us know how it turns out! Better yet, invite us over for pie and coffee.

Sioux, if you haven't tried Lurpak butter, try it. It's head and shoulders better than Anchor.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

sioux4noff

Oct 21, 2008, 8:56 PM

Post #12 of 25 (8247 views)

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Re: [esperanza] I need Mexican Crisco

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Thanks for the tip. I'll look for it in the store.

jennifer rose

Oct 21, 2008, 9:01 PM

Post #13 of 25 (8246 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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Good ol' Inca or grasa vegetal is just fine for pie crusts. If Crisco was good enough for your mother, Inca's good enough for you.

Frankly, I would rather eat glass than lard-laced pie crust, but, hey, different strokes for different folks. There are even pie crust recipes which call for regular old salad oil, and they produce a decent product, too.

Anonimo

Oct 22, 2008, 5:49 AM

Post #14 of 25 (8233 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] I need Mexican Crisco

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Jennifer, I'd like to know your technique for blending Inca into the flour. When I used it, it broke up into large pieces that wouldn't cooperate at all. Then, again, it could have been the flour. (Something for another topic?)

Possibly there's more than one grade//type of Inca?

(By the way; I understand that there's an easy/lazy way out of the problem and work of pie crust making. Sr. Michael Dickson wrote on his blog that his wife, Marta, buys ready-to-roll pie crust, from the freezer or refrigerator case at Costco. I'm tempted by that possibility, especially for Thanksgiving, when I make a lot of pies.)

(This post was edited by Anonimo on Oct 22, 2008, 5:53 AM)

JohnnyBoy

Oct 22, 2008, 9:48 AM

Post #15 of 25 (8210 views)

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Re: [esperanza] I need Mexican Crisco

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What about using butter instead of shortening/manteca/grassa vegetal? I substitute butter into recipes for cookies where margarine is called for. I have access to salt free butter a Costco here. Can you make pie crusts using butter?

We buy all our meat from Soriana Plus or Costco. There are butchers in the central market downtown. Is that the type of butcher you mean? Would they have manteca? Otherwise, I have never seen any butcher shops here.

Oscar2

Oct 22, 2008, 9:48 AM

Post #16 of 25 (8210 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] I need Mexican Crisco

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Quote

By the way; I understand that there's an easy/lazy way out of the problem and work of pie crust making. Sr. Michael Dickson wrote on his blog that his wife, Marta, buys ready-to-roll pie crust, from the freezer or refrigerator case at Costco. I'm tempted by that possibility, especially for Thanksgiving, when I make a lot of pies.)

Anonimo, you took the words right out of my mouth. I’ve been following this thread with great hesitation to even mention that yes, we’ve been using ready made pie crusts for a number of years now. But I do respect all the great cooks in this “kitchen corner” so, I was biting my tongue.

Your intro to “ready made,” yes, I must admit, takes a bit out of the preparation, and can be a time saver. “Some grocery stores” and Costco do carry them. I believe we get 2 already formed in the pie pan for less than 3 bucks.

JohnnyBoy

Oct 22, 2008, 9:56 AM

Post #17 of 25 (8205 views)

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Re: [Oscar2] I need Mexican Crisco

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Hey, if I can find ready-made pie crusts or pie dough at Costco or one of the big Mexican stores, like Mega or Sorianna, I will definitely use that. I will go out later and look.

I have seen ready-made pie shells at Costco, in bundles of five or six, made from graham crackers (or at least it looks like graham crackers, same taste), which are the very ones I buy to make my cheese cakes, but they are not appropriate for cherry pies. I assume the ones you guys are talking about are the doughy traditional pie crusts...maybe just the dough, not already formed.

This whole project is to help me use up 20 cans of pie cherries in water. Any ideas other than pies? I know how to make apple crisp (which is what my family calls them), but I use apple pie filling for those, and it is the very lack of thickened cherry pie filling that got me into this bind.

jennifer rose

Oct 22, 2008, 10:34 AM

Post #18 of 25 (8198 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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What's sold as "mil hojas" or empanada dough at Costco and the bakery section of just about any supermarket will work just fine for pie crusts. You can even freeze it before using.

In response to Anonimo's question about using Inca, I didn't mix and roll out the dough. I let someone else do it, and she remarked that it worked very well. I think she mixed it with the Cuisinart.

Oscar2

Oct 22, 2008, 11:00 AM

Post #19 of 25 (8191 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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John, I believe your spot on about the Graham Cracker crust and yes, we too have enjoyed them. We’ve also enjoyed the regular crust and finding them can be an issue down south.

Especially now with the price of gas, if I can get a phone number from places often frequented, I make a point of doing so. This not only lets the phone do the foot work (probably larger stores) and save gas but with good enquiries one can locate exactly what is needed, Spanish permitting.

Don’t know what the phone set up is until it’s explored on as per place basis but there really is no harm in trying for future needs. Personally, on my cell, besides stores, I also include gas stations because, as you know prices very NoB, so I call ahead of time and get pricing before making the trip to fill.

Buena Suerte

Gayla

Oct 22, 2008, 11:18 AM

Post #20 of 25 (8188 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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John

My grandmother made pie crust with lard and they were fabulous. As Esperanza says, get the lard from a butcher not the packaged white stuff. Pork fat, gotta love it. Your crust should turn out very light and very flaky, just don't over mix once you add ice water.

As for your pie cherries, I'm guessing they're probably tasting a little flat? Blend a little sugar and a pinch of (sea) salt with the cornstarch you use for thickening. But here's the real secret, add a little bit of almond extract to the thickened cherries. That is the flavor profile component you're missing and it's often found in canned cherry pie filling NOB.

As for the rest of your cherries, did you know that you can grind up some of them and use them as an extender for hamburger patties and meatloaf. Not a lot mind you, but it's a way to extend the ground meat and reduce the overall fat content of the hamburger patty. Applesauce and pureed dried plums (aka prunes) are often used for fat replacement in baked good, pureed cherries can be used in the same way.

Cherries have long been a USDA commodity and have proven to be rather versatile because people have gotten creative with trying to use the glut. You can sub them for almost any fruit in almost any recipe. Depending upon what type of cherries are in your cans you may or may not need to add a little sugar and do a little tweaking with the seasoning to make it fit your tastes, but cherries are easy to use. Blend them in a smoothie, add them to yogurt and/or granola, bake some quick bread or muffins, use them in a sauce for duck breast or pork chops, make a black forest cake, add them to gelatina, make an ice cream sundae with them. Sweet or savory cherries will work in almost anything...plus they really, really taste good :-)

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72855112.html
http://www.nationalcherries.com/
http://www.skyview1.com/images/cherries/cherry-treats.htm

esperanza

Oct 22, 2008, 11:25 AM

Post #21 of 25 (8188 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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John, this may be more information than you want, but you might want to try this with your cherries.
__________________________________________________

Pour off the water (into an appropriate-size sauce pan) from as many jars of cherries as you need. Bring the water to a boil.

While the water is heating, measure one tablespoon cornstarch into a cup, like a coffee mug. When the water is boiling, add two teaspoons COLD water to the cornstarch and mix well with a spoon. (Don't put the water in the cup first--always put the cornstarch first and add the water).

Begin stirring the boiling cherry water and add the cornstarch/water mix to it, little by little, stirring continuously. The boiling liquid will thicken. If you need more cornstarch to thicken the liquid, repeat the cornstarch/water mixture and add little by little to the boiling liquid.

Sweeten to taste.

And voilá--thickened cherry water for your cobbler or pie.

ETA: Cross-post with Gayla. Hi Gayla!

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

(This post was edited by esperanza on Oct 22, 2008, 11:27 AM)

Anonimo

Oct 22, 2008, 11:44 AM

Post #22 of 25 (8182 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] I need Mexican Crisco

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Quote

I think she mixed it with the Cuisinart.

<BLINDING LIGHTBULB!>

THAT'S the secret! :-)
First chop off and measure your Inca, put in Cuisinart with flour and salt; pulse.

Anonimo

Oct 22, 2008, 11:50 AM

Post #23 of 25 (8181 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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John, it's not all that hard to make a crumb crust, whether from food-processed Galletas Marías or Honi-Bran Galletas, plus sugar as needed, maybe a dash of cinnamon, and melted butter or margarine.
Better get a real recipe for it, rather than me telling you off the cuff.

A crumb crust is de rigeur for Key Lime Pie, another super-easy and excellent pie, considering the quality and freshness (and cheap!) of the limones here.

If we lived closer, I'd buy some of those water pack sour cherries from you.

bfwpdx

Oct 23, 2008, 1:23 PM

Post #24 of 25 (8141 views)

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Re: [JohnBleazard] I need Mexican Crisco

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John, yes indeedy you can make a wonderful pastry using butter. Most good pastry recipes are measured by weight, not by the American method of volume, so here is one I like but you will have to convert to volume measurement if you don't have a set of kitchen scales. It comes from my favourite cookbook "The Complete Farmhouse Kitchen Cook Book"published by Yorkshire Television Ltd.

It is a rich shortcrust pastry very good for tarts (and pies). You might find it a bit difficult in handling, but in the end it is delicious.

8 oz plain white flour with a pinch of salt sieved into a bowl. Rub in 5 ounces of butter (with your hands, lightly) and add 1 oz sugar. Mix together 1 egg yolk, a squeeze of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water and stir it into the flour with a round-headed knife, then use your hand to knead lightly into a firm dough. Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons only if necessary to hold it together.

Good luck.

wendy devlin

Oct 23, 2008, 2:02 PM

Post #25 of 25 (8138 views)

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Re: [bfwpdx] I need Mexican Crisco

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bfwpdx,
Your recipe resembles the standard ingredients and procedure of many a package of Cristco shortening if butter is subsituted for the Crisco element=Fat.

How do I know?

Only because have been baking pies by that recipe for over thirty years.
And quite a few country Fair award ribbons. Caveat being: small town, where hardly anyone, bakes much from 'scratch' any more. And the Fall Fair honors traditional practices and past-times.

However the fat fact that Crisco vegetable shortening is considerably less $$ per pound than butter.

Took me over to the side of 'Crisco':)

For pies.

Although for almost for all other 'fat' required applications,

Almost totally in La Virgen....de Aceituno's culinary camp!