Cottonseed oil , soybean oil tallow and lard are the principal fats used in shortenings , however , no natural fat possesses all of the desired characteristics .
When the researchers used a blend of the rice bran oil and soybean oil at a ration of 1:1.5 they obtained a blend they considered to be harder than commercial shortenings , and therefore this was the seen as the optimum blend .
" Enzymatic inter-esterification of highly saturated fully hydrogenated soybean oil with solid rice bran oil can be used as an alternative for partial hydrogenation to produce trans-free hard fat stock which is suitable for higher melting shortenings , " concluded the researchers .
Eric gustafson , the third-generation manager of a family-run maker of lards and shortenings , says that " if vernon were not a city we wouldn 't be here , " and " if we 're forced to move , we 're not staying in this state . "