While butter, shortening, margarine products and oil contain fat, each have different properties that affect how they work. Thus, they produce different results that can be key to the acceptance of many foods. As every cook knows, shortening works best for some types of baking. As a result, shortening produces tender, flaky pie crusts and biscuits. Butter and margarine products contain water and hence produce a different, but still acceptable, texture.
Oil yields the best results in many box cake mixes.
Restaurants also depend on shortening to produce crispy French fries. French fries cooked in oil have a softer texture. The flavor of fat-containing products affects their use as well. While many people prefer olive oil for saut ing, its distinctive taste may not be right for other uses, such as in baked products. Many people use margarine products because they contain less saturated fat than butter.