Marketing is Everything.

Sunday is the anniversary of the death of Elvis. But you know what Saturday, August 15 is? Hmmmm?

It’s the 98th anniversary of Proctor & Gamble’s introduction of Crisco vegetable shortening.

Candle-maker William Proctor and soap-maker James Gamble had an overabundance of CRYStalized Cottonseed Oil. It resembled lard, so they began selling it as a foodstuff, and gave away free cookbooks that used Crisco brand shortening in every recipe.

It was originally marketed as “a healthy alternative to animal fats” but even though it was reformulated to be trans fat-free in the late 90’s, it may well be that lard is a better choice, health-wise.