Vintage Crisco Porcelain Sign: Procter & Gamble Co Americana – WSC547

Cover of the original Crisco cookbook, 1912

Hydrogenation of organic substances in gas form was discovered by Paul Sabatier in the late 19th century, and hydrogenation while in liquid form was patented by Wilhelm Normann in 1903. Procter & Gamble's business manager, John Burchenal, was contacted by and hired chemist Edwin C. Kayser, former chemist for Joseph Crosfield and Sons (who had acquired Normann's patent so as to produce soap), who patented two processes to hydrogenate cottonseed oil, which ensures the fat remains solid at normal storage temperatures. Their initial intent was to completely harden oils for use as raw material for making soap. After rejecting the names "Krispo" and "Cryst" (the latter for obvious religious connotations), the product was eventually called Crisco, a modification of the phrase "crystallized cottonseed oil".

Vintage Crisco Porcelain Sign: Procter & Gamble Co Americana

Further success came from the marketing technique of giving away free cookbooks in which every recipe called for Crisco. 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 became 100% canola oil.

Procter & Gamble divested the Crisco (oil and shortening) brand (along with Jif peanut butter) in a spinoff to their stockholders, followed by an immediate merger with the J. M. Smucker Co. in 2002.