Well, since Crisco makes a Trans-fat free shortening, you’re wrong. And, there’s no difference in taste:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0612100369dec10,1,6906500.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
"If trans fats get purged from some of Chicago’s restaurant kitchens, will the food that hits the plate seem all that different?
Not really, at least according to an informal, unscientific taste test of carrot cake, french fries and fried chicken from area restaurants that had been prepared with and without trans fats.
… But in terms of flavor and texture, the trans fat-free fare held up well, and in some cases, it won out.
We also bought two packages of Crisco shortening–one with trans fats, one without–to see how they cooked french fries.
In the Tribune’s test kitchen, we fried 6 ounces of frozen french fries in 20 ounces of the two different Criscos.
The* oils performed almost identically in the cooking process*. Both reached 375 degrees at roughly the same time and cooked the frozen fries at the same speed. Testers could detect almost no difference between the two finished products in taste and texture. If anything, a few slightly preferred the flavor of the non-trans fat fries."
The new Crisco product seem to be virtually the same as the old, unhealthy product:
http://www.crisco.com/about/0_grams.asp
"Crisco® Zero Trans Fat Shortening is another option that delivers the same great performance you have come to expect from Crisco. Crisco Zero Trans Fat Shortening measures, tastes, and performs just like original Crisco shortening, delivering the Crisco quality consumers depend on for perfect results every time. You can use it in your favorite recipes the same way you would original Crisco.
Whether you are making the Classic Crisco Pie Crust or mom’s special fried chicken, this zero trans offering can be used interchangeably with original Crisco shortening, allowing cooks everywhere to “start something good with Crisco.”
Crisco’s Zero Grams Trans Fat Shortening is available in a 1-lb can …, and 20-oz *pre-measured sticks * … "
Not liquid, either, unless you can put liquids in “pre-measured sticks”. :rolleyes:
But again, as I said- science has now come out trans-fat free products that replace the older trans-fat products:
http://www.ffnmag.com/NH/ASP/strArticleID/609/strSite/FFNSite/articleDisplay.asp
Tropical oils such as palm also provide the body and texture to products such that no further modification of the oil is necessary, resulting in a natural trans-free choice. Companies also are turning to interesterification, in which acids or enzymes modify the fats to make them solid. The term interesterification comes about because the component fatty acids in the oils are combined with other organic groups and so are technically esters; these are shifted about within the oil molecules during the reaction.In margarines and shortening, hydrogenation hardens oils whereas interesterification blends soft oils with hard fats to a desired functionality and consistency. Palm oil and its hard fraction, stearin, are one option as hard stocks for interesterified goods. Interesterified fats are used in Canadian margarines by interesterifying palm oil and/or palm kernel oil with canola oil.4
The Food and Drug Administration recently issued an important labelling clarification. Interesterified fats containing greater than 20 per cent stearate may be properly labelled as ‘interesterified soybean oil,’ with the possible additional descriptor of ‘high stearate’ or ‘stearic rich.’ This will allow companies to replace the demon term ‘hydrogenated’ with the term ‘interesterified’ when describing these ingredients within a finished product’s ingredient declaration. The random or chemical interesterification is the most applied interesterification modification process of oils and fats because it is easier and cheaper compared to directed or enzymatic."
You just don’t understand the science involved. Speaking as a scientist, I can tell you that trans-fats are not nessesary at all. It did take a little work to replace them, and the new products will be a tiny bit more expensive intially, but it’s not significant, especially as over time, the new products will pay for themsleves, as my earlier cite said. Trans-fats are not nessesary, and have no needed use. Trans-fat containing products can be completely replaced with no difference.
By the way- those little links above are what we here at the SDMB call “cites”, we use them in place of personal opinion or just plain bullshit. :dubious: Try them sometime. 
