In April 2001, Procter and Gamble Co. (P&G) put its product Crisco on the auction block, just 10 years short of its 100th birthday. Crisco, initially made with hydrogenated cottonseed oil, is the quintessential imitation food and the first to make its way into American kitchens.
The story of Crisco begins innocently enough in pre-Civil War America when candlemaker William Procter and his brother-in-law, soap-maker James Gamble, joined forces to compete with 14 other soap-makers and candlemakers in Cincinnati, Ohio.
