This study investigated the effect of deforming temperature on the oil binding capacity (OBC) of a palm oil-based shortening (melting point 40 degrees C). The shortening was treated with three different temperature conditions namely, Set A at 25 degrees C for 8 h, Set B at 40 degrees C for 8 h and Set Cat 70 degrees C for 2 h. Stability analyzer (LUMiFuge, Germany) that applies centrifugal force with an in-built near infrared (NIR) detector was used to measure the amount of free oil released from the shortenings. Other characteristics such as crystal size, solid fat content (SFC), hardness and aerating ability were also studied. The stability analyzer successfully measured the OBC, with the highest in Set A (99%) followed by Set B (94%) and Set C (89%). The increase of deforming temperature resulted in the increase of crystal size that decreased the OBC, which consequently decreased the SFC, hardness and aerating ability of the shortening. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.