Abstract: Shortening chips composed, for example, of lard or hydrogenated vegetable oil are prepared by continuously depositing melted shortening on a moving endless chilling surface which is held at a temperature sufficiently low to congeal the shortening as a film on the chilling surface. After the shortening has congealed, it is removed continuously. At a suitable location between the removal point and the point at which the shortening is applied, water is applied to the surface of the chilling element to form a film which as the chilling element advances becomes interposed between the freshly applied shortening and the chilling surface.