Happiness and lard

First I talk about smoking cigarettes on the cheap, and now I’m advocating lard. Yes. Lard.

I have a deep and abiding loathing of margarine. It’s bad, unhealthy, the taste and texture is wrong, and it screws up recipes. Butter and lard are far superior. Lard more so than even butter in most cases.

Now, all 125 pounds of me can come out of the lard closet and explain why lard is better than hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Mainly because lard is not hydrogenated vegetable oil. It is a solid waxy fat that is washed of salt and rendered from porcine (aka pig) abdomen fat. It doesn’t have a distinct taste or smell, and when melted should be completely clear bearing a light gold color. The containers sold at Walmart and local grocery stores are usually Armour brand and should be avoided unless there are no other alternatives (as they are partially hydrogenated and a pure shocking white– newbie lard!)

While I’m not advocating any sort of diet, I will say that hydrogenated vegetable oil doesn’t seem to suck for baking goods until you compare those baked goods with those made with lard. Lard makes for lighter, moist breads and perfectly crisp flavorful cookies– hydrogenated vegetable oils don’t. If you prefer that lovely buttery taste in pie crusts and cookies, blend 1/2 butter and 1/2 lard– I swear the lard enhances the buttery flavor.

Lard also excels in price, about $2 less than Crisco per pound, $2.30 less than margarine, and about $4.20 less than butter. Also there is no need to refrigerate lard, so long as the container is free from contamination, it can be snapped closed and kept in the pantry or cupboard.

Lard was the cooking fat of choice right up until the 1940s and quite possibly the reason why most modern homemakers cookies and pie crusts don’t taste nearly as good as great-grandma’s is because with the advent of margarine we’ve forsaken lard.

The best proof will be your taste buds, buy some lard (not the newbie lard, go to the butcher and see if they sell prepared lard without the hydrogenation, if not check the farmers markets or check with your favorite search engine.) Then do a side by side comparison with your favorite cookie or bread recipe.

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