Where is lard found

In fact, the american diet was primary fatty meats potatoes along with mostly preserved fruits and fesg vegetables when in season. Wack jobs like Kelloggs and other came along and ruined it all. Our diet shifted to high in grains and carbs. Now we have an obesity epidemic with type 2 diabetes and alzheimers. Growing up in Ohio, we butchered hogs every winter, and rendering lard was one of the things that we did. Cutting the fat and rind into small chunks about an inch or two square was one of my earliest jobs.

Towards the end of the day, we would put a moderate fire back under our largest cast iron kettle and start loading the chunks of fat into it. A long wooden paddle was used to constantly stir the fat so as to keep it from burning to the bottom as it was rendered down to a liquid state.

Once the fat had become mostly liquid still had a lot of chunks in it though , we would ladle it out into the lard press hopper where it would be strained and pour out of the bottom spout through a cheesecloth filter grandma had previously sewn them together into a 5 gallon lard can. When full, these cans would be set aside to cool and solidify. Many grocery stores bought mine at Food Lion in the Hispanic Section sell a small aluminum pot with a lid and a strainer for pouring your bacon grease into.

This was very interesting Matt! Modern life has separated us from so many of these skills that people used to have. I store laundry soap in a plastic air tight container in the basement. My kitchen always seems hot and humid, and the freezer takes care of that problem well!

If you live in bear country do not render melt the fat in your crock pot by an open kitchen window to reduce the odor. It makes a good product but you will probably have bear prints on your outside kitchen wall that night. At least. Such a helpful post! The only bad thing is most of the lard you find in stores is also hydrogenated. But to top that, rendering your own is the way to go. My Mom always used lard in cooking.

Her mother did also and she lived to Just think of the process used to make Crisco. Very bad. I live in Arizona where there is a very large Hispanic population. When I started learning how to cook authentic Mexican food I was hesitant to use lard.

Apparently I am not the only person with a terrible image of lard. I learned how to cook Mexican food from a feisty something year old Mexican lady and she told me in no uncertain terms that I could NOT substitute shortening for lard in her recipes! I would suggest that you try making your recipe using lard instead of oil. The flavor of these tortillas, is far superior to store bought tortillas. Very interesting Tamara!

I am researching on lard and was delighted to find your helpful breakdown on these fats. My only concern is that hydrogenated or partially fats are unequivocally unhealthy. I urge you to look into for yourself and family the health issues associated with processed fats.

I completly agree with that. Hydrogenated fat is the worst and Manteca IS Hydrogenated. You were close finding Lard but no cigar. I agree. Manteca is Crisco fat…basically the same flavor, try it and decide for yourself.

I just stumbled across your blog from Pinterest and love it. I think this post is priceless. I don't know much about lard either and certainly did not know the difference between lard and tallow, so thank you for that! I do know that my grandmother swore up and down that once lard disappeared from the grocery stores, she could no longer make a decent pie crust. She did not like Crisco … at. Rendered lard is more popular, as it doesn't have such a strong, lingering pork flavor like its unrendered counterpart.

It comes from percent pork fat that is melted, filtered, and then chilled. Processed lard is the most popular, because it doesn't have any lingering pork flavor. It is made by melting, filtering, and clarifying pork fat. Clarification refers to the process of bleaching and hydrogenating, which tones down the pork flavor and keeps the lard solid at room temperature.

Leaf lard is considered the most luxurious of all lard types. What sets it apart? It comes from the leaf-shaped fat around the kidneys and the abdomen. It's softer, creamier, and smoother than all other types of lard, which is why it's considered the best choice for baking. That, and the fact that it's naturally free of pork flavor. Ever since the invention of vegetable shortening in the early 20th century, lard has been largely villainized in the health-food world.

That is, until recently. It wasn't long ago that lard was used in almost every American kitchen. By the late 20th century however, lard was considered the unhealthy cooking fat due to its high concentration of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.

McDonald's famously used beef-based lard to cook its fries up until , years after Phil Sokolof, a man who had a heart attack in , started lobbying against cholesterol and fat in fast food. Beginning in , the chain started using vegetable oil instead. But at the end of the day, it is a cooking fat, and like any cooking fat, should be used in moderation. Shelf-stable processed lard is commonly found in grocery stores, particularly in the international or Hispanic aisle, as it is more commonly used in these cuisines.

Popular producers include Armour Lard or Rendering's for leaf lard. For fresh, rendered lard, you'll want to go to your local butcher. Here you'll have the option to purchase rendered lard or fat that can be rendered at home. Like butter or shortening, lard is a cooking fat that can be used for baking, sauteing, grilling, or frying. For any recipe that you don't want to have a lingering pork flavor, be sure to use rendered leaf lard or processed lard.

Lard is a cooking fat, much like olive oil, coconut oil, or vegetable shortening, that comes from rendered pork fat. Lard is typically solid at room temperature, even more so than butter—and in fact some culinary traditions treat it more or less like butter.

However, if you're expecting it to taste like bacon drippings, you might be surprised. Like the best neutral cooking oils, pure leaf lard has hardly any flavor. If you're interested in adding the lard to your recipe regimen, here's how to use it, where to find it, and easy ways to either substitute, or make your own. Traditionally, lard has stepped in for things like butter or oil when it comes to cooking and deep-frying or actually those oils have come to replace lard, which was used in older recipes.

Lard is useful for both frying and baking. Its particular chemical makeup makes it ideal for making super crispy, not-greasy fried foods like seafood or fish. It's also great for achieving more perfectly flaky pie crusts.

And if you're feeling daring enough, you can even spread it onto toast as you would butter. Because of its high cholesterol content, there are definitely some health concerns about using too much of it. But everything in moderation! According to NPR's The Salt , lard is healthier than hydrogenated vegetable oils like shortening, but it's not as healthy as, say, olive oil. There's no denying the fact that lard is a fat. And like all fats, it is incredibly calorie-dense.

Lard is also a source of cholesterol. But as far as fats go, it's far from the worst. Lard boasts 20 percent less saturated fat than butter and a higher concentration of "healthy" monounsaturated fats, according to The Guardian. Pure lard also doesn't contain any trans fats—the thing the World Health Organization is working to eliminate though you have to be careful what kind you buy—see below.