Comments on: Lard: The New Health Food?

Lard: The New Health Food?

jason's_planet — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:36:50 -0800

As I sent my friends home bathed in the warm glow of hog grease, I felt sure that our generation would pass the test of lard. We might not cook with it every night—natural lard is expensive and (all right, I'll admit it) deep-fried foods are often loaded with calories, no matter which fat you use. But we won't live in fear of it, either. When we want deep-fried excellence, we'll reach for the best fat for the job: lard.

Previously (and currently) on MetaFilter

By: decagon

decagon — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:44:18 -0800

Considering that lard is the tapeworm in the bottle of cheap tequila that comes alive at night and sneaks up and bites your nipple, I'm skeptical of these health claims.

By: arcticwoman

arcticwoman — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:57:17 -0800

Interesting. Like the author, I don't think I've ever eaten lard except in the odd pie crust (we use shortening or butter mostly) but unlike the author I don't think I'll head down to the old-timey butcher and get some pork fat to render. If someone wants to invite me over for dinner though...

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:00:17 -0800

Lard has its place, but I prefer beef dripping.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:12:07 -0800

Of course being British, all this shock! horror! LARD! stuff is highly amusing... it really is the only thing to fry chips in. And lardy cake is delicious (not to mention mince pies etc) Oh and whilst googling for this Viz spoof advert, I was surprised that people take it seriously There's been an interesting series of documentaries on food on Radio 4 recently. One interesting point was that with Britain's climate it was far more efficient to get fat from pigs that from cereal / olive oil etc. So come the long-term effects of the oil crunch and the growing expense of fertilizer we might be eating a lot more lard in the future...

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:36:14 -0800

For best pastry results, use leaf lard. Very hard to obtain though.

By: Daddy-O

Daddy-O — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:01:44 -0800

I used know a guy who would always fry hamburger patties in lard, he didn't know they would fry in their own fat. Yes, he was overweight.

By: Mei's lost sandal

Mei's lost sandal — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:10:45 -0800

Rendered my own lard recently for use in pie crusts (thanks Thundering Hooves pigs). There truly is nothing like it. Best crusts I've ever made, bar none. None of that pasty coating crisco leaves in your mouth, and not so overwhelmingly rich as a pure butter crust. Just pure flaky, melting delicate wonderfulness.

By: gngstrMNKY

gngstrMNKY — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:29:48 -0800

Interesting. Like the author, I don't think I've ever eaten lard except in the odd pie crust Lard was a not-uncommon ingredient in processed and fast foods until the CSPI pressured industry to switch to polyunsaturated laden oils in the 80's, only to do a complete reversal in the 90's and recommend against them. McDonald's stopped using lard 1986, and the fries were never the same.

By: essexjan

essexjan — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:32:47 -0800

In the north of England, particularly Yorkshire, chip shops fry in beef dripping. Utterly delicious chips, non-vegetarian though. Oh, fearfulsymmetry, lardy cake! My nana used to make incredible lardy cake. I've never tasted anything that comes close to such cakey perfection.

By: furtive

furtive — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:42:23 -0800

They're young… They're in love…

By: BinaryApe

BinaryApe — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:54:48 -0800

Rendered my own lard recently for use in pie crusts That's taking self-sufficiency too far. Oh, I see.

By: autodidact

autodidact — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:11:00 -0800

Having just arrived home from the 2008 Burlington Ribfest, all I can say is bring on the lard!

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:43:10 -0800

When I was in college I lived in an apartment with three other guys and we alternated going grocery shopping. We had a weekly budget of $4 for Weirdest Food Item, and we would try to buy something that would puzzle and astound our fellow roomies. One week I brought home celery juice. Another week my roommate brought home lavender chewing gum. Stuff like that. Then one week the Weird Food Item was... a brick of lard. I objected. I'm from the deep south -- I grew up in a kitchen where lard was a common ingredient. How else do you make a flaky pie crust, or properly brown potatoes? Hell, my mom even owns a larding needle. Turns out none of these guys had even seen a brick of lard, much less cooked with it. But they all really enjoyed the potatoes I made that week.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:01:32 -0800

I always think it's funny how every decent cookbook will promote duck or goose fat as the ultimate in fashionable Gascon Paradox roasting goodness, when in a lot of recipes you can just whack in a block of good, cheap, old fashioned lard from the butcher instead of a pricey jar of fat from the delicatessen, and never notice the difference. Also: lardy cake is the pudding you get in heaven if the Baby Jesus thinks you've been extra good boy or girl that day (after a main course featuring boiled-fried potatoes done in lard.)

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:03:24 -0800

Lard has its place, but I prefer beef dripping. It's what toast was invented for. Also, I now have an overwhelming urge to eat Yorkshire puddings.

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:10:48 -0800

"As I sent my friends home bathed in the warm glow of hog grease," Rule 34?

By: lalochezia

lalochezia — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:06:21 -0800

Obigatory Viz T-shirt link

By: jadepearl

jadepearl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:10:42 -0800

Leaf lard is not difficult to acquire at all. If you are willing to have things shipped example here I can vouch for the quality of this. I usually buy my own hog and work out the details but you can definitely go smaller than a hog of that size.

By: Flashman

Flashman — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:32:33 -0800

The lard works in mysterious ways.

By: Flashman

Flashman — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:35:03 -0800

I've been saving that one up for years, waiting for a chance to slip it into some conversation or other. At 12.32AM, 31/08/08 I finally had my opportunity

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:10:55 -0800

Thanks for the leaf lard link, jadepearl. Not often to run across someone who buys the whole hog. Which reminds me of a great cookbook, The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:51:20 -0800

This article originally appeared in December, 2005.

By: jadepearl

jadepearl — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:35:24 -0800

You're welcome stbalbach. The trick is having storage and a plan for how the hog is going be parted out. The hardest part for me is that I still have to buy from reliable suppliers deeply favored parts such as, pork belly. Also, a butcher who is willing to do certain style of cuts. Tomorrow will be slow smoke cook two racks of ribs. The irony of cooking is that I have to force myself to eat what I cook. I eat a certain amount to be polite but I am much more interested in others' reactions or the intellectual processing of the final, finished item. If you are in the Twin Cities mefimail and I will cook you a meal or two.

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:50:01 -0800

If you would really like to learn about fats I would highly suggest you read Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill: The Complete Guide to Fats, Oils, Cholesterol and Human Health.

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:54:10 -0800

My mom used to keep a bucket like this next to the stove. Heat up the frying pan and then "GLOP!" a big chunk of lard right into the pan. After years of this, I'm alive and healthy which I suppose should be testament enough.

By: luciaisdada

lucia__is__dada — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:56:35 -0800

This explains why I'm not dead after a childhood of being fed lard and sugar sandwiches by grandma.

By: notashroom

notashroom — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:52:36 -0800

Praise the lard and pass the (deep-fried) ammunition! My mother's mother used to fry chicken in lard, and between that and the pole beans slow cooked with fatback, the creamy mashed potatoes, baking soda biscuits, and lardy-crusted fried sweet potato pies, it was some of the best eating of my life.

By: leron

leron — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:16:23 -0800

My grandfather owned a butcher shop and people would come in and say "Sid, I need a pound of gravy." He would ring up a block of lard and send them merrily on their way. He knew that they did just what he did, melt a pot of lard on the stove top and pour it over his potatoes. Umm gravy!

By: Vamier

Vamier — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:35:06 -0800

So happens that if you live in Canda (in Ontario at least), you can buy Tenderflake lard made by Maple Leaf, and it's non-hydrogenated. Yep, refrigerated, yummy pure lard. Enjoy. :) Tenderflake Lard

By: autodidact

autodidact — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:54:30 -0800

Can you use the Tenderflake Lard for frying? I love deep frying, it's my new zen!

Comments on: Lard: The New Health Food?

Lard: The New Health Food?

By: decagon

By: arcticwoman

By: PeterMcDermott

By: fearfulsymmetry

By: BrotherCaine

By: Daddy-O

By: Mei's lost sandal

By: gngstrMNKY

By: essexjan

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By: BitterOldPunk

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By: orthogonality

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By: jadepearl

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By: stbalbach

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