Lard

Lard is a cooking product made from pig fat. The fat is specially treated to turn it into a smooth, white, semi-soft solid that turns to a golden liquid oil when heated. Lard was the cooking fat of choice for centuries until it was replaced by vegetable-based fats in the early part of the twentieth century. However, some have continued to use lard because it is known for increasing crispiness when frying and greater flakiness in baked goods. As awareness of the risks of trans fats in vegetable-based fats has increased, many cooks and bakers have turned to lard.

Background

Lard was the almost unrivaled choice of home cooks for centuries. Then, in the late nineteenth century, American chemist David Wesson (1861–1934) developed a process to bleach and deodorize cottonseeds. Cottonseeds were an undesirable byproduct of the cotton industry because any attempt to make oil out of them had resulted in a smelly product no one wanted. Using Wesson’s process, companies were soon able to create a clear, tasteless, and almost odorless oil that was also in abundant supply.

Companies began using cheaper cottonseed oil mixed with animal fats to make a less-expensive lard alternative called shortening. At around the same time, the production of meat from pigs was moving from a smaller, home-based effort to larger slaughterhouses. Instead of preparing their own lard at home, people were buying it. Many decided to use the cheaper cottonseed-based alternatives.

In 1911, the Crisco company moved into the market. Even though its product initially had cottonseed oil in it, the company did not mix it with animal fat. Instead, it used hydrogenation, a new technique that added hydrogen to the product to make it more solid at room temperature. This allowed Crisco to avoid the use of any animal fats and disassociate itself from cottonseed oil. The company marketed the product as 100 percent shortening meaning a strictly vegetable product. Vegetable shortening was more shelf-stable—it could last years instead of weeks—and had no noticeable smell or taste of its own. Before long, most home cooks had switched to the new product. However, some continued using lard, most noticeably in some ethnic cuisines and for some baked goods, like biscuits and pie crusts, where bakers believed lard had an advantage in taste and texture of the finished product.

Overview

Lard is made by cooking pork fat. Different types of lard can be produced depending on how much it is processed and what part of the pig it comes from. The main types are unrendered, rendered, processed, and leaf lard.

Sometimes the fat is simply trimmed from the meat and used as is. This is called unrendered lard. Since it maintains a stronger pork taste, it is usually used in cooking where that taste is an asset.

Rendered lard is more common. Fatty pieces of pork meat from the belly, shoulder, and butt are rendered, or cooked slowly to dissolve the fat. When the meat is filtered out and the cooked fat is cooled, it turns into an opaque, semi-solid substance that may retain a slight pork flavor. It melts to a liquid at a temperature between 96 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit (35 to 45 degrees Celsius) and can spoil easily if not kept cold.

Processed lard is rendered lard that is treated by a process called clarification. After the pork fat is rendered and filtered, it is bleached and hydrogenated. Bleaching helps create a consistent color, while hydrogenation adds hydrogen to help the product avoid melting at room temperature. Processed lard has no pork taste or smell.

Leaf lard is the most desirable form for cooks and bakers. It comes from the leaf-shaped portion of fat on the pig’s kidneys and abdomen. Rendered leaf lard is naturally smoother and creamier than any other type of lard and is naturally free of any pork taste or smell. Bakers in particular prize it for the way it enhances the texture of baked goods like biscuits and pie crusts.

Pros and cons

Lard is most often compared to two other main cooking fats, butter, and shortening. Many bakers prefer lard because it melts at a lower temperature than butter. This releases more steam and air during the baking process, so baked goods made with lard rise more and develop a lighter, flakier texture than those made with butter. The fat crystals in lard are also bigger than those in butter, so they leave larger empty pockets as they melt. This also contributes to the flaky layers bakers prize in their products. While shortening and lard are similar in these respects, shortening does not contribute as much richness to finished products as lard does. Cooks also like lard because its lower cook temperature results in crispy fried products such as doughnuts or chicken.

The use of lard in cooking and baking has been criticized for its health effects. Lard contains high concentrations of saturated fats and cholesterol, both of which are known to cause health problems. These health concerns led many fast-food providers to switch from animal fats to vegetable fats when preparing their products in the 1990s. However, additional research has indicated that the trans fats in hydrogenated vegetable-based shortenings are also a health risk. Lard also has less saturated fat and cholesterol than butter. As a result, interest in using lard began to enjoy a resurgence among many cooks and bakers in the early twenty-first century.

Another consideration when choosing a type of fat to use is the source of lard. Many commercial operations cater to customers who practice a variety of faiths. Lard produced from pig fat is neither kosher nor halal, so foods made with lard cannot be consumed by observant Jews or Moslems. Therefore, many fast-food restaurants and other businesses avoid using lard.

Bibliography

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