Lard is superior for frying and making pie crusts. Lard is why (at one time) McDonald’s french fries were considered one of the finest fast foods on the planet. Things fried in lard are crisper and retain less fat when drained.
Lard is all-natural whereas vegetable shortening is an artificial food product. Everyone knows that natural stuff is just wonderful and artificial stuff is bad. Of course, you might not want to other mention natural stuff like poison mushrooms and hemlock when trying to sell the spouse on the wholesome naturalness of lard.
Seriously, folks, are there any more calories in a gram of lard than there are in a gram of shortening? Canola? Olive oil? Sure, canola and olive oil are high in monounsaturated fats, but they suck for frying (oops! I meant sauteeing).
Much of what I’ve read regarding the cholesterol-is-bad-for-you credo seems to be along the lines of "we found lots of cholesterol clogging the arteries of people who had heart problems. They haven’t (to my knowledge) determined if eating cholesterol actually increases your blood levels of it, however. The human body actually manufactures the stuff on its own, and it’s vital for good health and helps (or so I’ve been told) in the production of testosterone. Your wife does want you to be a masculine hunk of man, doesn’t she? It’s uncertain whether eating cholesterol elevates one’s cholesterol levels, as (to my knowledge) no reliable scientific studies have actually been performed by people who were looking to see if there was a connection.
“Southerners” refers to those persons living in the southeastern United States, within an area roughly bordered by East Texas, Kentucky, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic.
“Yankees” refers to those persons living north of the Mason-Dixon Line and east of the Mississippi River, within states whose existence (as states of the Union) predates the War of Secession.
“Europeans and Californians” was a way of saying “and everybody else” without actually saying “and everybody else.” I could have as easily said “Australians and Idahoans,” but I thought I’d give a nod to the many dopers who reside in Europe and California. No offense meant toward the Australians and Idahoans here.
I’m confused: are the Europeans insulted by being lumped in with Californians, or are the Californians insulted by being lumped in with Europeans? Or both?
You could try the ‘negotiating’ approach like my dad did. He once decided he was going to make a Monte Crisco, before finding out there was turkey or ham in the refrigerator. What he ended up with was a butter, cheese,and mayonaisse sandwich deep fried in lard with powdered sugar and syrup on top. After that my mom considered anything else healthy.
I am currently rereading “The Tummy Trilogy” by our pre-eminent (and probably only) food humourist Calvin Trillin. In it he talks to Arthur Bryant, who he identifies as the owner of the best restaurant in the world. He quotes Arthur as saying “I only use pure lard when I fry my potatoes, sure it costs more, but it makes a difference” Now I admit that the quote was made in the early '70 and times ahave changed, but if the proprietor of the finest restaurant in the world says pure lard is better then that’s all the evidence I need.
Lard on bread is delicious. You need extremely fresh lard, good bread and good paprika. Best if it is home made lard - render down several pounds of pork flare with a little water until it is lard. You are left with cracklings which are divine with salt and a bit of chili.
I’m a Californian, and I’m not offended, I just wondered why the two were lumped together. I thought maybe there was some mysterious connection that I wasn’t aware of.
I think it’s funny that the lard is always hidden in some corner of the grocery store, so that if you do buy it, no one will know.
A pretty good idea, but I suspect the wife might catch on. The difference is that lard actually has flavor, and Crisco does not. Also, Crisco has a nasty greasier-than-grease texture. Some people use Crisco for cake icing, which might not turn out very good if made with lard (but I’ve never tried it). Both lard and Crisco can be stored at room temperature.
The best pie crust I’ve ever had is made with 2 parts lard and one part butter. (Supposedly bear fat is even better, but I’ve never had it.) I rarely fry anything any more except to saute onions. For that I generally use butter, but sometimes lard. In the Ukraine, they eat lard spread on crackers. Ukrainians used to be renowned for living to a ripe old age. I doubt very much that Crisco, with its trans-fatty acids is any healthier than lard.
I can still remember sitting my Danish grandmother’s kitchen and being fed pumpernickle bread spread with bacon fat for lunch. For a young, hyperactive little runt like me, it was probably the equivalent of white oak in the fireplace.
Then again, the Danes actually have a specific word to describe bread that is so heavily smeared with butter (mmmmmm… butter) that you leave teeth marks in it.
::drives off to the Nordic House Scandinavian delicatessen::
Piecrust is a good use for lard, but the best use I’ve found is this:
Almond Cakes
1 cup lard
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
1 egg
1 to 2 tablespoons almond extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
yellow food coloring (as desired)
Garnish
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water
almond halves
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream the shortening with the white sugar and ground almonds. Stir in egg and almond extract (add more extract if you like a pronounced flavor). Add dry ingredients (and coloring).
Form into lumps the size of golf balls. Place on baking sheet in well spaced rows. Press lumps lightly, just to flatten, with the bottom of a drinking glass.
Paint tops with egg yolk and water mixture. Place an almond half on each cookie (optional). Bake until cookies look set - 15 to 20 minutes.
My great-grandmother, the epitome of the Owsley County tobacco farmer’s wife, bought lard in five-gallon buckets. Not only was this the cheapest way to buy it in the necessary bulk, but it also provided her with a footstool for getting up into the top shelves of the cabinets. (She was about 4’11".)
Granny died at the age of 88, by the way. Her husband (Pappy, the aforementioned Owsley County tobacco farmer) will turn 94 later this month.
Draw your own conclusions. While you’re at it, pass the chicken.
Well, time to quit reading this thread, get up off my lard-ass and go to bed.
Where would the language be if we had to call someome a partially-hydrogenated poly unsaturated big rear-ended person ? Pit threads would die from unwieldiness(is that a word?)
My step-mother used to melt a stick of butter in a cake pan and cook biscuits in it. They were some very tasty biscuits, indeed.
I can tell you from life-long experience, the South does not extend westward merely to east Texas. Excluding Dallas (which gets more and more like L.A. every year, only without any beaches), the line extends westward to include half of Texas and Oklahoma. Not even in Alabama or Georgia can you get as good a chicken fried steak as you can get in Oklahoma City (we know our beef around here). Next time you’re down this way on business, visiting friends or relatives, or just passing through, get a phone book and look up the location of the nearest Del Rancho restaurant. For a real treat, go all the way out to NE 10th and Douglas Blvd where you can order a Steak Sandwich Supreme™ from a real old-fasioned drive-in (not drive-through). They don’t use lard anymore (the bastards) but it’s still almost as good as Mom makes (she uses lard on request). Ann’s at NW 39th and Tulsa Ave (1/2 mile east of Meridian) is also damn good, as is the Chuck House at NW 10th and Meridian.
Dern! I forgot to bring my Mexican food cookbook with me. I was going to crib the author’s discussion of lard and the comparison of lard with vegetable shortening.
Suffice it to say that REAL Mexican food is made with lard. And lard’s good for ya, too!
Perhaps you should just show this thread to your wife and let the sagacity and wisdom of the Teeming Millions convert her to the True Way of the Lard[sup]TM[/sup].
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sewalk - Hiya! From your post, it sounds like we’re probably neighbors.
If you’re a chicken fried steak fan, you should drive a bit further south & try Kendall’s in Noble (just south of Norman on Hwy77). MMMMMM!!! Plate-sized & yummy. Get the small. Really.
Did you ever have REAL Boomerang onion rings? Not those upstart penny-ante copies that’re around now, but the genuine Boomerang deep-fried-in-lard originals? THE best onion rings ever, anywhere. Of course, you can’t get 'em now.
Speaking of knowing beef, have you noticed that nowhere has (non-chicken-fried) steaks like Oklahoma? Even high-class restaurants elsewhere just can’t compare in the quality & taste. Ah well, I guess as long as those poor folks out there don’t know what they’re missing…
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