A TUB OF LARD
Lard has always gotten a bad rap. Bullies taunted other kids by calling them a
“tub of lard” or “lard butt”. It has
been shunned as a food item, and can barely be found in the stores today, lost
amid the olive, corn, avocado, and coconut oils. It is often mistaken for solid vegetable oils
like Crisco, which is not lard. However, in the past lard was a prized
commodity. Fifty years ago, lard was sold in 50 lb. cans, labeled “Folgers Pure
Open Kettle Rendered Leaf Lard.” Leaf
lard is the fat surrounding the kidneys, named so because of its appearance in
the carcass, and it is the most desirable lard.
Lard was also used to make soap.
I remember my Mom Clara WICKENHEISER JOBLINSK making homemade soap. We hated it!
It was scratchy and did not bubble up good. We wanted the sweet smelling, easy lathering
kind from the store.
Lard is the rendering of pork fat. Pork was the staple meat for famers before
the advent of electricity as it could be smoked for future use. The lard was used for cooking and
baking. Butchering was usually done in
the fall of the year and involved the entire family. The Men typically killed the hog, hung it
from a tree limb and began the cutting of parts. The women oversaw the lard
processing. Lard is the refined fat of hogs.
It is trimmed from the cuts of pork and put through a grinder. Then it is melted in a large kettle bringing
to a boil and stirring constantly until the water content is evaporated. It is then strained through cheesecloth until
the solids (cracklings) are removed.
These cracklings were salted and eaten as a snack. After cooling, it
becomes pure white solid lard. It could
be kept for long periods of time in a cool place. It was usually stored in large crocks in a
root cellar or basement. Lard was also
used to preserve pork: pork sausages and bone meat (pork steaks and
chops). The meat was fried and placed in
crocks. A layer of “fried down” meat was
covered with a layer of lard, repeated, until the crock was full.
As a farm kid, my mother Clara WICKENHEISER JOBLINSKI
recalled her typical school lunch. “Ma
would spread lard on homemade bread. It
was really good when she had sugar to sprinkle on top of it.” That sandwich, maybe a piece of fruit from
the orchard, and possibly a cookie, also made with lard, was a staple in her
diet. Lest you think it led to weight
problems, my mom was as thin as a rake.
Hard work and a lot of outdoor activity kept her and her siblings
physically fit. In later years, I
remember seeing round cardboard cartons of lard in our kitchen. I did not taste as good as butter on my
bread!
Lard is just as versatile as any other cooking fat and can
be used for roasting, grilling, sautéing, frying, and baking. A cup of lard in a deep cast iron skillet
will make your fried chicken crispy and delicious, and it makes the best
cookies and pie crusts. Lard is also
good for you skin. It is a gentle and natural cleanser. On the farm, it was
often used in place of grease on farm machinery. At state and local fairs, the prized hogs
were often the heaviest, which would provide the most lard per pig.
To clarify, lard is a semi solid white fat product obtained
by rendering the fatty tissue of the pig. It is distinguished from tallow, a
similar product which is derived from the fat of cattle or sheep. Lard can be rendered by boiling, steaming, or
by dry heat. It is melted down and
strained to remove solid pieces. Lard
has a high smoke point, which means it does not oxidize when you heat it, so it
is ideal for high heat cooking. (Oxidation has been linked to cancer.) Lard has
20% less saturated fat and cholesterol than butter (But double the saturated
fat found in olive oil,) so it can raise LDL Cholesterol. It has a neutral
taste and contains no pork flavor, and contains no trans-fat, but contains
healthy monounsaturated fats, just like olive oil. Both butter and lard contain
115 calories per tablespoon.
Lard vs. Butter: Lard and butter are both used in baking.
Lard has a lower melting point, which means more air and steam are released
during baking time, resulting in a flakier texture in baked goods.
Lard vs. Shortening: The difference between lard and
vegetable shortening is that lard is made of pure animal fat and shortening is
made of vegetable oil. When vegetable
oil was introduced in 1911 it was appealing due to its longer shelf life and affordability. Shortening behaves the same way in terms of
flaking and layering but does not have the same richness of flavor.
My grandmother, Lena RIVARD WICKENHEISER, made the best
Christmas sugar cookies ever! When the
family put together a cookbook in her honor, the sugar cookie recipe was
included. It just never tasted the same.
(Substitutes were made for the lard). A
few years ago, my beloved cousin was actively dying, occasionally opening her
eyes, then drifting away again. It gave
her sisters chills when she opened her eyes and said “I saw Grandma. She said
use lard in the cookies.” Shortly after
that, she passed.
Lena’s Christmas
Cookies
1 cup of lard 1 teaspoons salt 1 ¼ cup sugar 2eggs,beaten 1cupmilk 1 teaspoon lemon extract (or anise extract) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 4 cups flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the lard, salt,
and sugar. Add beaten eggs, mixing well.
Stir in milk, extract, and vanilla. Add baking soda, baking powder, and
flour.
Knead dough. Divide into 2 balls.
Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch
thickness.
Cut out shapes and place on cookie sheet
Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes
Rana JOBLINSKI WILLIT
Monroe News: Buck Wheat and Will Rye February 15, 1984
Wikepedia
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