Good Old Lard
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This is the article/letter that sparked my curiosity about this misunderstood subject.

November & December 2004 issue

NOTES FROM READERS

Good Old Lard

When you wrote about flaky pie crust and healthier alternatives to Crisco (May/June 2004), why didn't you test the very best shortening, which is good old lard?

Pat Owsley
Horseshoe Bend, Idaho

Like most other bakers, we had long ago dismissed lard as not being very good for you because of its saturated fat content. But as several readers pointed out to us, lard is now considered to have a healthier profile than partially hydrogenated vegetable shortenings like Crisco, which contain trans fats, considered the most damaging dietary fats of all. According to Walter Willett, professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health's Department of Nutrition, lard is about as good (or bad) for you as butter.

That's good to know, but we still had a problem with lard from a culinary point of view. Several of our test cooks have complained about the poor quality of the lard sold in supermarkets. To confirm the validity of their concerns, we made a pie crust with supermarket lard. While the crust was flaky, the taste was off. Out of the box, the lard had a slightly sour smell that tasters could also detect in the baked pie crust. But this was not the end of the road for lard.

In our research, we came across the term leaf lard, and wherever we encountered it, high praise followed. Leaf lard, often called kidney fat, is rendered from the fat that lines the abdominal cavity of the pig. According to Dr. David Meisinger of the National Pork Board, leaf lard is considered to be of higher quality than the fat from any other part of the pig. We contacted the maker of supermarket lard we had purchased and learned that it was indeed not leaf lard but could have been rendered from any type of pork fat--the back, the belly, and so on. A search for leaf lard led us to Dietrich's Meats.

After baking with this product, we finally understood why so many readers had written to us in pretty passionate defense of lard. The pie crust made with Dietrich's leaf lard was extremely tender and flaky, but what most distinguished it from pie crusts made with supermarket lard (or Crisco) was its rich, almost savory flavor. Straight from the container the Dietrich's lard smelled sweet and pleasant, almost nutty, and it contributed these qualities to the pie crust. Dietrich's is a small, family owned enterprise that raises its own pigs on a diet of grain, mostly corn,that the family grows itself. While we can't vouch for all leaf lard, this product is far superior to what you might buy in the supermarket.

For a real holiday treat, you can simply substitute an equal amount of lard for the vegetable shortening called for in most any pie crust recipe, including ours.

Dietrich's Country Store, 660 Old 22, Lenhartsville, PA 19534 Phone: 610-756-6344
Bob's Note: I located their website: Dietrich's Meats & Country Store Online