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I don't know about it being cleaned up--it looks and feels like the same old lard to me. I use it only for my flaky, flavorful pie crusts (1 part lard to boost the flavor, 1 part trans fat-free shortening for tenderizing, 1 part butter because, well, it's butter; the rest of the recipe is any of Julia Child's formulas).

I remember frying with it back in the olden days, and with Crisco, too, and I remember everything coming out crunchy but greasy, probably because I didn't have a thermometer to make sure it was hot enough.

You want to use fresh lard that needs to be refrigerated and not hydrogentated lard that has been processed to be shelf stable (aka the Hormel bricks). You can find good lard at butchers, farmers' markets or Mexican grocery stores. Or even better, you can render your own! If you're going to make pastry with the lard, you want to use leaf lard, which is a more delicate fat without the porky undertones. But regular, back-fat lard is great for frying--anything from French fries to fried chicken.

Okay, excuse me for sounding ignorant, but, what EXACTLY is lard? I grew up with jars full of bacon fat and that is what went on toast, used to fry eggs, sautee meat, and slathered on grilled cheese(replacing the butter)

My mom would judiciously mix it with equal parts butter when she was baking as butter was expensive.

Try the grilled cheese with bacon on the bread instead of butter, AMAZING.

How would they have cleaned up animal fat? This question is quite puzzling.

As far as what I cook with lard, I try to never use the stuff. Sometimes though, if a food involves a meat and there is liquid fat after a pan fry, I will use it to fry other things. (like using bacon or sausage drippings to create a sauce or cook up the veggies they will be served with.)

@derosa--I've made confit. Is that simply what we are talking about? Maybe I'm just confused with the "pre-packaged"product. What does that mean? Good lard, gentle lard,fresh lard, hard lard. Is it all equal to the amazing taste of duck fat or bacon fat? If not, i'll stop obsessing.

Just looking for the basic definition of LARD in the foodie community.

Thanks.

i've used lard in empanada dough .... it's very flavorful stuff.... but i get it from a really good butcher.... it's white and sweet smelling .... i don't make too many fruit pies .... but i usually use butter when i do....

i no longer eat meat but when i did, i bought leaf lard from flying pigs farm at the union square greenmarket in NYC. it was, as pooch said, white and sweet smelling and imparted a warm, porky flavor to piecrust. it was also viciously expensive.

you can buy big cubes of lard for cheap at the supermarket but it's mostly intended for savory cooking like beans or tortillas.

now you know everything i do about lard.

I grew up with lard pie crusts (and with pastry flour). They were divine. But we were using the blocks from the grocery store (snow cap, I think). I don't know if it was hydrogenated. This was 50 years ago.

I still use it on rare occasions just for pie crusts. It does give a distinctive flavor to the crust that I figure others will notice and be put off by. Haven't seen the fine leaf lard that you're talking about. Good lard is reputedly "better" for you than butter.

I found this interesting article about lard. This looks more like bacon fat to me than lard.http://www.ethicurean.com/2006/09/26/lard/

@donnie: I like the idea of grilled cheese cooked with bacon fat - which I always save. I like bacon in my grilled cheese, but this would be a great way to get the flavor without actually adding any more fat to my grilled cheese than iI otherwise would

Confit is simply slow cooking in fat. I use lard because it is less expensive and easier to find that duck fat. I find no flavor difference. I've used the process on duck legs and pork belly with outstanding results.

Thanks everyone. Now, let me present this question. What is the difference between lard and shortening? Is there one? My mom use to have bricks of shortening in the pantry for baking.

@donnie, shortening is usually made of vegetable oils... or at least mine is.

Here's an idea, let's use lard AND shortening in some recipes that call for either and write about it! Maybe we can all be in a movie in a few years!

I use bacon fat all the time, mostly just to fry things in, although its best use may well be in quiche crust.

I absolutely cook with lard. Leaf lard, bought from Grateful Growers Farm in Denver, N.C., rendered from their mostly Tamworth herd of field-raised pigs. For pie crusts and biscuits, there's nothing like it. And one point I haven't seen raised here is that lard is lower in saturated fat than butter. And unlike shortening (until recently), both are free of trans fats. Still higher than olive oil, of course, but if you're eating pie crust and biscuits, you're probably not trying to avoid fat anyway. My rule: If you're going to make it, make the best.