Forget Shortening, Try Lard

You can call it rendered pork fat if you’d like, but no matter how you dress it up, it’s plain old lard. Lard got a bad rap over the years. Shortening, the synthetic subsititute triumphed with messaging like this Crisco commercial from 1993:

"The dough is easy to handle and it bakes up light and flakey. And unlike lard, Crisco is all vegetable, one hundred percent. Delicious!"

But Crisco is drenched with those terrible trans fats. With simpler, traditional foods back in vogue, even loving lard is okay. Regina Schrambling thinks so. She’s a longtime food writer and blogger. Her recent article in defense of lard on Slate.com has been making the rounds on the food blogs. She joins us on the line from New York to tell us more.

Slate: Lard: After decades of trying, its moment is finally here.

The Homesick Texan Guide to Rendering Lard

(Photo by Sarah Gilbert via Flickr/Creative Commons)