It's time to start cooking with lard.
If you haven't heard, the long-villianized fat is having its moment of redemption. Farmers and nutritionists alike are encouraging people to add it back into their kitchen routines. In fact, it's even been named one of the top ten healthiest foods in the world.
So what benefits can lard bring to your kitchen?
What is lard?
Lard is rendered pig fat. Our lard is just that - high-quality fat, from pigs with healthy and productive lives in the forest. There's no hydrogenation or additives, such as BHA or BHT.
We offer two types of lard - leaf lard and fatback lard. (Spoiler alert: *AND* we'll deliver it to your door!)
Leaf lard comes from the leaf fat, the soft fat around a pig's kidneys. This lard is prized for baking - it's particularly good for biscuits, pie crusts, and cookies or brownies.
Fatback lard comes from the fat along the pig's back. It's a harder fat, and is best used as a substitute for oil or butter when searing meat, sautéing or roasting vegetables, or frying food.
Properly rendered lard is odorless and has a snowy white color - meaning that you can use it without worrying about any "porky"flavor.
Why should Iuse lard?
Lard is an excellent choice because...
It's a stable fat.
Lard contains about 50% monounsaturated fat, a heart-healthy fat that can also be found in olive oil. Unlike olive oil, however, lard also has a high smoking point. This means that it can be safely roasted at high temperatures without breaking down or oxidizing.
Oxidation is dangerous because it causes the release of free radicals into our body, which have been associated with cancer, inflammation, and a variety of other health problems.
It's healthier than butter!
Lard contains more monounsaturated fat than butter, and nearly 2x more oleic acid, an essential fatty acid that helps lower your "bad" cholesterol levels.
If you're concerned about your saturated fat consumption, there's good news here as well: lard has less saturated fat than butter.
However, like butter, lard is a source of quality saturated fat. It's important to remember that our bodies actually need saturated fat for nearly every cellular function. Rather than eliminating all saturated fat, be selective about where you're sourcing it.
It's an excellent source of essential vitamins and nutrients.
Like many animal products, lard contains high levels of B vitamins and choline. But woodland-raised lard also has incredibly high levels of vitamin D.
In fact, pasture-raised lard can have nearly 1100 IU of Vitamin D per tablespoon. This is much higher than plant-based forms of Vitamin D, like mushrooms (21 IU per tablespoon), but it's also more vitamin D than you'd receive from actual exposure to the sun, which would provide 100-200 IU per 20-30 minutes of direct sunlight.
Since many of us spend a large portion of our days indoors, this means that lard is a great way to maintain healthy vitamin D levels naturally.
Lard also has a good omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio than conventionally raised pork. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for reducing inflammation and helping our heart function properly, but a favorable ratio has also been found to reduce the likelihood for a number of health problems.
Lard is shelf stable and stores for a long period of time.
When rendered properly, lard is shelf stable and avoids spoilage. We prefer to store our lard in the refrigerator, where it can last 6-12 months, but it can also be frozen for up to a year. Or you can also keep it on the countertop for 4-6 months.
It reduces waste.
Consuming lard is an important part of "eating nose to tail". Using animal fat helps our bodies get all the nutrients that an animal offers -- and ensures that we're reducing waste by utilizing every bit that we can.
Want to try our lard for yourself? Click to try either our fatback or leaf lard, and bring this healthy fat into your kitchen.
