Baking with lard?

[jmurray01]

Do any of you?

I most certainly do! Aside from being cheaper (around half the price) than butter, it works just as well in the mixing process and the end result tastes no different.

A lot of people think lard to be very unhealthy and avoid it at all costs, but in actual fact it is HEALTHIER than butter!

Feel free to give me your views on this...

 

[suckolux]

Flaky pastry, high temp possible, but I can discern the taste difference, but then I can in different butters too. My nose just works TOO well sometimes.

 

[suckolux]

Nice Mason/ Cash I think?

 

[jmurray01]

Yes it is indeed a Mason Cash! Well spotted. It is also a rather old one having been bought circa 1995.

 

[suckolux]

I have 4, with blue or green inside, they were pricey on this side of the pond!Love the look and feel. Heavy.

 

[kenkart]

RE Lard

I think the reason lard works so well Is because its a animal fat, think about this, vegetable fats will absorb water, animal fats wont, thus a pie crust made with animal fat "lard" is MUCH less likely to get soggy .

 

[jmurray01]

I'd never thought of it like that, but you are 100% correct there.

 

[vacuumlover]

I usually use lard. For me it seems no different.

Also ~ I love your bowl!

 

[jmurray01]

Thanks!  The only thing that bothers me slightly is that chip, but it has been there as long as I can remember and actually works quite well as an "egg-cracker" so hey-ho.

 

[vacuumlover]

You're welcome . Me and my mum both love these old style bowls. Mum had quite a good "collection" of them but unfotunatly lost them all but one large (ish) one.

 

[suckolux]

I honestly chuckled at your comment on it being old. OH my.You youngsters!

 

[gottahaveahoove]

My late grandfather had a bakery and

used Lard for all pie crusts. 


  I had a friend in Philly who fried chicken in it.  It was not my first choice.


 John

 

[spiraclean]

I tend to use half lard and half butter. The lard makes for a flakier crust, while the butter adds richness and flavour, giving you the benefits of both. You can play around with the ratios to suit your own tastes and requirements of course, without negatively affecting the outcome. I think keeping the ingredients and pastry as cold as possible at all times, with minimal handling, is far more important than the specific choice of fat(s) used.

Only exception would be when making Cornish pasties, for which margarine is the norm. Butter and/or lard sound nicer in theory, but actually give an inferior result in this instance. A tougher, more elastic pastry is exactly what's needed here, so it keeps a substantial consistency once baked.

 

[kenkart]

Honestly though

I use Crisco unless I can find lard that is properly fixed, the commercial stuff is many times strong...the reason is if you kill a hog in the wrong moon phase or kill a hog in heat you will have strong lard, most people who butcher at home would never think of killing a hog in heat or killing one without checking the almanac to be sure the sign was right.

 

[jmurray01]

"<a name="start_29793.331781"></a>I honestly chuckled at your comment on it being old. OH my.You youngsters!"


 


Haha, well - for a bowl in this house it is old.  Most plates and bowls end up smashed here within a year or two of purchase, so for this one to last 20 years is quite something.

 

[suckolux]

Ahh, well that is starting to happen here I still have mom's bowls I used when I was 7

 

[turbo500]

I don't bake, it's not my strong point, but I do cook yorkshire puddings in lard or fat rather than oil - they taste MUCH better and are much lighter and less greasy.

 

[vacuumlover]

@turbo500

Wish I could cook yorkies! Mine always end up in a terrible mess

 

[turbo500]

Emma, I'll send you a recipe