Lard is healthy!
In recent generations, lard has seemed to completely disappear from home kitchens. Until the early 1900’s, lard was a staple cooking fat across the globe. It was the secret to perfectly flaky pie pastry, crispy fried chicken, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits and luscious gravy.
Now, when people hear the term lard, they immediately conjure up a vision of clogged arteries. It’s time to set the record straight – lard is a healthy cooking fat and deserves to make a comeback in kitchens everywhere.
1. Lard is heat stable
When it comes to determining the stability of a fat, it’s all about chemistry. Saturated fats have single bonds between all the carbon molecules of the fatty acid chain and are therefore the most heat-stable. That’s because single bonds, when it comes to the fatty acid carbon chain, are relatively difficult to break. Monounsaturated fats have one double bond replacing a single bond in the carbon chain. Double bonds in fatty acids are unstable and can break with heat. Polyunsaturated fats are the most unstable, because they have numerous double bonds in the carbon chain. When the double bonds in mono- or polyunsaturated fats break, the fatty acid undergoes a process called oxidation.
Why are oxidized fats bad? In a nutshell, oxidized fats = free radicals. Free radicals = cell damage. While we inevitably have some free radicals in our body, we should minimize these damaging molecules as much as possible to protect health and reduce inflammation.
According to Mary Enig, author of Know Your Fats, lard is typically 40% saturated fat, 50% monounsaturated fat and 10% polyunsaturated fat. (Pastured hogs consuming a diet supplemented with grain or coconut will have a lower percentage of polyunsaturated fat – a good thing!). The percentage of saturated fat in lard protects the more vulnerable mono/polyunsaturated fats from oxidizing with heat, making lard an excellent choice for cooking and baking.
2. Lard is heart-healthy
“Lard is an animal fat, and it is high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Doesn’t that mean it raises my risk for heart disease?” The pervasive myth that animal fats increase the risk of heart disease is just that – a myth. Our great-great-grandparents consumed lard and butter and experienced extremely low rates of heart disease. Lard is part of a healthy diet and will not give you heart attack:
- An analysis of more than 300,000 people published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that there is no evidence that saturated fat consumption raises the risk of heart disease (1)
- A low fat diet has been shown to increase triglycerides, which is a risk factor for heart disease (2)
- The Women’s Health Initiative studied nearly 50,000 post-menopausal women – one group of women were told to follow a low fat diet, and the other group continued to eat “normally.” After 8 years, there was no difference in the rate of heart disease or cancer between the groups. (3)
- Numerous other large studies have found no benefit to a low fat diet (4)
- The director of the large Framingham Heart Study concluded, “We found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active.”
- Saturated fat intake raises HDL cholesterol, which is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease (5)
- The “diseases of modern civilization” including heart disease and diabetes skyrocketed as animal fats were replaced with factory fats including vegetable oils and margarine. Take a look at the graph here.
- The cholesterol content of lard is health-protective, not dangerous (see reason #9 below)
3. Lard is neutral flavored
Like me, many of you choose to cook with coconut oil because it is a heat-stable cooking fat. Coconut oil does impart a mild-to-moderate coconut flavor to dishes, however. And while I enjoy the flavor, sometimes I want a neutral-flavored option. That’s when I choose lard.
For sautéing and deep-frying, nothing beats the cooking properties of lard. It creates a divinely brown crust to vegetables and meats without a distinct flavor. Due to the neutral flavor, it also works exceptionally well in baked goods (see #7).
4. Lard is economical
I purchase quart-sized tubs of lard from my local farmer for $7.50 a quart. You will likely be able to find pastured lard at a similar price. If not, you can request pastured hog fat from your butcher and then render lard yourself (it’s very simple, here’s a tutorial).
When it comes to healthy cooking fats, lard is definitely the most affordable. For example, my other favorite cooking fats – coconut oil and grassfed butter – cost exponentially more.
5. Lard is high in vitamin D
Lard is the second highest food source of vitamin D, after cod liver oil. One tablespoon of lard contains 1,000 IU’s of vitamin D. Also important, vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin so it requires fatty acids – including saturated fatty acids – to be absorbed and utilized in the body. Lard provides the perfect package of vitamin D along with the required fatty acid cofactors. Other food sources of vitamin D, including pastured egg yolks and liver, pale in comparison to the amount of vitamin D in lard.
There is a catch, however: only lard from pastured hogs contains vitamin D, since the pigs must have access to sunlight to synthesize the D and store it in their fatty tissues. Grocery store tubs or sticks of lard are from confined, antibiotic-laden pigs and should be avoided. Purchase your lard from a butcher or farmer who can tell you how the pigs are raised.
6. Lard is sustainable
Pigs are easily adaptable animals that can thrive nearly everywhere. Raising pastured hogs is a practice that produces a sustainable source of meat while improving the health of the environment. By rooting and foraging, hogs help to turn over topsoil and naturally fertilize the ground.
You know what’s not sustainable? A bagillion acres of genetically modified, pesticide-drowned, synthetic-fertilizer-laden corn used to produce corn oil. Just saying…
7. Lard is local
Purchasing a pastured pork and lard from your local farmer has a very low carbon footprint. I drive 5 minutes away to collect my weekly eggs, raw milk, pastured meat and lard at a designated pick-up spot. These items are delivered from a farm about an hour away. So my lard comes from a source that is a 65 minute drive away from my house.
My coconut oil, on the other hand, comes from the Philippines which is many, many more minutes away from my house. Just saying…
7. Lard is great for baking
You may not think that lard pairs well with sweet foods, but traditionally lard was used for deep frying donuts and making flaky pie crusts. If you haven’t made a pie crust with lard, you are in for a beautiful surprise! In baked goods, lard lends tenderness and moisture without a discernible flavor.
I love using it in my Sweet Spiced Coconut Flour Biscuits. Substitute lard for coconut oil, vegetable oil, shortening or butter in your baking recipes.
9. Lard is a healthy source of cholesterol
lard ranks #18 in foods richest in cholesterol. As a healing agent in the body, levels of cholesterol rise during periods of stress or when inflammation is present. Studies show that cholesterol consumption does not carry a cause-and-effect relationship with blood cholesterol levels. This is because the body produces the cholesterol it needs. Providing cholesterol through good quality fats, however, reduces the burden on the body to produce cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol from whole foods like lard supports inflammation management and hormone production.
As a matter of fact, numerous studies associate low blood cholesterol levels with:
- A higher risk of mortality (6, 7. 8)
- A higher risk of depression (9, 10)
- A higher risk of committing violent crime and suicide (11, 12)
- A higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (13, 14)
10. Lard is traditional
When I’m asked for simple advice for avoiding unhealthy foods, I give two simple rules of thumb:
- “Avoid any food with a TV commercial.”
- “Avoid any food that your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t have recognized.”
What are some examples of fats that don’t fit these guidelines? Canola oil, corn oil, fake butter, cooking spray and reduced-fat dairy products. Lard, however, was enjoyed by your ancestors thousands of years ago. My great-great-grandmother, a hard-working Danish woman who lived to the ripe old age of 107, grew up on copious dollops of lard, homemade sauerkraut and gallons of fresh milk from the family cow. You won’t see it advertised on TV, either, because large corporations won’t make money promoting the products of your local farmer.
Do you use lard in your home? Do you remember your grandmother or great-grandmother using lard in her kitchen?
delivered weekly
It’s amazing how influential the so called “experts” are – I used to try to eat as little fat as possible – I weighed 225 pounds – I now eat at least 50% of calories from fat (I alternate between coconut oil and lard) and I’ve kept my weight at about 115 for 2 years now with no hunger whatsoever.
(and my cholesterol levels as of my last blood tests are excellent – with a high HDL)
Yet whenever people ask me how I lost so much weight and keep it off – I mention lard and they immediately shut it down “Oh, that doesn’t work – lard makes you fat.”
?
These are usually obese people who say they’ll stick with their lowfat diets, thank you very much because the experts say that’s what you need to do to lose weight.
*sigh*
Hi There,
I didn’t know Lard is so useful. I am Surprised.
Thanks for mentioning so many benefits of Lard.
Cheers
I enjoyed this article, and I also love cooking with Lard, there is just something about the smell that takes me back to my Grandmother’s kitchen when I was a child. And the way it makes the breading on anything is way better than Veggie Oils. I cooked some Breaded Beef Cube Steak and Fresh Fried Squash from my garden tonight for supper with Lard and it was Amazing.
I use Lard in my chip pan and find it so easy to clean compa red to oils.
Mary
OMG that useful to use LARD! Now will implement it in our kitchen.
Thanks for letting us know!
I am 52 An my family has butchered for years!! Well since I was a baby An before. I myself still butcher to this day An love it along with teaching my son an friends how to do it also. Everyone seemed to listen when the Doctor said that rendered lard would cause physical problems with the use of this lard. But the problem all started when the Gov. jumped in bed with the fake butter makers such as Margerin An producers of artificial butters!! Amazing how Money can persuade people to think An behave to their wishes!! Nonetheless after growing up eating endless amounts of chicken,pork,beef,etc, might I say home raised….I still eat Bacon at least five days a week an fry all our meats in rendered lard. An as for baking …..the wife does all the baking pies An cakes with lard also. Talk about Excellent Doughnuts,pie crust,etc….if you don’t use rendered lard you don’t realize how much your missing!! Oh yes … as far as Health….I just had a check up An things look great!!! I am certain all the hard work of butchering An farm work over the years has been what keeps me happy An fit!!! Have a Greasy Day !!!
I used schmaltz instead for kosher reasons.
Unreal how much better the food is, I stay full for at least 12 hours, and my bowel movements are super clean and healthy.
I am nearly 76 y.o. and was raised on lard and still use lard. For some years when everyone was jumping on the Crisco bandwagon I hid my lard in the back of the fridge just so I didn’t have to fight with friends or in-laws about how “unhealthy” my cooking was! Strange thing, though, I have always been praised as a good cook and people loved to eat at my house and enjoyed all my “country” kind of cooking. My pies at reunions and pot lucks were always the first to disappear!
Not sure that I understand this 1st, 2nd and 3rd cooking thing, though. When we butchered I always put every bit of fat from every part of the hog all together into the huge iron kettle and rendered it all down in one cooking. My lard was always sweet and good and pure white.
One observation: Recently I’d read about the “benefits” of using peanut oil for deep fat frying. I bought some and the other day I used some to deep fry donuts. Not impressed! Tonight I made country fried steak for supper and decided to fry in the peanut oil. I couldn’t believe how greasy the meat was compared to how it would have been had I fried it in lard. So — goodby peanut oil!
Years ago when Florence Henderson did her famous Wesson oil commercials my late husband decided it would be healthier for us. I didn’t like the stuff and one day fried two skillets of chicken. Everything was just alike, except I fried one skillet in Wesson oil and one in lard. When we taste tested them dear hubby couldn’t believe how much greasier the Wesson skillet was compared to the lard skillet!
One last observation: In the New Testament God told St. Paul that all foods were to be considered clean. And he also told Timothy to eat whatever was set before him. The dietary laws of the Old Testament were set aside and now all foods are to be considered clean. If people are worried about parasites in their meat, just remember that parasites can be picked up in beef, fowl products, wild animals — even the soil in which our vegetables are grown. Cook meats thoroughly and wash vegetables thoroughly — and enjoy!
Can you be my Grandmother and make me corn muffins? I noticed that a certain national muffin mix – Jiffy – uses Lard in their mix. When I made my own here at home from a recipe that uses butter they didn’t taste the same. I am going to get Lard the next time I go to the grocery store along with some corn meal and make my own muffins.
I use lard, just like my mother did. I get it from a local farm. But one thing not mentioned here (because it is not related to cooking) is lard as a cosmetic. I use lard to clean my face and remove makeup. I warm my face with a wet washcloth, rub in lard to remove dirt and makeup, then wipe with a warm to hot washcloth. The skin needs oil (people often strip their face of oil and the body makes up for it by over-producing oil, resulting in an oily face). My skin is soft, not greasy. I am 65 and I often get ‘carded’ when I ask for senior discounts etc. It’s great, you should try it.
BRAVO! As am ex esthetician, I know what you say to be true…some people struggle with clogged pours and I am not sure how comedogenic lard is…some people may need to avoid certain “zones” due to possible breakouts.
My father was a political refugee rom Europe and i was raised on lard that he rendered from the fat he got from friends up the street who butchered and made their own sausage (in a suburb of Seattle no less!). I ate this way on a regular but decreasing basis until he died when i was 25. Within 5 years I started experiencing crazy joint pain, digestive issues (that ultimately were traced to gluten intolerance) and vit D levels so low I had to take shots! After reading your piece here I wonder if much of that was a result of my going “cold turkey’ on lard. As the Mediterranean diet was becoming the fad (and I married a Greek) I turned to olive oil to replace my lard. I am more and more convinced that we are genetically tuned to demand a diet similar to that of our more recent ancestors…this might explain why the large Scandinavian population in Seattle cannot tolerate spicy food, why people from the Med thrive on olive oil but also why, just maybe, those of us from pig eating populations might need this healthy fad for optimal health. Thank you for your work here.
we raised pigs, rendered lard etc. we loved it for fried potatoes also used it in eggs. As far as baking, used it in pie crusts, but definitely did not like it for cakes etc. always used crisco. It has its place, but there is nothing better than butter, for flavoring up eggs, or french toast etc. all calories add to your load for the day, whatever they may be. High calories, will make you put on weight, so when you use fats of any kind take into consideration their caloric count. Otherwise, enjoy all foods in moderation, they are a gift from God, what a blessing.