Lard… I don’t think I’ve ever bought the stuff. Growing up, we had Crisco in the house, but I don’t think I’ve ever purchased Crisco in my entire adult life, opting to use regular butter or healthier oils for the rare bit of cooking or baking that I did. The connotations of lard have always been that it’s so bad for you. Pure pig fat, OMG!! But the reality is, it’s the hydrogenated aspects of lard and solid vegetable oils sold in stores that you want to stay away from. If it’s on a shelf instead of refrigerated, I tend to avoid. (We found one – expensive – exception when we were looking for something to season our cast iron pans. Spectrum Naturals makes a vegetable shortening from palm oil that is non-hydrogenated.) Plain old lard stored in the fridge has the healthy fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, as well...
