frying with Lard? healthy?

[little ms foodie]

I have Lard in my pantry, it says it is partially hydrogenated lard and doesn't need to be refrigerated.

I also have Crisco, it says partially hydrogenated.

If I'm making fried chicken or the like, are either of these "healthier" than the other? We love to fry so I want to make sure we are making good FAT choices

[Joe Blowe]

Girl, if you're gonna do it, do it right! Toss that hydrogenated crap, and get yourself some real lard!

[Michael Ruhlman]

use actual lard or liquid vegetable oil.

or duck fat.

[Holly Moore]

In their good old days of great fries McDonald's used a product that was 25 percent lard and 75 percent solid vegetable oil. The 25 percent lard seemed to be enough to get the flavor benefit from lard.

Perhaps you could experiment with a similar lard content, but a healthier vegetable oil.

[jayt90]

Toss both of them. The Crisco is heavily hydrogenated, to make a thin oil thick. The lard less so, but the the only reason the packer will hydrogenate it is to gain shelf life, at room temperature. All you gain is high trans fats.

If you render your own lard, ask the butcher for pork fat back, from the kidneys. This is the whitest and purest lard you can get.

[Abra]

Wendy, it's easy to render your own lard, and you'll be amazed by the pure, sweet flavor. I'd use canola in the meantime.

[Michael Ruhlman]

i see they are making vegetable shortening that has no trans fats. does anyone know if this is any good?

[dougal]

I have Lard in my pantry, ...

I also have Crisco, ...

If I'm making fried chicken or the like, are either of these "healthier" than the other? We love to fry so I want to make sure we are making good FAT choices 

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You might be interested to see this table of the maximum temperatures that various different oils/fats can stand before they start to break down unpleasantly and smoke.

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article...of+Various+Fats

Although its of clearest relevance to thermostat controlled deep frying, its still important for pan frying.

[Patrick S]

i see they are making vegetable shortening that has no trans fats.  does anyone know if this is any good?

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Cook's Illustrated compared fried chicken made with both versions of Crisco, and said that they couldn't tell the difference. They did however claim to detect subtle differences in pie crust and biscuits.

[JAZ]

Toss both of them.  The Crisco is heavily hydrogenated, to make a thin oil thick. The lard less so, but the the only reason the packer will hydrogenate it is to gain shelf life, at room temperature. All you gain is high trans fats.

If you render your own lard, ask the butcher for pork fat back, from the kidneys.  This is the whitest and purest lard you can get.

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The lard from around the kidneys is indeed thought to be the best, but it's not called fat back, it's called leaf lard. Here is some basic information on lard.

[mukki]

If you don't want to render your own lard and don't have a quality source nearby, you can order from Dietrich's Meats in Pennsylvania Dutch country (which has been mentioned before here). Probably better to do so in the winter, though. I still have 10 lbs in my freezer ~ wonderful stuff! It makes the best pie crust, but I haven't tried frying with it yet. I also got some delicious shelled hickory nuts from them last year.

[Gabriel Lewis]

Michael,

I too was on the search for a non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening and discovered some mady by a company called spectrum. It is in a blue and white tub labeled "Organic all vegetable shortening". It is made out of palm oil which naturally contains a high percentage of saturated fats and is thus solid at room temperature and can be used as shortening.

[deltadoc]

Agreed! Get rid of anything that is "hydrogenated". The process of hydrogenation is merely adding in "hydrogen" to thicken the original oil. As was said earlier, it extends shelf life ( I think that the added hyrdrogen bonds with existing molecules so that oxygen cannot. The process of oxygen bonding is oxygenation and that is what "spoils" foods that sit on the shelf for a long period of time. Thus the concept of "Best used by" on labels (applies not only to food, but drugs and other things too!)

I would NOT use canola oil. Canola oil that is sold as a food product is highly processed. It is originally Rapeseed oil, and is naturally highly toxic. It's original use was an insulator in very large electrical transformers and such.

For high temp use, I would stick with peanut oil. I use EVOO and haven't had too much problem, but it will smoke a bit sometimes. I've read that the smoked olive oil isn't good for you in the long term (just as BBQ is also not good as a long term food item). Fats dripping into the coals/fire ignite and form noxious gases that then deposit on the food. Or something to that effect.

doc

[Patrick S]

I would NOT use canola oil.  Canola oil that is sold as a food product is highly processed.  It is originally Rapeseed oil, and is naturally highly toxic.

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Just to clarify, canola oil is not derived from a toxic oil, though the canola plant is derived from rapeseed, which does produce an oil with a lot of urecic acid (as does mustard seed). The canola plant itself does not produce the high levels of erucic acid or glucosinolates that make oils from other rapeseed cultivars toxic and unpleasant tasting.

[tino27]

i see they are making vegetable shortening that has no trans fats.  does anyone know if this is any good?

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I've used this type of shortening in one of my sweet bread recipes and I've never had any problems with it.

[Joe Blowe]

I would NOT use canola oil.  Canola oil that is sold as a food product is highly processed.  It is originally Rapeseed oil, and is naturally highly toxic.  It's original use was an insulator in very large electrical transformers and such.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

[mamster]

Hey, Little Ms Foodie, I can help you find real lard in Seattle. If you go to a big Mexican grocery, such as Guadalupe Market in Burien (but sadly neither of the Latin groceries at Pike Place Market) you can get a big tub of non-hydrogenated lard for a low price.

Or if you want organic and/or leaf lard, you can buy kidney fat at a farmers market (Skagit River Ranch and Samish Bay Cheese both sell it and one or both of them are at most area markets) and render it: process to a paste in the food processor, put in a saucepan in a low oven, and leave it there for a couple of hours.

For frying, I've also used a 25% lard/75% vegetable oil blend and had good results, although I was using liquid canola rather than shortening. I think all lard probably would have been better, but I didn't want to use up all my lard for a few donuts.

Lard is a wonderful ingredient, and once you have some on hand you'll find all sorts of other uses for it beyond frying.

[little ms foodie]

great info all! thank you for all the info!!

For high temp use, I would stick with peanut oil.  I use EVOO and haven't had too much problem, but it will smoke a bit sometimes.  I've read that the smoked olive oil isn't good for you in the long term (just as BBQ is also not good as a long term food item).  Fats dripping into the coals/fire ignite and form noxious gases that then deposit on the food.  Or something to that effect.

doc

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can't use Peanut oil in this house as hubby is deathly alergic to peanuts and we don't take a chance on the oil. I use EVOO a lot but actually don't like the flavor of fried chicken in it.

Hey, Little Ms Foodie, I can help you find real lard in Seattle. If you go to a big Mexican grocery, such as Guadalupe Market in Burien (but sadly neither of the Latin groceries at Pike Place Market) you can get a big tub of non-hydrogenated lard for a low price.

Or if you want organic and/or leaf lard, you can buy kidney fat at a farmers market (Skagit River Ranch and Samish Bay Cheese both sell it and one or both of them are at most area markets) and render it: process to a paste in the food processor, put in a saucepan in a low oven, and leave it there for a couple of hours.

For frying, I've also used a 25% lard/75% vegetable oil blend and had good results, although I was using liquid canola rather than shortening. I think all lard probably would have been better, but I didn't want to use up all my lard for a few donuts.

Lard is a wonderful ingredient, and once you have some on hand you'll find all sorts of other uses for it beyond frying.

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perfect! thanks mamster, I already render my own duck fat so will most likely look to buy lard when I need it as the freezer is small and already full. But I assume that pure lard can be kept in the freezer also?

[docsconz]

can't use Peanut oil in this house as hubby is deathly alergic to peanuts and we don't take a chance on the oil. I use EVOO a lot but actually don't like the flavor of fried chicken in it.

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Grapeseed oil is a good alternative to peanut oil. It also has a high smoke point. It is part of my armamentarium along with EVOO, lard, butter and duck fat.

[jayt90]

I would NOT use canola oil.  Canola oil that is sold as a food product is highly processed.  It is originally Rapeseed oil, and is naturally highly toxic.  It's original use was an insulator in very large electrical transformers and such.

doc

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The anti-Canola information here and in another post from Joe Blowe is emotional and unsupported. I would have to agree with Patrick (as usual) for an informed opinion on the oil.

Besides, there is unprocessed cold pressed Canola available in health food stores. I would guess that it tastes and looks just as bland as the commercial product.

[Joe Blowe]

jayt90,

You need to click my link again, and read ALL the way through...

[jayt90]

jayt90,

You need to click my link again, and read ALL the way through...

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Your're right, Joe.

I gave up half way through that lengthy diatribe, but the link redeems itself admirably toward the end.

[mrsadm]

Hydrogenated ANYTHING is really bad for you. The health risks have prompted Denmark to ban all products containing it. The US government recently began requiring food products to be labeled for trans-fats. You would be amazed how many products use it. I've become a food label detective lately!

[jayt90]

Hydrogenated ANYTHING is really bad for you.  The health risks have prompted Denmark to ban all products containing it.  The US government recently began requiring food products to be labeled for trans-fats.  You would be amazed how many products use it.  I've become a food label detective lately!

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Is Danish butter or bacon bad for you? There is a residual (.2-.4g.) transfat in meat and dairy products, and it appears on the label.

And what about those snack food companies, such as Lay chips, or Kraft peanut butter, who get 0 trans fat on the label, but still use some hydrogenated oil.

[mamster]

I'm not going to speculate on the health properties of Danish butter, but I will say this:

LURPAK

Thank you. Oh, Little Ms Foodie, one other thing: you can also get back fat for rendering into lard at Uwajimaya. And lard, rendered or not, keeps for a long time in the freezer.