Lard is a common ingredient in many food products. For example, you may find it in refried beans, salad dressing, cornbread, and grocery pie crusts. It is also used in some soap formulations. While lard may not be the first thing you would expect to find on a vegan food list, it’s more common than you might think.
lard is derived from pig fat
Lard is made from pig fat, and it is a very nutritious food for humans. It is rich in essential fatty acids, including palmitic and stearic acid. It also contains trace amounts of linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. Historically, people have used lard to cook and prepare foods in their homes. Lard can be easily extracted from pig meat.
It contains cholesterol
Lard is a type of fat that is rendered from pigs. It is commonly used in baking and pastry crusts. It doesn’t taste like smoky bacon but instead gives baked goods a delicate, neutral flavor. Lard is not suitable for vegan diets.
It contains saturated fat
Lard is an animal fat that can be used for cooking. It is usually rendered by slow cooking the fatty tissues of pigs until the fat has melted and the water has been cooked out. This process yields lard that has a much lighter pork flavor than unrefined lard.
It has a moderate or high carbon footprint
Lard has a carbon footprint that is low to moderate. One kilogram of lard creates 40.1 kilograms of CO2e, the carbon equivalent of about 92.5 miles or 149 kilometers of driving. As with all food, lard has two footprints – a water footprint and a carbon footprint. However, carbon measurements are complicated, making it difficult to understand what the carbon footprint of lard really means.
It is a good substitute for butter
If you are a vegan, you may wonder whether lard is a good vegan substitute for butter. Lard is a naturally occurring fat from pigs. It has a similar fatty composition to olive oil. It has been vilified by marketing companies for years, but it’s now making a comeback on the dinner table.
It can be made into vegan lard
You can convert lard into vegan lard using a variety of breads. These include pumpernickel, baguette, rye, and home-baked bread. You can also use onion melt, which is a common vegan lard recipe.
