One comes from pigs and one comes from plants. Shortening and lard are two popular fats, particularly when it comes to baking. However, while both add richness to dishes, they each offer their own unique tastes and textures. Plus these handy fats originate from two very different sources. Lard comes from rendered animal fat, often from pigs, and has been a staple in baking and cooking for centuries. In savory applications, it's fine to use unrefined lard that still has a porky flavor.
But if you're wanting to use it for sweet dishes, you'll need to seek out rendered leaf lard , a particular fat found around the kidneys, which has a neutral taste. Lard gained a bad reputation in the late 20th century for being particularly unhealthy, but in reality it's not that different from other solid fats. Although shortening was made to substitute butter in cooking tasks, these two products are not similar in all aspects.
The melting point of butter is lower than that of shortening. This is what makes some people think that shortening tastes greasy. Shortening comes in two ways — solid or liquid. You can buy solid shortening in bricks or cans. Liquid shortening comes in plastic jars and is convenient for frying.
The consistency of shortening and lard when both are solid is very similar. They are both creamy and spreadable. The texture of both lard and shortening resembles that of softened butter. Lard and shortening in tubs look very similar. Not only are they similar in texture but also color. The color of both lard and shortening can range from pure white to buttery yellow. When talking about the varieties of vegetable shorting, one can differentiate between shortenings derived from different kinds of oils.
However, in cases where shortening is derived from multiple vegetable oils at once, it would be more useful to classify it according to its purpose. You can buy all-purpose and cake shortening. Lard can be classified according to the animal fat it is rendered from. There are also different types of lard depending on what kind of fat it is obtained from. It can be extracted from leaf fat, backfat, and mixed fat.
Leaf lard is the most commonly used lard variety, as it has a clean flavor and very delicate texture. When it comes to their uses, shortening and lard are quite similar and can even be interchangeable in certain cooking tasks. So, if you are vegan, a carefully chosen shortening can be a great alternative to lard. Shortening is used in cooking and is very popular in baking. Baking with shortening has many benefits. Initially, people came up with shortening to replace butter. However, this is not the only reason why many people prefer baking with shortening.
Secondly, it prevents the formation of gluten in doughs. While gluten helps baked goods hold their form, it also makes them firm. This can be a good thing when baking bread. However, when it comes to short doughs, i. All you need your pie crusts and shortbread to be is crumbly and flaky. And this is exactly what baking with shortening does. Shortening is also great for puff pastry.
Puff pastry made with shortening turns out beautifully layered, light, and fluffy. As shortening inhibits the formation of gluten , it is a staple baking ingredient for people who have a gluten intolerance. Aside from being used in baking, shortening can also be used for other cooking tasks. It is also heat-stable and works well for frying and deep-frying. Lard is a multipurpose cooking fat. Like shortening, you can use it in baking to produce very flaky pie crusts and shortbreads. As for its uses in cooking, lard seems to be more versatile than vegetable shortening.
Many cooks state that lard gives food richness that vegetable shortening cannot give. Especially for not fully processed lard with hints of pork flavor, the aroma it adds to fried food is desired by many.
When you think of a lard-based pie crust, you might imagine an elderly woman named Ma cutting rendered fat from a dearly departed pig into hand-milled flour, looking out over the old homestead years ago.
But lard is a perfectly good fat to use for pie crust in the present day— if you can find rendered leaf lard made from the high-quality fat around the kidneys and loin of the pig , the only kind of lard I would recommend for pie making. The pros: Lard produces an extremely crisp, flaky crust. It's also easy to work with, as its melting point is higher than butter, so it doesn't soften as quickly while you handle it, or threaten to dissolve into the flour as quickly as butter before baking.
The cons: Good quality rendered leaf lard is hard to find. Much of the lard widely available in grocery stores has been hydrogenated and filled with preservatives, with a strong piggy flavor, which makes baking with it considerably less desirable than an all-butter crust. If you are looking for a combination of lard and butter, which some people feel combines the best of both worlds, try this recipe from Alice Waters:. Vegetable shortening is a solid, usually hydrogenated fat made from vegetable oil, such as palm, cottonseed, or soybean oil.
It became popular in the s as a cheap, shelf-stable alternative to butter. If you want to make a vegan pie crust, shortening is one option though we recommend using the newer, non-hydrogenated varieties. The pros: Shortening has a higher melting point than lard or butter, so it's easy to incorporate into pie dough and roll out.
It's also helpful when making any kind of decorative pie crust , because doughs made with shortening hold their shape the best during baking. The edges of a beautifully crimped rim or gorgeous fall leaf-covered pie will stay sharp in the oven. The cons: Shortening lacks the flavor of butter and has a slightly greasy mouthfeel. A pie dough made with shortening or shortening and butter combined would be perfect for a stunning decorative pie crust like this one.
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