There are certain things that instantly make anyone born after 1960 nervous.
One of them is reading a recipe where lard is an ingredient.
Suddenly everyone becomes very concerned.
Questions appear. Eyebrows rise.
Someone quietly says:
Could we substitute literally anything else?
But if our ancestors were standing in the kitchen?
They’d probably look at us, offended, and ask:
Why would you want to?
Because for generations, lard wasn’t debatable.
It was dinner.
And frankly, a lot of very delicious things happened because of it.
First of All… What Is Lard?
Confession time.
When I was a teenager, my mom got some of my great-grandmother’s old recipes from her mother. I remember reading one and immediately asked:
What the heck is lard?
Lard is simply: rendered pork fat.
Which sounds much less glamorous than: “the secret ingredient behind flaky pie crusts.”
However, historically, it was incredibly practical.
People rendered fat from pigs to create:
- cooking fat
- baking fat
- frying fat
- food preservation
Because when families raised animals…
You used, the entire animal.
Not most. Not preferred parts. All of it.
And wasting usable fat? Wildly impractical.
Why Lard Was in Basically Everything
Because it worked.
Lard was:
Cheap
Especially for farming families raising pigs.
Accessible
Most rural households already had access.
Shelf-Stable
Especially before refrigeration.
Which matters because:
👉 [#86 Iceboxes, Ice Men, and the Battle Against Spoiled Milk]
reminds us:
Keeping ingredients fresh was hard. Very hard.
And fats that stored well were incredibly important.
The Great Family Argument: Pie Crusts
If you have an older family recipe book…
There’s a decent chance someone quietly swears:
The pie crust isn’t right without lard.
And they’re probably not wrong.
Historically, lard was famous for creating:
- flaky pie crusts
- biscuits
- pastries
Because its fat structure worked beautifully in baking.
Meaning, Grandma’s pie recipe?
May actually have science on its side.
👉 [#109 Cakes, Pies, and Pride: The Unofficial Currency of Church Socials]
Because church gatherings absolutely relied on serious pie-making energy.
Fat Was Fuel
Modern diets often treat fat like a suspicious intruder.
However, in past times
Fat meant calories. And calories mattered.
Especially for people:
- farming
- hauling water
- washing clothes by hand
- chopping wood
- working physically demanding jobs
👉 [#84 Wash Day Wednesdays: The Most Exhausting Day of the Week]
Because after spending an entire day doing laundry manually?
You probably needed a meal with actual staying power.
Let’s Be Honest…
Our ancestors burned more calories before breakfast than many of us burn all day.
Which explains a lot about historical cooking.
The Great Kitchen Shift: Crisco
Things changed dramatically in the early 1900s.
In 1911, Crisco entered kitchens and marketed itself as:
- modern
- cleaner
- easier
- more scientific
And suddenly:
Animal fats began competing with vegetable shortenings.
Which kicked off what I’m unofficially calling:
The Great Kitchen Fat Debate
Families split into camps:
Team Lard
“It tastes better.”
Team Shortening
“It’s easier.”
This debate has somehow survived generations.
Great Depression Cooking & Making Things Stretch
During harder economic times, fats became even more valuable.
During the Great Depression:
Nothing got wasted – Including fat.
Rendered fats were reused for:
- frying
- cooking vegetables
- flavoring meals
Because when resources were limited:
You made things work.
👉 [#107 The Great Depression Kitchen: Making Do and Making It Delicious]
What Genealogists Can Learn from Cooking Fat (Yes, Really)
This sounds oddly specific.
But stay with me.
Food choices tell us about:
- region
- economics
- immigration
- occupation
- available resources
For example:
Southern families?
More bacon grease and pork fat.
Midwest farming communities?
Heavy use of lard.
Immigrant communities?
Different fats depending on cultural traditions.
Meaning:
Your family recipes can quietly tell you where people came from and what resources were available.
The Great Lard Debate (Still Somehow Ongoing)
To this day, people debate: Is lard better?
Historically, the answer was simpler:
It was available.
It was useful.
And it helped feed families.
Honestly, our ancestors probably weren’t spending much time debating cooking fats while:
- surviving winters
- feeding eight people
- trying not to waste anything
So better wasn’t really the main goal.
Final Thoughts
The history of lard isn’t really about fat.
It’s about practicality. Survival. Resourcefulness.
And understanding that our ancestors cooked based on what worked.
Not trends. Not internet debates.
Just What fed people well.
There’s something oddly comforting about that.
Even if modern me is still processing the idea of keeping bacon grease in a coffee tin.
🔗 Related Rabbit Holes
- [#107 The Great Depression Kitchen: Making Do and Making It Delicious]
- [#110 What’s in the Tin? Canned Foods That Changed the World]
- [#84 Wash Day Wednesdays: The Most Exhausting Day of the Week]
- [#109 Cakes, Pies, and Pride: Church Socials]
- [#111 Cooking Like It’s 1923: Trying a Vintage Recipe From My Ancestor’s Cookbook]
- [#86 Iceboxes, Ice Men, and the Battle Against Spoiled Milk]
