Let’s talk about lard.

My mom sent me a food care package from an organic farm in Pennsylvania that raises pastured beef and milk-fed pigs and sends out all kinds of goodness. She sent a couple pounds of hamburger (which went into the nachos and the stroganoff and had the silkiest, softest texture), a dozen eggs (huge brown ones with bright orange yolks), and a container of…lard. Which I’ve been using to make biscuits and pie crusts and all sorts of lovelies. I will admit, the first time I ate biscuits I’d prepared with lard, I thought I might possibly fall over dead immediately from a lard-induced heart attack. (Even though I knew lard wasn’t as bad as people in the 70s thought it was, I still felt nervous!) But I didn’t die, and the biscuits had fantastic crispy exteriors and fluffy insides. The pie crust I made last night was flaky and light (though next time I think I’ll try half butter and half lard to get some buttery taste in there). I used it to make a quiche–a kitchen-sink kind of quiche, with bacon, spinach, peas, mushrooms, onions, and of course plenty of cheese, cream, and organic eggs. Some people wouldn’t have touched it with a ten-foot pole, and, frankly, it’s their loss.

I’ve been doing some reading, since Mom sent the lard. Apparently, while it does win the Worst Name Ever award, it has some benefits too. It’s got no trans fats, and it has twice the good fats of butter. It’s good for the environment, too, since it ensures more of the pig gets used. It has a higher smoking point, so your food soaks up less of the grease. And on and on. (If you’re still worried about fat and animal fat in particular, the whole fat/heart disease connection has been largely debunked. Read this: What if fat isn’t so bad? And no, I’m not going to incorporate lard into my everyday diet, mainly because I’m not going to make pies and biscuits every day, sadly.) I find it funny that we’re all terrified of rendered pork fat, but we’ll go to KFC and get their grilled chicken because it’s “healthy.”

But even if these new studies are wrong, and animal fat is bad for you after all, I’ll take my butter over margarine any day. I know what lard is. I’m not so sure about Crisco. And those biscuits and that quiche? Worth it.

Extra reading:

Lard: The New Health Food?

Lard: After decades of trying, its moment is finally here.