lard

lard hog's fat melted and strained from the tissues, an important byproduct of the meatpacking industry. The highest grade, leaf lard, is from the fat around the kidneys; the next best is from the back, and the poorest from the small intestines. Lard is classed by method of preparation as prime steam, rendered in a closed vessel into which steam is injected; neutral, melted at low temperature; kettle-rendered, heated with added water in steam-jacketed kettles; and dry-rendered, hashed, then heated in cookers equipped with agitators. Good lard melts quickly and is free from disagreeable odor. Pure lard (99% fat) is highly valued as a cooking oil because it smokes very little when heated.

lard Rendered fat from pig carcasses (sheep and cattle are also used). The best quality is from the fat surrounding the kidneys; neutral lard is the highest quality, prepared by agitating the minced fat with water at a temperature below 50 °C; kidney fat provides No. 1 quality; back fat provides No. 2 quality.

Leaf lard is made from the residue of kidney and back fat after the preparation of neutral lard by heating with water above 100 °C in an autoclave. Prime Steam Lard is fat from any part of the carcass, rendered in the autoclave.

Lard used to be stored in pig's bladder, hence the expression ‘bladder of lard’ for a grossly obese person.

lard / lärd/ • n. fat from the abdomen of a pig that is rendered and clarified for use in cooking. ∎ inf. excess human fat that is seen as unhealthy and unattractive. • v. [tr.] 1. insert strips of fat or bacon in (meat) before cooking. ∎  smear or cover (a foodstuff) with lard or fat, typically to prevent it from drying out during storage. 2. (usu. be larded with) embellish (talk or writing) with a variety of expressions: his conversation is larded with quotations from Coleridge. ∎  cover or fill thickly or excessively: the pages were larded with corrections and crossings-out. DERIVATIVES: lard·y adj.