Day 179
Well, today I saw something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before … a bucket of lard.
Yes, an actual (albeit plastic) bucket (or tub) of … LARD.
You know, pork fat … that white solid shortening of sorts that people use for baking, frying or as a spread.
Yuck. Ew!
Actually, it’s not as bad as it sounds. And a “bucket o’ lard” sounds pretty bad!
I have used lard, in baking, myself. Eons ago before I switched to “shortening”. Eons ago before I stopped baking. And, as all good cooks know, nothing beats lard for a flaky pie crust.
Seriously. As gross as that sounds … nothing beats lard for flaky pastry. I don’t know what it is … something about the makeup of the fat content … but it works. And it works best. Better than butter. Better than any vegetable shortening. Better than anything. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to take home a bucket of it. Who does?
I live in an area with a very high concentration of Polish families … is it a common item in their pantries? Which made me really wonder that question. Is this some ethnic secret ingredient? Is this what makes those fried pastries called Chrusciki or Paczki so fabulous and delectable?
There were buckets on the end cap display of the grocery store aisle and there were many of them and it made me pose these questions …
Who is using buckets of lard? Is there a baking competition in town that I don’t know about? Are there a ton of Polish grandmas out there making Babka or Kolaczki this coming weekend? Am I missing out on some holiday here in the ‘hood?
So, I thought I’d do a little research into the subject.
Here’s what I found out …
NOTHING.
A big fat (no pun intended) nothing. So … the next time I go to the grocery store I might just ask the customer service desk WHY they have buckets of lard and who is buying said item?
And while I’m on the subject …
In some European countries if someone is said to be “eating bread and lard” it means that they are very poor and have a meager existence.
It has been used as a descriptor in a negative fashion … “He was a tub o’ lard.” … meaning that that person weighed substantially more than an average person. Not really a nice way of saying someone is heavy-set however it does make for quite a visual image.
The Lard Bucket is a bluegrass band from Alabama. They describe themselves as “simple people making simple music by simple means.” Okay then.
And, the big, fat (lard-like in this instance) kicker of them all … I found that a 25 pound bucket of lard is approximately 105,000 calories and has 11,200 grams of saturated fat. Makes me think that after consuming it … one might be actually, well …
A tub o’ lard.