Suet and Lard - and a joke.

[LondonIan]

I've been so confused by the good oil/bad oil debates, that I thought I'd research the relative merits of using lard and suet instead. certainly seems more Paleo, but I've never cooked with suet.
I could find virtually no info (except for the warnings that fat will kill you, of course) so thought I;d elicit some opinions here.

In the process, I found this http://www.zen8595.zen.co.uk/lard/frameset.html
which is pretty funny.

[Hellistile]

Funny, especially the following:

"Yours, Sir Hugh Smedley-Farquharson.
Chairman of the Board and Head Grader"

If non-hydrogenated lard was available, I'd switch in a minute. Unforunately, it doesn't exist in this space and time continuum.

[MichaelG]

Whenever I come across some extremely fatty pork chops at a cheap bulk-meat type butcher I buy a few kilos, cut the fat off and render it into lard. You end up with nice crackly crunchy bits as well. I always have a bowl of lard in the fridge.

Suet ditto. It's hard to get hold of but after a bit of sweating in a pan the beef fat starts to run off it.

Cheers
Michael Gardner
Australia

[cucu]

Engilsh is my second language so I called my ants in Mexico to ask about this lard and suet thing, it seems that Mexico as being 3rd world they are more old fashion and do have to cook more with animal fat, but then I don’t understand what is the difference in the word of “suet” and “lard” is it the animal they come form?

Now they sell this pork fat called (Manteca de Puerco) and the question is how do I know if it is hydrogenated or not? We don’t have labels to specify things like this, Is there a way to know this just by looking at it?

I am also confuse about this fats, I just finish the book (NeanderThin) and it says just the point that is better animal fats and stay away from grain, seeds fats but they don’t expand on the matter, hope someone will start opening more info on this matter

[nela]

Cucu, hola!

We also have the Manteca de Cerdo here in Spain. I have no idea whether it is hydrogenated or not, but it says on the label that it's 100% lard. I don't know whether that helps or not. It's not really used in Mediterranean cooking, as olive oil is more common here. I used it a few months ago and found that it gave my food a very different flavour, it all tasted like pork. LOL. So that's why I don't use it anymore.

Saludos desde España :)

[cucu]

Cucu, hola!
Saludos desde España :)

Hey I was reading about your “Jamon Serrano” in another post so I went and bought some for myself, but I dated a guy from spain a long time ago Ufff and he brought me this “very very expencive” jampon Serrano but wasn’t as salty it was more like oily? Very good can you tell me the name, he make it sound like everybody new this.

About the Lard, well I am new at this cooking and investigating still about this oils and fats, there is so much contradiction in this matter that I haven’t come to terms what I am going to do, what oils to eat with salads, as I was reading the paleo they put the olive oil as just “good” when I thought it was great, as well as avocado..

Then you have this flax oil coming new as the huge thing, this obsession with the omegas, I cant keep up yet with too much information, it seems that in the past week I discover another world I didn’t new it existed..lol

[nela]

Hola!

There are so many different kinds of Jamón Serrano, but one of the most expensive ones is called "Cinco Jotas". If you want the best ham, it has to be Serrano and the pigs have to be fed on acorns. Another very well known one is called "Jamón de Bellota"

Go here if you want to purchase some:
http://www.jamonyvino.com/

http://www.jamonesmartinez.com/

Enjoy! :)

[MichaelG]

Interesting comments from Cucu
Lard comes from pigs and suet comes from cows, but I think all the grazing animals have it, it's a big pad of fat in the back area which protects their kidneys, is very pure, and was used a lot in old time baking to produce pie crusts and puddings.

Here's something I've always wondered about Mexico and the Central and South American nations who used to be part of the Spanish Empire. The Culture derives from Spain, being mixed with the local "indian" populations in varying degrees but... As Spain produces the best olive oil, how come Latin America never adopted olive oil as its main cooking oil or fat? Mexico would surely have the perfect climates for planting olive groves. Generally, what oils and fats are actually used in the countries from Mexico to Argentina?

Puzzled

Michael Gardner
Australia

[cucu]

Interesting comments from Cucu
Lard comes from pigs and suet comes from cows,


I am from Mexico and still confuse about all this, lol, and you have a great point there, olive oil is not popular and the good is imported from spain... I just finish the book of Paleo Diet after the Neantherthin and I am now understanding more all this mess about Fats.

The thing is that I feel more full while eating Saturated Fat than with tons of olive oil.. I haven't done this as an experiment but I bet I could take 3 spoons of Olive oil and still feel not full vs. if I eat one spoon of coconut oil and feel totally full..

just a coment there...lol

[black57]

I remember, years ago, hearing a report about McDonalds fries on the news. People in general think that this fast food place has th best firies. Well, it is because they are cooked in lard. My DH prefers cooking in olive oil, I prefer the hard stuff.

[TwilightZ]

I remember, years ago, hearing a report about McDonalds fries on the news. People in general think that this fast food place has th best firies. Well, it is because they are cooked in lard. My DH prefers cooking in olive oil, I prefer the hard stuff.

They WERE cooked in lard. Now it's the same partially hydrogenated garbage oil everyone else is using.