So it turns out that lard is actually good for us... Or at least much better than shortening and other substitutes nutritionists began pushing in the 1950s.

Of course, if you look it up, you'll still find the warnings about lard's terrible effects. Happily, Slate's Regina Schrambling recently caught readers up on the benefits of rendered pork fat:

Lard has clearly won the health debate. Shortening, the synthetic substitute foisted on this country over the last century, has proven to be a much bigger health hazard because it contains trans fats, the bugaboo du jour. Corporate food scientists figured out long ago that you can fool most of the people most of the time, and shortening (and its butter-aping cousin, margarine) had a pretty good ride after Crisco was introduced in 1911 as a substitute for the poor man's fat. But shortening really vanquished lard in the 1950s when researchers first connected animal fat in the diet to coronary heart disease. By the '90s, Americans had been indoctrinated to mainline olive oil, but shortening was still the go-to solid fat over lard or even butter in far too many cookbooks.

[snip]

 That's all changed. Now you could even argue that lard is good for you. As Jennifer McLagan points out in her celebrated book Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes, lard's fat is also mostly monounsaturated, which is healthier than saturated fat. And even the saturated fat in lard has a neutral effect on blood cholesterol. Not to mention that lard has a higher smoking point than other fats, allowing foods like chicken to absorb less grease when fried in it. And, of course, fat in general has its upsides. The body converts it to fuel, and it helps absorb nutrients, particularly calcium and vitamins.

As Schrambling points out, lard is a fat for its time -- it's not only better for your health, but better for the environment as well, because it's minimally processed and less wasteful (it uses more of the animal).

Apparently the best lard is found around a hog's kidneys (who knew?). But watch out for the stuff sold in an average supermarket -- it's usually hydrogenated to make it last longer.

Anyway, no more guilt for those of us who like to make pie crust with good old fashioned lard. Have at it, bakers!