Indydebi I am concerned about you. I am really concerned that you are going through life thinking that lard leaves a bad aftertaste. I grew up in South Georgia with two grandmas who cooked everything in either lard or bacon grease because that was how you cooked. When I say everything, I mean everything. Lard was used for eggs and hash browns in the morning, grilled cheese at lunch, in the biscuits and to fry the fish or chicken for dinner.
Let me assure you that if you are doing it right lard will not leave any aftertaste. Except maybe the taste of love! 
I kid, I kid. So the next time you drive through Nashville you're gonna need to come on over to my house so we can have some fried chicken and biscuits and rectify this situation.
Darby, as I've read thru this thread with all the comments by everyone, I seriously began thinking "was it the lard or was it that my mom was a horrible cook?" Remember, I did preface my earlier post with "maybe it's just an early memory from being a kid ...."! 
I think I may need to get around some REAL southern cooks! 
(But no grits! I don't eat things that look funny and those things look funny!)
I tell ya what you all got me homesick...I married my hubby and moved here to MASS, from MO...My grandmother was from ky so my mom learned to cooked everything in it...and up here ya cant find a good meal..heck some of them never even heard of sausage gravy and biscuits.. I made life hell for my dh till we found hole hog sausage, and only found it then cause the super walmart moved in town...now i got to go call mom for her biscuits...cant wait till i go home for xmass!!!!
Well Debi, I did not want to be the one tell you that it was your mother's cooking but now that you have come to that conclusion yourself I will have to agree. I just wasn't going to be the one to tell you! I'm far too polite for that.
Don't worry, I'll sneak grits into you and you won't even know it but you'll like 'em. No one can resist grits casserole if you put enough cheese and butter in it!
Indydebi I am concerned about you. I am really concerned that you are going through life thinking that lard leaves a bad aftertaste..... Let me assure you that if you are doing it right lard will not leave any aftertaste.
This is all in fun but was I the only one thinking that the reason you never had any bad aftertaste was that your tongue was permanently coated with a nice numbing layer of LARD!!
ah geez, you all have made me really hungry.. for something made with lard - bacon grease... I want something, but to darn lazy to get up and make anything.. (tough day delivering that 3 x 4 foot cake)
OT - can someone tell me how to make that sausage gravy... I love it. I was down south last year for 3 months, and just loved it. nobody sells it here in Canada.. or at least where I live.. would love it if someone gave me a recipe..
Lard for pie crust.. yummm
Bacon grease for frying up potatoes and eggs.. hmmm.. good
lol am I the only one here that thinks food cooked in the fat drippings of other foods is a bit gross .... ok that was an understatement it actually makes me want to gag lol ... I honestly have never had anything cooked in lard and when I cook bacon (which I RARELY do unless it is turkey bacon) then I drain the drippings and wipe the pan clean before cooking anything else. I have a hard enough time making BC with veg shortening the whole hydrogenated oils make me want to kill over thinking of them clogging my arteries but these are for others and not myself lol, I am actualy considering making frosting for my next cake out of tofu, I have found some recipes that sounds really good
Yes AmandaPanda, I don't eat any pork. There are just too many issues with it that gross me out.
I would still like to hear an answer to the question about what hi-ratio shortening is made from. Does anyone have a container handy to read the ingredient list?
Now darn it this is ridiculous! 
I am sitting here wanting an egg sandwich, sausage gravy and biscuits, bacon, or anything cooked with bacon LOL .
[quote="KathysCC"]Yes AmandaPanda, I don't eat any pork. There are just too many issues with it that gross me out.
quote]
I am with you ... no pork for me .. YUCK I actually cut out beef too and am seriously considering all meats going bye bye soon.
Look, I didn't say what I said to start someone up on their soapbox. And I really did not need your autobiography. My opinion was my opinion, and that's that. If you don't like it, oh well.
Theresa
Harsh, very harsh...
See now what you all have done to me, got me to thinking, thinking about food that is.
Oh my goodness, LOVE LOVE my potatoes fried in that bacon grease.
Big fat slab of bacon fat in fresh green bean or big pot of soup beans
DH loves that bacon grease pour over cut garden lettuce or mustard greens with cut green onions.
Biscuits & gravy, sausage, eggs, hash browns, fried apples.... makes me want to smack my lips and then watch it stick to my hips
When my family visits in the summer, before they go back home...they have me fix my southern dinner, as they call it.
Fried Chicken, Stuffing, Fresh Green Beans, Fresh Corn on the cob, garden tomatoes & cubecumbers, fried apples, cole slaw, fried green tomatoes, home made mashed potatoes, buttermilk biscuits and blackberry cobber.
Everything comes from the garden but the chicken (and when my mother in law was alive, she kill the chicken for supper), the apples and the stuff to make the biscuits.
Now my DH's great grandmother live to be 106, my grandmother to 98, DH still has a grand mother is still going....most of our family through the generations, has live to be in their 90's and some 100 +... and these were people who were rasied with lard & other fats in their foods. These were some of the best cooks in Va. & Ky. and I learn to make a mean biscuit and fried apples.
IndyDebi, your welcome to come down here anytime for supper. As far as lard in icing I am not sure about that, but I know it makes a wonderful pie crust.
God Bless,
Sharon
Sorry so long got carried away, Thanks for the trip everyone... I have enjoy the ride
..... can someone tell me how to make that sausage gravy... I love it. I was down south last year for 3 months, and just loved it. nobody sells it here in Canada..
I learned to make it while watching The Frugal Gourmet on PBS years ago. There are probably a hundred different ways to do it, but this is how I do it, and my kids still come to Mom's house for this. Again, I apologize for the approximate measurements, 'coz I'm a "until it looks right" cook:
Cook about 1 lb of bulk sausage. (We use the Italian sausage because we like it a little spicy).
While it's cooking, heat up 3-4 cups of milk in the microwave.
When sausage is done, add 2-4 Tbsp of cornstarch to the sausage.
Stir to coat; continue to fry to blend and brown the cornstarch.
Slowly add the HOT milk to the sausage.
It will start to get thick immediately so stir it as you pour the milk.
Salt/pepper to taste.
The reason I never could make it was because it never got thick, like gravy. Frugal Gourmet taught me the hot milk trick and it's practically foolproof.
I can eat this stuff with a spoon! If there's a biscuit under it, that's just a plus!
I would still like to hear an answer to the question about what hi-ratio shortening is made from. Does anyone have a container handy to read the ingredient list?
I have a little container of Sweetex. Here are the ingredients:
Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Soybean and Palm) With added Vegetable Mono and Diglycerides and Polysorbate 60.
Good morning jibbies! I am just now getting my breath back. My son just set the alarm off in the house in his rush out the door this morning and just about gave me a heart attack. Gawd that think is loud. 
cocacola4u I use the different butter/margarine combos in my sugar cookies for longevitiy mostly. The margarine lasts the longest. Cost can be a factor as well. And crumb is different. If you want to pm me I will send you my recipe and you can try it the three ways if you are an avid cookie baker. The margarine version is the winner hands down in blind taste tests every time. They pack and travel well too.
Indydebi, come visit me and we can go try tons of versions of poutine. You will LOVE it.
lol am I the only one here that thinks food cooked in the fat drippings of other foods is a bit gross .... ok that was an understatement it actually makes me want to gag lol ... I honestly have never had anything cooked in lard and when I cook bacon (which I RARELY do unless it is turkey bacon) then I drain the drippings and wipe the pan clean before cooking anything else. I have a hard enough time making BC with veg shortening the whole hydrogenated oils make me want to kill over thinking of them clogging my arteries but these are for others and not myself lol, I am actualy considering making frosting for my next cake out of tofu, I have found some recipes that sounds really good
Oh Honey!!!! I totally love tofu, wakami (seaweed), miso, sushi etc. My mom's Japanese. But when possible, fried food in bacon grease is the best seasoning there is. I thought it was just a southern thing, but apparently not. Seeing from where everyone on this thread is from surprises me.
I forgot to add, I have an Amanda Panda too but somehow it turned into Mando Pando when my son was little.
I can't believe I missed this thread. I love lard! Ok, so it's not like I'm licking it off the spoon or anything but whenever I hear lard, I think pies! The best pie crusts I've ever had are made from lard. They melt in your mouth! Yum yum yum.
Now, my mom also throws bacon drippings in her eggs but I hate eggs so I can't tell you how they taste. But she also uses bacon grease to brown her cornbread and that is the best tasting cornbread you will ever have. It has a gorgeous brown and super crispy crust and I could sit there and eat it all day.
I remember winning a baking contest in Middle School (1977) with my grandmother's recipe for "Bacon Grease Cookies" I remember that it had the bacon grease and they were very soft and had lots of spices in them. I'll have to call her to see if she still has the recipe.
hmm, well I guess butter (IMBC, Swiss buttercream, or any TRUE buttercream) is a no go since its made from animal (beef) fat. Taste mighty darn good to me.
Well, actually milkfat is not at all like the body fat of an animal.......I thought of that initially too, though........
Although, I love cooking with bacon grease so much, I might just eat icing made with it!!
fat is fat no matter where it comes from it's still fat. Milk,butter, and cream are all cow products with varying amounts of animal fat with butter having the most fat content of the three.[/quote]
all i was saying is that there are different kinds of animal fat. sorry if i offended
I forgot to add, I have an Amanda Panda too but somehow it turned into Mando Pando when my son was little.
lol yeah I used to be Mandy Pandy for a while ... i used to hade the nicknames but now i embrace them along withthe oh so popular A-MAN-DUH!
The thing is using lard was not and is still not a "poor" thing or "southern" thing. "Way back in the day" when you wanted to make a pie or cook something that required grease or a little meaty seasoning then you used lard or drippings. There was no other alternative. I don't think it's a good argument to say that lard contributed to people being fat because most people "way back in the day" weren't fat because they had to work their butts off doing everyday tasks that we now have modern conveniences to take care of. So back to the point of the thread....most supermarket brand lards are processed from low and high grade fat, then it is hydrogenated (producing trans fat byproduct) bleached and treated with deodorizing agents making it more shelf stable...that is why it resembles shortening. Also there are different grades of "true" lard. The best (#1 quality) or "neutral" is made from the fat surrounding the kidneys of pigs, cattle and sheep. #2 quality is made from back fat. So, my point to all of that is, using a supermarket brand would probably be very similar to using shortening and wouldn't have the lard taste that some have referred to here. What might be a good solution is to add equal parts of shortening, lard and butter. It might add back what has been missing from the Crisco since the "trans fat" thing has happened.
I would still like to hear an answer to the question about what hi-ratio shortening is made from. Does anyone have a container handy to read the ingredient list?
I have a little container of Sweetex. Here are the ingredients:
Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Soybean and Palm) With added Vegetable Mono and Diglycerides and Polysorbate 60.
So that's why it works so well with icings...the palm oil. Might as well use lard I guess, because palm oil is one of the worst as far as being unhealthy. Yummy, but bad...isn't that how it always is?
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