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.
Thanks rincewind, I wanted to buy some of this but I an aversion to animal fat. I wanted to make sure there was none in it.
Well we can now all add a new flavor cake to what we sell. Mayonaise cake torted and filled with a hash brown/ketchup sauce and iced in a lovely Bacon Dripping Cream. YUMMY!
Well we can now all add a new flavor cake to what we sell. Mayonaise cake torted and filled with a hash brown/ketchup sauce and iced in a lovely Bacon Dripping Cream. YUMMY!
Ya better get a quick patent on that! I can see it hitting the Hardee's menu any day now!
K as for the debate of "lard",
Lard is rendered pork fat, tallow is rendered beef fat. Back before crisco or vegetable shortening was invented, (something like the 20th century) lard, butter and tallow were basically the only fats available to bakers, cooks and chefs in Europe (where we get most of our food traditions).
The chef or cook would know how to render their own supply of lard or tallow.
I know it's hard to believe that less than a hundred years ago that all cakes were made with butter, all frostings were made with lard or butter, so consequently, only the richest people had access to the best ingredients and cake was a "rich people's dessert" back in the day of course.
Now with the introduction of hydrogenated fats (shortening, vegetable or animal) processed sugars, dough conditioners, and all sorts of other chemicals added to our foods we can now afford to "have our cake and eat it too".
Therefore, after saying that mouthful, cakes, before the 40's (yep that's 1940's), for the most part, were iced with lard or butter based icings. Or as in England, iced with Royal icing, then marzipan.
So it's not that far of a stretch to think that icing recipes used lard as the fat base.
As for tallow (rendered beef fat) it has a very waxy texture and was used for making candles and suet, and used for lubricating,
etc.
Sorry for the history lesson and for this being sooo long.
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
Hey Amanda! I just thought I would reply that I understand your sentiments! I grew up in LA, spent my entire childhood and early adulthood in California. Grew up not eating pork much, bacon crisp, and a whole lotta avocados and sprouts and whole wheat bread.
Then, 4 years ago I moved to Memphis TN when I got married. Boy! They will fry anything up if it stands still long enough in the south! Sometimes my husband's family laughs at me for wanting to pick off the fried coating on chicken, or throwing out the bacon grease, or refusing the plate of fried okra. But sometimes I try a little since I am a "transfer-southerner" now LOL.
So... anyway I understand how you feel!
BTW- my Canadian friend says poutine is awesome. He dreams of it and says you just can't find the right kind of cheese curds here to make it! But... why is it that they eat fries with Mayo in Amsterdam, they eat fries with gravy in Canada and we eat fries with ketchup in the US? Who is really the weirdest?????
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
Hey Amanda! I just thought I would reply that I understand your sentiments! I grew up in LA, spent my entire childhood and early adulthood in California. Grew up not eating pork much, bacon crisp, and a whole lotta avocados and sprouts and whole wheat bread.
Then, 4 years ago I moved to Memphis TN when I got married. Boy! They will fry anything up if it stands still long enough in the south! Sometimes my husband's family laughs at me for wanting to pick off the fried coating on chicken, or throwing out the bacon grease, or refusing the plate of fried okra. But sometimes I try a little since I am a "transfer-southerner" now LOL.
So... anyway I understand how you feel!
BTW- my Canadian friend says poutine is awesome. He dreams of it and says you just can't find the right kind of cheese curds here to make it! But... why is it that they eat fries with Mayo in Amsterdam, they eat fries with gravy in Canada and we eat fries with ketchup in the US? Who is really the weirdest?????
OK, I am late to this thread, but I do know a lot about lard in the South. I grew up in North Carolina and we were definitely not poor. This was in the 50s and 60s. Being a farming community, lots of people owned hogs. We would have Hog Killings in the winter and process our own meat and make lard. The lard was cut up fat, from any part of the hog. This was put in a big cast iron pot in the back yard w/ fire under it and cooked until the fat came out of the meat. Any lean meat left on the pieces of fat were called "cracklins". These were taken out and pressed in a big old iron presser and the fat was stored in large cans called lard stands. The lean cakes that were left were cracklin cakes and were delicious salted and eaten by themselves or used in soups, cornbread, and other things. The only fat we had to cook with was lard which was kept in the stands in the smoke house.
[quote="Sionann"]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.
AMEN! I hate to sound overly sensitive, but I was a little offended that some people think that using lard is a "poor, southern" thing. People in the south or anywhere else in the world are fat b/c they consume more calories than burned off (unless there's thyroid issues, etc.). I grew up poor in the south, ate lots of lard, and have never been overweight. I don't make it a regular habit to eat it now, but I do enjoy an occasional biscuit or pie made from lard. Green beans that aren't seasoned with lard or fat back are not edible in my opinion.
So, please don't knock the "lard eaters". We have feelings too.
By the way, I don't think that it would be that great to use in buttercream, but I've never tried it.
..... 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!
Debi - Thank you so much.. Will have to make this for brunch on Sunday... I'm a "when it looks right kinda right cook too" so that's okay.
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!
...and bacon drippings... YUM!!!
lI am actualy considering making frosting for my next cake out of tofu, I have found some recipes that sounds really good
Last spring I made cream cheese icing out of soy cream cheese, it was expensive and not at all yummy (IMO). Of course, the customer thought it was terrific (but her party guests, on the other hand....rumor has it most guests ate the cake and scraped off the icing, but the hostess ate 3 pieces LOL)
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
I used to be like you, when I was a vegetarian 4 years ago. I was a vegetarian for over 5 years. Since I have gotten older, my tastes have changed, and there is something oddly addictive, compelling even, about bacon (and bacon flavored food). I even have a recipe for bacon toffee. Although, I have not been daring enough to cook it yet. I also have a recipe for avocado icing. It would take me a long time to find in my recipe pile. You can look it up on the Food Network website under Alton Brown's show. It is a good for you green icing, that you don't even have to use artificial color in!
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.
DROOOOOOL!!!!
I'll be there SUNDAY.
please?
lorrieg
last night when you first mentioned poutine I thought you were misspelling protein, glad I kept my mouth shut and found out what it was.
sounds yummy!
jibbies
Now I'm glad you said that, because when I read it, I thought she was misspelling something else altogether but let's not go there!
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.
YES YES YES
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bookmark this thread so you can post it. I'm totally and completely serious!
Sorry for the history lesson and for this being sooo long.
Please don't EVER apologize for a history lesson! We LOVE that!
OK dear ones following this thread, sorry for my bazillion quote-posts as I catch up on what I missed today.
Firstly - I found this which some here might be interested in:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,bacon_grease,FF.html
Second, I wanted to share what I did tonight, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home, and I couldn't believe my eyes, I found a package of something like 4 pounds of what was labeled "bacon ends" for 2.99 I had had a really rough day at work today and decided what the heck, so once I got home and got Zach to bed, I turned my skillet on and went to my happy place I topped off my bacon drippings jar and enjoyed handful after handful of crispy crunchy cracklings mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
So I'm good now...
Still haven't tried lard BC yet...but I will....
The really good news is, now you can have a glass of red wine to clear out those arteries. Woo hoo!
In my younger days, my mom and grandma would use lard. I can say one thing, lard makes the best pie crust . oooh,flaky and tasty too, especially homemade apple pie. wow As far as one post about turkey bacon. We used turkey bacon for a while, but one day, I decided to buy some real bacon and when we ate it , the taste exploded in our mouths, it was soooo good! It was hard to do back to turkey bacon.But we did, for health sake. Nothing like the taste of real bacon!!
missmersh, poutine is french fries smothered in cheese curds and gravy. That's the original French Canadian way to make it. You buy them out of chip wagons on the side of the road usually. I've seen them more and more places these days and my son saw them in NYC. They cost a whole lot more though!
Thanks!! Never heard of it before. I asked my husband what it was and he thought I was asking him what putain was!!!! LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't know you pronounced it (pu tsin) and I said it like putain. I looked it up on the internet and figured it out.
Thank you for telling me!!!
The really good news is, now you can have a glass of red wine to clear out those arteries. Woo hoo!
I agree red wine is good for the arteries,
You guys all have me cracking up so hard my DD went to bed with her eyes rolling! Fried egg & cheese sandwiches with lots of mayo -- yum!! I grew up Yankee but have deep Southern roots. Sweet Tea!! Yum!! Yungen's, Y'uns and Faster Than a June Bug Sittin on a Hot Kettle! Tried to do a family history and couldn't get out of Arkansas!!!!
....I think sometime ago I wrote on another thread that I didn't even know a box of cake mix was invented until I was 22 years old!!
[quote="lecrn"]
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.
AMEN! I hate to sound overly sensitive, but I was a little offended that some people think that using lard is a "poor, southern" thing. People in the south or anywhere else in the world are fat b/c they consume more calories than burned off (unless there's thyroid issues, etc.). I grew up poor in the south, ate lots of lard, and have never been overweight. I don't make it a regular habit to eat it now, but I do enjoy an occasional biscuit or pie made from lard. Green beans that aren't seasoned with lard or fat back are not edible in my opinion.
So, please don't knock the "lard eaters". We have feelings too.
By the way, I don't think that it would be that great to use in buttercream, but I've never tried it.
And here is another AMEN. My granddaddy lived to be 94 years young. He died form prostate cancer last Oct. And up until he was unable to eat he enjoyed lard based biscuits, bacon sandwiches, craklin' cornbread, pig ears, feet, and tails. But as a young man before school each morning he had chores. Real chores. He and his brothers and sisters literally worked their butts off. As a family man he worked in a steel mill rolling those huge sheets of steel semi manually onto rollers. After he retired he worked in his garden religously and when he was done for the day there he would come to our house and work in ours. They were healthy and hearty bunch. This is a different time. Heck no I cant eat like that. I couldn't work like they did either.
My aunt sees a dietician weekly and this dietician said that people have to get back to using butter and lard again (within reason of course) because these fats do eventually leave the body through lifestyle changes. Unlike the hydrogenated, trans fats,that were susposed to have been better for you, stay with you forever no matter what you do.
PS I know that ham hocks and fat back are the preferred seasoning for string beans but just once please try using chicken broth and some butter.
I know, I know, I know...I have hard all the gasps and OMGs. But it really does taste good. My pressure is on the "high side of normal" and high blood pressure runs in my family so I had to modify some of my favs. String beans are my fav vegetables. So the broth with butter recipe is for everyday and the hocks with potatoes are for Christmas and Easter.
Wow! Have not been on CC since yesterday and just read all the way through this thread. As usual, opinions vary.
I, too, was raised in California. My mom always had a bacon grease dish on the stove with a pair of salt and pepper shakers to match. Fried many a skillet of potatoes in that grease. She cooked with lard and maybe it was because we were poor. Guess I was oblivious to that fact. Moved to Missouri when I was 16 and, by damn, that grease dish and shakers still sat on the stove.
If I had a dollar for every pound of lard I had rendered in my life, I could take a nice vacation. I owned a restaurant for 13 years. We bought sows from the Pork Plantation and made whole hog sausage that we served every day along with the biscuits and gravy. From those hogs, I rendered the lard that made all our pie crusts. Didn't use it for anything else, though.
For those who remember lard leaving a funny taste, I don't think the commercial lard is like that nor is home rendered lard if it is handled correctly. It must me rendered over a slow fire and strained carefully. My mom sometimes left it sit out and it would get that rancid taste.
Indydebi, I always make my sausage gravy similar to how you do but have never used cornstarch (only flour) and don't heat my milk before adding it unless I'm in a hurry. Why do you use cornstarch? Another thing, Debi, any damn time you want to give me an autobiography, I'd be glad to hear it. Theresa's comments were totally out of line.
As for lard in icing. I would think it would not hold up to heat very well. As far as mixing it with butter and shortening, I don't know what the point would be. It isn't cheaper. Someone needs to let us know how it does.
Guess that was part of my autobiography.
Diane
Fry about 1 lb of sausage. Then, add about 4 or 5 heaping Tbsp of flour. The mixture should not be too "watery" thin or too thick where it is still "floury" or thick.
Cook this mixture for about 2 minutes. (The longer you cook this mixture the darker your gravy will be. Some people like pale almost white gravy, and some like a darker brown gravy).
Then, get a big "gravy" bowl. Fill it almost full with milk and add a little water to fill to just below the top. Add this mixture to the skillet and stir. Keep stirring until it gets thick.
(Instead of milk you can also use cream and a little water. And you don't have to add the water. You can use all milk or cream. I'm assuming the water was added in the original recipe to make the milk or cream stretch farther.)
Sorry for the long post. Hope the directions were clear.
BTW, you can also make this gravy using bacon grease. (Instead of 1lb of sausage, fry 1lb of bacon).
Why do you use cornstarch?
I can't make any kind of gravy with flour. It would taste like flour and be lumpy.
Cornstarch doesn't get lumpy and it doesnt' have to "cook" as long as flour. I just have better results with it. Learned it years and years ago from a friend who worked in a restaurant.
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.
YES YES YES
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bookmark this thread so you can post it. I'm totally and completely serious!
This came from my Grandmother Englehart. I haven't made them in years, and she hasn't either, but I do remember that they DID NOT taste like bacon.
BACON GREASE COOKIES
1 c. bacon grease
4 tbsp. dark molasses
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. sugar
Mix all wet ingredients together. Sift all dry ingredients except 1/2 cup sugar into wet ingredients. Mix well Scoop into small balls and roll in sugar (use 1/2 cup). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes
I may have to make some this weekend, once I fry up a huge pile of bacon. I suppose you could substitue the bacon grease for lard or shortening.
Ahhh! This is like a ginger snap cookie recipe. The lard makes them crispier. I've never heard of it made with lard before. Interesting .
OK, first let me apologize in advance for being an ignorant Yankee...
Why would you put bacon grease in green beans? Do you fry them?
Ahhh! This is like a ginger snap cookie recipe. The lard makes them crispier. I've never heard of it made with lard before. Interesting .
I love ginger snaps! It's been so long ago since I made the bacon grease one, now I will have to try them this weekend.
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