Mangalitsa Lard - Worth the Convenience

When I went to Foods in Season to order the Mangalitsa bacon from Wooly Pigs, I saw that they sold Mangalitsa lard. I go through a lot of lard and don't like to buy the hydrogenated bricks on offer at the supermarket (if one is lucky enough even to find that), so historically I have rendered my own, using leaf lard or sometimes fatback from the farmer's market for the task. Seeing it sold by the tub made my heart do a little happy jump. I ordered two, and just finished the first after a couple of months.

The benefits of the Mangalitsa lard are an incredibly light and neutral taste and the convenience of not having to render the lard myself. I do think the lard works up better in light pastry than my home-rendered lard does - my pies certainly have been the better for it. The only disadvantage is that there are no tasty cracklin's left over from the process.

I've heard that Mangalitsa lard can be whipped up and used as a topping. It's certainly light enough texturally for that purpose, and I do find myself eating with no regrets the stray bits that fall on the counter. So I'm willing to try that out some time.

In the interim, just being able to buy good quality lard by the tub is an incredible luxury. I no longer hesitate to make things like donuts or deep-fried cheese and I having a choice of fats - butter, suet, or lard - whenever I make a pastry or use a fat definitely expands my cooking palate. The Mangalitsa lard is perfect for people who want a very light and mild lard for cooking or for frying or who would like to use lard but for whatever reason don't render it themselves.

I'm not going to stop rendering fat, because I do like the cracklin's and for some uses I prefer the slightly heavier texture and taste in my home-rendered lard. But when this tub is half gone, I'm ordering more.