Rhetorical Outbursts

Now they’ve determined that real butter is better than margarine, dark chocolate is good for you and pure lard is better than vegetable oil. So it’s only a matter of time before I can enjoy McDonald’s & Krispy Kreme without any guilt?

Next January, food manufacturers will be required to list trans fat content on all nutrition facts panels. And so far restaurants have dodged this regulatory bullet. But now that New York’s restaurant owners are being encouraged to face health facts and stop using hydrogenated oils, what oil should they use instead?

This is where Corby Kummer jumped in with a suggestion: lard. Mr. Kummer, a senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly, penned a recent New York Times op-ed piece in which he sang the praises of lard (rendered and clarified hog fat). And if that sounds less than appetizing, Mr. Kummer points out that every baker knows that there is no oil that produces a flakier or tastier pie crust. Lard also produces delicious fried chicken and fish.

Obviously, a healthy diet would not include large amounts of pies and fried foods, but lard can be used in any number of ways. And for those who think that “pure lard” means “pure danger,” Mr. Kummer offers this breakdown of lard’s fat profile: Lard is 40 percent saturated fat (compared to coconut oil’s 85 percent and palm kernel oil’s 80 percent) Lard contains “a very respectable” 45 percent monounsaturated fat (for more on the benefits of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) see the e-Alert “Fat in the Hat” - 7/14/05)