Drippings, lard, suet, tallow, shortening, oil – what are they all, and how do you use them, and why would you, after all, isn’t fat bad for you?
Well, no. Actually fat is not bad for you. Fat is critical to helping you stay alive. Fat has several jobs in the body. It provides energy, protects your organs, supports cell growth, helps regulate cholesterol and blood pressure, and is a carrier for fat-soluble nutrients, helping your body to absorb them. And those are only the things we know about!
Fat also carries flavor and adds richness and body to foods. Premium ice creams are premium because of their high percentage of milk fats.
Of course, too much fat, like too much of anything else, is not healthy. The trick is in eating the right amount of healthy fat.
There are several types of fat, so we will talk a little about them here.
Shortening – Shortening is any fat which is a solid at room temperature that you use to create the desired texture in pastries. Fats used as shortening include lard, butter, and hydrogenated vegetable oils such as margarine and Crisco.
Oil – Oil is fat which is liquid at room temperature.
Lard – Lard is the rendered purified fat of a pig. It is generally a little softer than tallow.
Tallow – Tallow is the rendered fat of cattle or sheep. It is one of the harder animal fats, which allowed it to be used in making candles.
Suet – Suet is the hard fat surrounding the kidneys and loin of beef, mutton, and lamb. Suet is used in some puddings and gives a softer pastry than does lard, butter, or margarine. Suet is rendered to make tallow.
Drippings – Drippings is the yummy fat that collects in the skillet or roasting pan. It is generally saved in a jar or can and used for flavoring fried foods and gravies. The small hard bits in drippings is often called “cracklins” and is used for flavoring gravies, corn bread, biscuits, etc.
As food science continues to study more, we are learning the lessons of our kūpuna – that real food is the best food, just eat it in appropriate amounts.