Doc asked:
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I just got a pound of lard at Farm Fresh for 1.50. Is mutton tallow twelve times better than lard?
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Nope, however, tallow is rendered differently than lard. To make tallow, I boil raw fat in water in a large enamel pot for several hours so that all the fat/oil separates and floats to the top. Then it has to cool, slowly. I can then pull the whole layer of tallow off the top in one big round chunk. Below that is a layer of jelly, some will cling to the tallow layer, but is easy to wash off. Below that jelly is nasty muck that stinks to high heaven. Lard is rendered by frying raw fat to separate the oil from the fat cells. Most tallow will not go rancid, probably because of the way it was processed. Lard can go rancid, probably because the separation of the fat from the jelly and particulates isn't as complete. Mutton tallow is traditional, but then again, so are corn cobs for other purposes
. I use neither.