Lard

Pure lard contains no trans fats, and in terms of its fatty acids, it’s better than butter: Lard is 60 per cent monounsaturated fat, which is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. Butter is 45 per cent monounsaturated fat.  Most of lard’s monounsaturated fat is oleic acid, a heart-healthy essential fatty acid found in olive oil and associated with decreasing LDLs, thus lowering “bad” cholesterol. Lard contains about double the amount of oleic acid found in butter.  Lard’s smoke point is high, about 375F, making it the ideal frying oil, offering lighter, fluffier, flakier and crispier battered chicken and pie crusts fried in a shorter time, without burning and turning carcinogenic.  Lard and butter have the same trace amounts of cholesterol — about 95 milligrams per 100 grams of fat.  Lard is a source of linoleic acid, an omega 6 fatty acid most North American diets get too much of, but also associated with our body’s normal inflammatory response.  Lard is fattening. Like any fat, it boasts about nine calories per gram. Lard is healthier if you compared it to partially hydrogenated vegetable oils like Crisco. But that's not to say that lard is better than highly unsaturated omega-3 oils, like olive oil, which are considered the healthiest fats out there.  The big question is quantity!  My grocery store is now carrying exotic fats in the baking aisle.