10 BULLETIN 469, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
c 
istic nutty flavor, is much thicker than ordinary cream, and contains 
about 60 per cent of fat. 
LARD. 
Pork fat is one of the more widely used of the animal fats, being 
eaten in a variety of forms, such as bacon, ham, fresh and cured 
pork, and lard, which is used principally for culinary purposes. The 
best grade of lard, commonly known as leaf lard, is rendered from 
the fat which surrounds the kidneys of the animal, but commer- 
cial lard is often rendered from any or all of the fatty portions of 
the animal and could be more exactly termed pork fat. Since lard 
contains a relatively small amount of the harder constituents of fats, 
it has a moderately low melting point and so is easily handled in the 
preparation of doughs. This is a reason why some housekeepers 
prefer it to harder fats for shortening purposes, especially in cold 
weather. For some special shortening purposes lard may be too soft 
and require hardening by chilling before use. Pure lard should be 
white in color and practically free from- taste or smell. Home- 
rendered lard may contain varying amounts of water, according to 
the mode of rendering, but that containing the smallest quantity has 
the best keeping qualities; the commercial product contains prac- 
tically no water. Formerly lard was sometimes adulterated by the 
addition of different substances, but with more stringent regulations 
this has practically ceased, and the commercial product is generally 
wholesome and prepared under sanitary conditions from animals 
which have been inspected before slaughter. 
BEEF FAT. 
Beef fat contains a large amount of stearin and is therefore harder 
than either butter or lard. The hardness and other characteristics 
of beef fat, as well as other animal fats, vary somewhat according to 
the part of the body from which they are obtained; for example, 
brisket fat, from the breast of the animal, is softer than rendered 
suet, the fat surrounding the kidney. The hardness of beef fat, and 
its rather pronounced flavor, which is unpleasant to some people, have 
doubtless prevented its more extensive use for culinary purposes. 
Many attempts have been made to remove the flavor, but apparently 
no method has been discovered which gives results satisfactory enough 
to warrant its use on a commercial scale. Finety chopped unrendered 
suet is quite often used for shortening in such dishes as suet pud- 
dings. Kendered beef fat, or tallow, as it is sometimes called, is used 
by many people for shortening purposes, being mixed with butter or 
some other fat to soften it. It is sometimes sold in the market for 
this purpose, and in many homes beef suet or small scraps of fat 
trimmed from roasts, etc., are rendered for use in shortening and 
