The premium, neutral-tasting lard rendered from the fat around a hog's kidneys — the grade reserved for biscuits and pie crust, distinct from ordinary back-fat lard.
At hog-killing time, the leaf fat was set aside as the good fat — the grade that made a grandmother's pie crust shatter and her biscuits rise tall. It was knowledge passed hand to hand.
Leaf lard is among the most monounsaturated of the animal fats — close to half oleic acid, the same fat that anchors the Mediterranean pattern — and it is one of the few dietary sources of vitamin D outside of fish and sun. Pasture-raised, sun-exposed hogs render lard with meaningfully more vitamin D, relevant to a population with widespread vitamin D insufficiency driven by melanin and northern latitude. Its mild flavor and high monounsaturated content make it a more defensible baking fat than hydrogenated shortening, which carried trans fats now banned. The rehabilitation point: the move from leaf lard to Crisco was a downgrade sold as progress.
Render the soft leaf fat low and slow for the cleanest, whitest, most neutral lard; it sets up snow-white and silky. Reserve for biscuits, pie crust, and frying where a clean flake matters.
Free, no account needed to ask.