What's The Difference Between Shortening, Lard, And Butter?

For years, butter was my go-to when baking. From pies to cookies, I never strayed from the creamy, rich fat. That is, I never strayed until I tasted a pie dough made with half shortening and half butter. Tender, flaky, rich, and melting in the most magical way, this dough taught me the error of my ways, and I never looked back.

But what actually is shortening versus butter? And how does lard factor in? All three of these fats are keystones of cooking, and learning how to use them will transform your culinary skills.

Want to bake a flaky pastry that might win you accolades with The Great British Bake-Off crew? You might want to choose lard. Baking up a batch of chewy cookies or rich squares for your next potluck? Butter is your choice. Crisp cookies, crumbly toppings, and quick breads often call for shortening. Read on to learn the differences between each fat and how they are best used.

What Is Lard?

Your grandma might have slathered lard on her toast or kept a jar by the stove. Lard is many Southern cooks' secret ingredient. Made with melted animal—often pork—fat, lard has a creamy white color and a semi-soft texture at room temperature. Though sometimes mildly porky, the flavor is usually neutral and flavorless, making it a chameleon in recipes.

At the store, you may see three types available, including rendered, leaf, and processed. While you might keep a jar on your counter or in the cupboard, lard melts at 95° to 115°, so store it in the fridge in the summer months to prevent it from going rancid. Keep it for up to one year in the refrigerator in a sealed, airtight container. 

Rendered Lard

 This type of lard is made by heating animal fat until it melts. Then the meat, veins, tissue, and other impurities are strained out until you’re left with just the liquid, which is then allowed to cool. 

Processed Lard (Hydrogenated)

Hydrogenated lard (or processed lard) is commonly available in blocks at the grocery store in the baking section. The processing makes this fat shelf stable and solid. This type has a slightly porky flavor and scent and is best for savory preparations. 

Leaf Lard

Take the traditional route and bake your biscuits with leaf lard. With a neutral flavor and scent, leaf lard is favored for creating a flaky and delicate dough. Made from the visceral fat around the pig’s kidneys, it has an ultra-creamy texture and neutral flavor. Since this fat has a high smoke point (370°F), it’s ideal for frying everything from donuts to French fries. Considered the highest grade of lard, it’s often more expensive and less easy to find. Search specialty stores, farmers’ markets or shop online if you want to use leaf lard in your next baking project. 

Is Bacon Grease Lard?

Considered liquid gold in many Southern homes, bacon grease is often added to skillets of cornbread or trays of veggies for an extra smoky flavor. However, bacon grease is not actually lard. While both are pork fat, the strong flavor of bacon lends itself better to savory preparations rather than the versatility of lard.

What Is Shortening?

While butter and lard have been used in cooking for thousands of years, vegetable shortening is a much more recent invention. It was popularized by Procter & Gamble in 1911 with the creation of Crisco. Shortening is made from hydrogenated vegetable oils, making this fat solid at room temperature. Soybean, cottonseed, palm oil, or a combination of these are often used to make shortening more affordable than other fats. Look for shortening in the baking section as it doesn’t require refrigeration and is shelf-stable. Similar to lard, shortening is 100% fat, making it an ideal swap for folks who can’t eat pork products or are vegetarians. Additionally, it has no distinguishable taste, making it a utilitarian choice for baking.

Types Of Shortening

Highly versatile, there are four types of shortening available:

• Solid shortening is available in blocks like butter and is used for pastry dough.
• Liquid shortening is best for deep-frying.
• Cake and all-purpose shortening are often used for icings and professional cakes to add moisture. 
  

What Is Better: Shortening Or Lard?

Choosing between shortening and lard comes down to personal preference. Both create a flaky, tender crust, are semi-solid, and are 100% fat. Swap one for the other in recipes. If you want to add additional flavor to the dish, lard is the right choice. Shortening is ideal for its neutral flavor, many professional bakers use it for icing. Pastry novices might prefer shortening since it has a higher melting point than lard or butter, meaning you won’t have to scramble to keep the pastry dough cold. 

What Is Butter?

Butter has a special place in the kitchen. Favored by home bakers and chefs alike, it adds moisture and richness as well as tons of flavor to cakes, cookies, and pastries. Made from churned cream, you’ll likely see several different types at the grocery store, including salted and unsalted, European or cultured, and clarified. For baking, use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. Cream it into icing, brown it to add a nutty flavor to cookies, or cut it into pie crusts or biscuits for a flaky dough; the possibilities are endless.

What Is Margarine?

Sold as a heart-smart alternative to butter, margarine is made of vegetable oil and contains unsaturated fat instead of butter’s cholesterol-clogging saturated fat. It is typically made from soybean, canola, or palm oil and combined with water and emulsifiers. Despite the health halo given to margarine, both it and butter contain 80% fat and can be used interchangeably in baking.

Baked goods made with margarine might be drier or less flavorful than creamy butter. But watch out: spreads that look similar to margarine can range from 10% to 90% fat, which can seriously alter your baked goods.

Is Butter Better Than Lard And Shortening?

Butter can be equally subbed for shortening or lard, but because it contains 80% fat, you might have chewier cookies or slightly richer pie dough than one made with another fat. Many home cooks (myself included!) like to combine butter with lard or shortening to get the best of both worlds: flaky and crisp with a rich flavor.  

What Should I Use In My Recipes?

While both shortening and lard are great for pie dough, and butter is great for shortbread and cookies, and butter cake, you can swap each of these around for things like cakes and biscuits. Really, which you should use depends on the recipe. Here are a few recipes for each of these three fats.

Butter

• Butter Pecan Cheesecake
• Brown Butter Cornbread
• Gooey Butter Cake
• Butter Swim Biscuits
• Peanut Butter Brownies

Lard

• Chicken Tamales
  
• Creole Seafood Jambalaya
• Tea Cakes
• Roux

Shortening

• Drop Biscuits
  
• Peach Custard Pie
• Lydia Faust's Texas Kolaches
• Double Crust Pie Pastry