What dish was once only affordable during the holidays, but is now considered unhealthy?

Firewood, rice, oil, and salt are essential in our lives. The oils we usually eat are basically soybean oil and peanut oil. When we were young, one of the oils we often ate was lard. In the past, because my family was relatively poor, we would buy some pork during the New Year and festivals. The pig fat at that time was not expensive, and we would buy it and boil it into lard for cooking.

But people nowadays don’t eat lard much anymore. The first reason is because our living conditions are very good now and we eat meat a lot. The second reason is that there are Some people say that lard causes cancer, and the protein in pork can become cancerous if heated to high temperatures, but there is no problem if it happens occasionally.

Homemade lard

——Ingredients required——

10,000 grams of fat pork, 110 ml of cold water.

Preparation steps:

1. Prepare the pork first. We can buy the fat meat in the vegetable market. Most people don't like to buy such a large amount of pork fat, so the price is not as expensive as pork. Remove the pig skin. The pig skin will not produce lard. You can keep it to make a salad or stir-fry.

2. Cut the pork fat into cubes of about 2.5 cm. Don’t make them too big. It will take time to boil and the oil will not come out easily.

3. Prepare a non-stick pot with a thick bottom, put the fat into the pot, add 110 ml of cold water, pour it into an unheated pot, and then place the pot on the stove. , turn on medium-low heat without covering the lid, and do not add cooking oil.

4. Slowly, the water in the pot will begin to dry up, and the fat pieces will slowly become soft. This is a relatively slow time period, so you must be patient. You don’t need to flip the pork pieces frequently, just flip them occasionally. During this period, keep the fire on medium or small, otherwise it will be bad if the oil burns.

5. After a while, you will see grease coming out, but there is no smoke or steam. At this state, we need to start stirring constantly to prevent sticking to the pan. Be careful not to get burned by the oil that pops out.

6. After the oil boils out, scoop it out with a spoon and filter it into a heat-resistant container. Note that the spoon, filter and container used must be sterilized by high temperature and clean. Dry.

7. The lard will continue to boil out, so continue to scoop it out and filter it into the container. The whole process was very time-consuming, and it took me about an hour to complete. If the container you prepare is transparent, the lard that comes out will be a beautiful light golden color. Do not wait until the lard is cooked before taking it out, otherwise the color of the lard will be darker.

8. Don’t throw away the lard that becomes crispy after making. It’s too wasteful. You can put it into noodles, or eat it directly, sprinkle it with salt, or stir-fry it with vegetables. Very fragrant. You can also make dumplings and the like. After the lard is poured out, seal it and refrigerate it. It will solidify into a milky white color and can be refrigerated for several months. You can scoop it out and eat it every time you cook.

Tips:

1. Making homemade lard will take a long time. It is a process that requires patience. It needs to be simmered slowly over a slow fire. If the heat is too high, If it does, the pork will burn quickly and it will smell very burnt.

2. Properly processed lard will be light golden in color, and will be pure milky white after cooling. If it is made into light gray or rust color, it can be eaten, but there will be smoke. Smoky, like bacon.

3. Lard will be more hygienic after being filtered. It is best not to omit this step.