ISO sub ingredient in War Cake

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summerf

Assistant Cook
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
27
Location
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Hello, I recently found a recipe for war cake in my mothers papers after she recently passed away. One of the ingredients in this recipe is 1/2 cup lard and I was wondering if I could use regular or yellow crisco shortening. She used to make this cake when we were children (she said it was one of the few recipes you could bake and did not need a lot of baking supplies in the house; pretty comming in the 40's and 50's.
Thank you for any input you can provide.
Summer:)
 
Hello, I recently found a recipe for war cake in my mothers papers after she recently passed away. One of the ingredients in this recipe is 1/2 cup lard and I was wondering if I could use regular or yellow crisco shortening. She used to make this cake when we were children (she said it was one of the few recipes you could bake and did not need a lot of baking supplies in the house; pretty comming in the 40's and 50's.
Thank you for any input you can provide.
Summer:)

I remember that cake very well. I am inclined to say "yes" to using the Buttery Crisco. Let us know how you make out. :angel:
 
Hey summerf, you can substitute any fat for any other fat. So lard can be subbed out and butter used in exact proportions, or margarine, or shortening. Whatever you wish. You will find a little difference in taste and consistency depending on what you use though. Good luck, have fun and tell us what you did.

 
You should be able to replace the lard with vegetable shortening. However, you might want to purchase a small quantity of lard and make the cake as it was originally directed. Then, make a second one replacing the lard with vegetable shortening to compare any differences you detect.

For other discussions regarding substitutions for lard, just do a Google search for "lard substitute in a recipe." You will see there will be vegan discussions about its substitution if that's your concern.

If I were doing it I would try with lard first. You will later discover that lard is a wonderful ingredient in making pie crusts and other delightful baked goods.
 
Sometimes a nostalgia trip back to the days of lard is spoiled by the stuff sold in the brick at grocery stores today. That lard is additionally hydrogenated, bleached, deodorized and otherwise processed to "purity" and long keeping qualities. Along the way, it loses the richness of good old-time lard. Since it begins as rendered hog fat, it is indeed lard, but it's a mix of all qualities of hog fat, and of course, the hogs are factory hogs who have never seen an acorn, and it shows in their flavor.

Remember that in the 1940's, something just less than 1/4 of the population lived on six million farms. In 1990, less than 3% lived on less than three million farms. So, in 1940, there was a lot of local lard that didn't have to travel or stay in warehouses for months. The butcher might well buy it direct from the farm, and if he was a good butcher, he paid a premium for the best, leaf lard. It still had something of the pig still in it. I think that's why you hear of such things as lard sandwiches and lard subbing for butter in those days, when it's hard to find today's brick lard very appealing.

You can find good leaf lard, but it's not easy. In a city with a lot of foodies and a high awareness of eating local food, I know of exactly one source, and it does make a difference. So often, when we try to revisit childhood, the experience doesn't quite come off. If this one doesn't quite come off, it might be the lard.


Our hero. Here, piggy, piggy:

IMG_3723.jpg
 
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