From Hog to Compound Lard
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fats
Render lard and tallow separately.
Blend and set
Mix the rendered lard, tallow, and cottonseed oil in a cooler.
Agitate the mixture until it cools enough to pour into tins.
Finish
Label the tins as 'Compound'.
For a snow-white compound, bleach all ingredients separately before mixing.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Lard
- Provides the main fat base, giving the compound its soft, spreadable texture at room temperature.
- Tallow
- Adds a firmer fat that helps the blend set solid and hold its shape.
- Cottonseed oil
- Keeps the blend soft and pourable, adding moisture and smoothness to the fat.
The step that matters
Agitate the mixture until it cools enough to pour. Stirring while the blend cools keeps the fats from separating and forms fine crystals, giving an even, smooth set. Pouring too early can leave it grainy or uneven.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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