How to Add Pork Lard to Your Diet and Its Benefits

Pork lard is one of the most versatile cooking fats for Indian kitchens. Use it anywhere you currently use ghee, butter, or refined oil — but expect different results: flakier parathas, crispier pakoras, richer tadkas, and pie crusts that hold their shape.

Seven everyday ways to use pork lard in Indian cooking:

1. Paratha and roti — replace 1 tsp ghee with pork lard for flakier laccha-style results
2. Tadka and tempering — heat lard before adding cumin, mustard seeds, curry leaves
3. Pakora and bhajiya — pure lard or 50/50 with refined oil for a crispier batter
4. Pastry and baking — replace butter 1:1 in pie crusts, biscuits, shortbread
5. Roasting vegetables — drizzle on potatoes, brinjal, or bhindi before baking
6. Egg dishes — fry eggs in lard for richer flavour than refined oil
7. Sourdough or kulcha bread — a small amount in dough adds flake and tenderness

Storage: unopened, pork lard has a shelf life of 12 months in a cool dark place; once opened, up to 6 months at room temperature in a sealed jar. Smoke point is around 190°C — suitable for most Indian cooking methods, including deep frying.

PLB Pork Lard is pure rendered pork fat made in Guwahati, Assam — single ingredient, no chemicals, no additives.

The nutrition, in full

PLB Pork Lard, lab-tested per 100g: 899 kCal and 100g of total fat — of which 49g monounsaturated, 38g saturated and 13g polyunsaturated. Trans fat under 0.1g, cholesterol 81mg. Protein and carbohydrate are both under 0.01g.

Per tablespoon (14g), the way you actually use it: 126 kCal, 14g fat, 6.9g monounsaturated, 5.3g saturated, 1.8g polyunsaturated, 11.3mg cholesterol. A 400g pack holds roughly 29 tablespoons.

Incorporating different fats into your diet can significantly impact your health and culinary experiences. Among these, pork lard has been gaining popularity for its unique flavour and its behaviour under heat. Derived from the fat of pigs, pork lard has been a staple in cuisines worldwide. This guide explores how to add pork lard to your diet, its benefits, and its place in Indian cooking.

Understanding Pork Lard

Pork lard is rendered pig fat, used traditionally in cooking and baking. Its smoke point of around 190°C makes it suitable for frying and sautéing, while its texture lends itself well to baking and pastry. Lard is monounsaturated-dominant, which is unusual among animal fats and is what gives it its performance in pastry.

Pork Lard Benefits

Incorporating pork lard into your cooking offers several practical advantages over refined oils:

  1. Monounsaturated-dominant: 49g monounsaturated per 100g against 38g saturated. Its principal fatty acid is oleic acid — the same fatty acid that makes up the bulk of olive oil.
  2. Almost no trans fat: under 0.1g per 100g, and no hydrogenation anywhere in the process.
  3. Enhanced flavour: cooking with pork lard adds a rich, savoury depth that refined oils do not provide, while staying mild enough to let spices lead.
  4. High smoke point: at around 190°C, pork lard handles frying and high-heat cooking without breaking down.

How to Add Pork Lard to Your Diet

Incorporating pork lard into your diet can be simple and versatile. Here are some practical ways to do so:

  1. Cooking and Frying

One of the most common pork lard uses is frying. Due to its smoke point, pork lard is well suited to frying chicken, vegetables, and pakoras. Replace your usual cooking oil with pork lard to achieve a crisper texture.

  1. Baking

Pork lard can be used as a substitute for butter or shortening in baking. It makes pie crusts flakier and pastries richer. Try it in your next batch of cookies or biscuits.

  1. Roasting

When roasting vegetables or meats, use pork lard to coat them. This prevents sticking and adds richness. Potatoes roasted in pork lard come out crispy outside and soft inside.

  1. Sauces and Gravies

Add a spoonful of pork lard to sauces and gravies for depth. It also works for sautéing onions and garlic at the start of cooking to build a savoury base.

  1. Spreads

Pork lard can be used as a spread on bread or toast, similar to butter. Mix it with herbs and spices for a flavourful spread or a base for canapés.

Where Pork Lard Fits in Indian Cooking

Traditional cooking fats are returning to Indian kitchens as cooks look past heavily refined seed oils. Pork lard sits alongside ghee and coconut oil in that shift: a single-ingredient fat with a high smoke point and a neutral enough flavour to work across both Indian and Western preparations. If you are weighing it against beef tallow, we have compared the two here.

Where to Buy Pork Lard in India

PLB Snacks makes pure rendered Pork Lard in Guwahati, Assam — slow-rendered over low heat and filtered, with no bleaching, no hydrogenation and no preservatives. The only added ingredient is vitamin E as an antioxidant. Available in 400g and 700g packs with free pan-India shipping on orders above ₹700.

Why Choose PLB?

  1. Quality and Purity: Single-ingredient lard, free from additives, preservatives and seed oils.
  1. Range: Alongside the lard, seven Pork Crackle flavours and four dry-cured Pork Bites — all made in the same Guwahati facility.
  1. Honest labelling: Full lab-tested nutrition figures and clear ingredient lists on every product page.

Whether you are frying, baking, roasting, or simply spreading it on toast, pork lard can elevate your cooking while offering real advantages over heavily refined alternatives.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the fat profile of pork lard?

    PLB Pork Lard is lab-tested at 49g monounsaturated fat, 38g saturated fat and 13g polyunsaturated fat per 100g, with under 0.1g trans fat and 81mg cholesterol. It is monounsaturated-dominant — more monounsaturated than saturated — and its principal fatty acid is oleic acid, the same fatty acid that makes up the bulk of olive oil. Energy is 899 kCal per 100g, or 126 kCal per tablespoon.

  • How do I use pork lard in Indian cooking?

    Use it anywhere you currently use ghee, butter or refined oil. Seven everyday applications: replace 1 tsp ghee in paratha and roti dough for flakier laccha layers; heat it before adding cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves for tadka; use pure or 50/50 with oil for crispier pakora batter; substitute 1:1 for butter in pie crusts, biscuits and shortbread; drizzle over potatoes, brinjal or bhindi before roasting; fry eggs in it for richer flavour; and add a small amount to kulcha or sourdough dough for flake and tenderness.

  • What is the smoke point of pork lard?

    Around 190°C. That is high enough for deep-frying, searing and high-heat tadka without the fat breaking down, and comfortably above the smoke point of unrefined olive oil and butter. For comparison, beef tallow sits around 205°C and ghee around 250°C.

  • How many calories are in a tablespoon of pork lard?

    One tablespoon (14g) contains 126 kCal and 14g of fat — 5.3g saturated, 6.9g monounsaturated and 1.8g polyunsaturated — with 11.3mg cholesterol. A 400g pack holds roughly 29 tablespoons.

  • Is pork lard better than refined cooking oil?

    For high-heat Indian cooking, traditional fats like lard, ghee and coconut oil are more heat-stable than refined seed oils, which are high in polyunsaturated fats and undergo heavy processing with solvents and high heat. Lard is monounsaturated-dominant with under 0.1g trans fat and a single ingredient. As with any cooking fat, quantity matters.

  • How should pork lard be stored?

    Unopened, PLB Pork Lard keeps for 12 months in a cool dark place. Once opened, it stays fresh for up to 6 months at room temperature in a sealed jar, or longer refrigerated. Use a clean dry spoon each time to avoid introducing moisture. No refrigeration is required before opening.

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