Lard… Some people, when they see or mention this product, go through the body with horrible cramps, while others begin to have salivary saliva. Lard is a controversial product with its pluses and minuses, you can either not tolerate it or love it, just do not remain indifferent brro!.

The pre-Slavonic form is sadlo. The root sad- is the same as in the word “sit down”. The suffix -dl-; d naturally fell in the Old Russian, but is preserved in Western Slavic languages (for example, the Slovak sadlo). “What sits on the meat.”

It is known since the 7th century in the form of “bacon”, it is found in the ancient Armenian description of the Khazar meal (borrowing). One of the evidence in support of the isolation at this time of Old Russian from the Proto-Slavic.

And still the birthplace of fat is more correct to consider Italy. It was there that three thousand years ago there was an idea to use pork fat as a cheap and high-calorie food for slaves who worked on marble quarries.

Lard was always a foodstuff for poor people, because the best pieces of pork carcass were left to those who could pay for them or take them away. So the poor people learned how to prepare lard for future use by salting, sometimes smoking, and further aging. Almost every people will argue that it is their fat – the best in the world. Russians and Ukrainians, will be for their “bacon”, the Belarusians for their “fat”, the Germans for the “shpak”, the Balkan Slavs for the “slan”, the Poles for the “elephant”, the Americans for the “FTB”, etc. But if anyone who has ever tried “Lardo di Colonnata” or “Valle dAosta Lardo dArnad” is unlikely to dare challenge the superiority of the last two.

“Lardo di Colonnata” comes from a small mountain town, if not to say the village, the Colonnade, located next to the famous marble works of Carrara, that in the Apuan Alps of northern Tuscany. Local men, mostly engaged in quarries, traditionally took with them to Lardo’s snack, eating along with other typical products for Italy – bread, olives and tomatoes. At the present time, Lardo has ceased to be a food of the poor, but turned into a local landmark, eclipsed even by the glory of Carrara marble. Yes, the Colonel owes its existence to marble, and to its fame is fat. The small amount of almost clandestine production (due to the constant “raids” of the local sanitary inspection) is not able to meet the growing demand for this product, and here fakes have already appeared on the market that have the same relation to the original as Borzhom produced in Essentuki to his Georgian rival.

Lardo is a very ancient product. Another Emperor Justinian legislatively obliged to supply Lardo in the army, so that the legionaries had enough energy in campaigns and battles.

The originality of the process of cooking Lardo is based, first of all, on the use of troughs carved from local Carrara marble. As you know, sculptors very scrupulously approach the choice of stone, and if any flaw is discovered, they will refuse it. In order for the good not to disappear, the local decided to use the rejected marble blocks, hollowing out baths or troughs for salting and aging. Marble has unique properties for storing products. It provides the necessary temperature and humidity and is a natural “preservative”, since the use of modern preservatives in the Colonnade is prohibited..

When cooking, it is used fat from pigs supplied from Parma and San Daniele, known for their hams. Pigs should be at least 9 months old and weigh not less than 160 kg. Producers of ham take their own, and fat is sent to the Colonnade.

The production of lard begins in September, with careful washing of the marble tub with vinegar. Then the inner surface is abundantly rubbed with garlic, sea salt is rubbed into the blocks of fat, which is washed off afterwards. The bottom of the tub is sprinkled with fresh salt and the fat blocks are laid, abundantly flavored with a mixture of spices and spices. Each manufacturer has its own mixture and tries to keep it a secret.

But black pepper, garlic, rosemary, nutmeg are mandatory. Additional – star anise, thyme, sweet pepper, sage, oregano, coriander – in general, almost all known spices. Different proportions and combinations of spices allow each manufacturer to have his own “corporate” family recipe and a variety of flavors and flavors. When the container is full, it closes tightly, and the fat is sent to the maturation.

Someone classifies the container in a wine cellar, someone in local marble caves and caves for up to six months or even until spring. The result is a delicate, melting in the mouth, enveloping its rich aromas of lard, compared with which all other varieties fade and fade.

Italians can be proud of another sort of bacon – from the Commune dArnad (Valle dAosta Lard dArnad) that in the north-west of Italy, where the principle of cooking is almost the same as in the Column, only wooden ones are used instead of marble containers – from oak, walnut, or chestnut. Apparently, the original taste of this fat is affected by tannins and tannins contained in wood. So, you will be in Italy – especially in Tuscany, try to try these delicacies – which turned from eating legionaries and quarriers into a global hit.

However, let us return to the past. The Romans called bacon “lardo”, and in our time there is such a word, but it does not mean fat, but what is otherwise called smale.

In less than a thousand years, as fat was recognized in Spain. Hamon – translated from Spanish – ham, ham. Jamon practically does not contain cholesterol and since that time remains the favorite meat product in Spain. It is believed that Columbus was able to get to America due to the fact that among the supplies he had a lot of hams and fat that can be stored for up to six months, contains many calories, and these calories are long-playing – the strength and energy of the eaten fat (moderately!) Are restored for a long time , the caloric content of the product is 770 kcal per 100 g.

And then on one fish, the sailors would have gotten mad at it very soon … So bacon made its invaluable contribution to the world history – after all, Columbus of America would not have been discovered, and we would not have a tomato, and without a tomato we would not brew borscht, but without borsch – what kind of culture is this in general??!

People of the Middle Ages ate fat in large quantities. Saint Benedict himself, the founder of the Order of Benedictines, allowed monks to eat bacon. The monks said that “bacon and the pig are as related to each other as the vine and wine.” Lard was not only eaten – in the Middle Ages they also made candles out of it. They did not smell very, they smoked, but they did give the light. Only it was necessary to watch, that tallow candles of a rat did not devour, they too not fools. By candlelight, the monks rewrote books – so in the darkness of the Middle Ages, lard helped preserve the light of culture and pass it on to us.

Here is the medieval text translated by Guy de Val: “After the monks-chefs washed their hands and face and read the three prescribed prayers, they wash the beans in three waters and then set them to cook on a fire in a cauldron of water. Then they are transferred to another vessel with a tight-fitting lid. Beans season with lard. Lard should be added not in the process of cooking vegetables, but at the very end “…. “The novel about Fox”: “At home he had in abundance and fat capon, and pickles, and ham, and bacon. All this good was protected by a strong palisade of oak stakes and prickly bush…»

And the famous English fried eggs and bacon? bacon – is that for you? It’s the same. The British, on the other hand, are sound, reasonable and learned people, and they care about their health well. Having breakfasted in such a useful and pleasant way, the English conquered the seas, developed capitalism, invented steam engines and discovered the theory of evolution. So, we can safely turn our attention to the myths about the dangers of fat, in our cold climate it is absolutely necessary in reasonable quantities. I will not say that a real fire-breathing red borshch necessarily needs cracklings, otherwise it’s not borsch, but a dietary borscht breadboard that gives a purely visual representation of this proud dish.

Lard with moderate use is considered a very, very useful product. There is such a thing as arachidonic acid, in its pure form is not used, alas, but this miracle is contained in fat and actively participates in cholesterol metabolism, cellular and hormonal activity.

In the traditions of Russian cooking, frying ghee, and, of course, fat, that is, our ancestors liked to cook using fatty acids, without knowing at the same time about atherosclerosis and carcinogenicity. And apparently, nothing terrible has happened to them.

At the same time, unknown researchers recommend combining it with garlic to optimize the effect of fat on hypercholesterolemia. This is the recipe for success. Carrying out regular prophylaxis, anyone can improve their blood vessels, heart and liver. The liver, if you did not know, significantly heals, if the diet includes daily fat.

Cholesterol, incidentally, is by no means an alien compound for our body, where it performs a mass of important functions: it is part of the intercellular membranes and tissues of the body, either in the free state or in the form of fatty acid compounds, participates in the synthesis of the constituent parts of the blood and t . The norm is from 150 to 240 mg per 100 cc. blood, to some extent it is a conditional indicator that reflects the intensity of the processes of oxidation of fats and carbohydrates in the body as they enter and synthesize. That pork lard is a wonderful choleretic agent.

Another hypostasis of fat is its use in toxicology. The natural product, it turns out, is ideal for binding radionuclides and removes other toxins from the body. The main thing is the regularity of use. Needless to say, eating fat is recommended as a preventive measure. Around us there are so many waves, radiations and radiations that leaving the house and even just staying in it unprotected for a person has become an unacceptable luxury. And with fat we nuklidy nipochem.

The use of fat as an external agent has a wide range of recommendations. This procedure is indicated for arthralgia, artoses, arthritis of any etiology, as a means of rehabilitation after operations and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. There are indications of a pronounced positive effect of fat in external therapy of mastitis and thermal burns, superficial wounds and frostbite. It is striking that bacon effectively heals the heel spur, relieves toothache and cures eczema. It is enough only external regular application.

Significantly further stepped in the application of fat Ukrainian scientists. Actually, no one is surprised that in the field of application of this medicine researchers from Ukraine are ahead of the whole planet. It is suggested that fat contains stem cells! And everyone knows what prospects are opening up for the use of stem cells in medicine of the 21st century. It is unclear why only human stem pig cells? And how can they be assimilated by enteral application and what benefit will they bring? Let’s leave these questions for salon specialists.

Oncology was not left without attention. In fat, carcinogens dissolve and, together with it, are excreted from the body, so in the treatment and prevention of oncological diseases it is necessary to introduce a new ingredient – fat, of course.

Lard contains many other valuable fatty acids that participate in the construction of body cells, and play a big role in the formation of hormones and cholesterol metabolism. They bind and remove toxins from the body. And, in terms of these acids, fat is ahead of butter.

It is in fat that selenium is found in the optimal, well-digested form. According to the Institute of the Russian Academy of Medical Science, 80% of Russians are experiencing a deficit of this substance. And to athletes, nursing mothers, pregnant women and smokers, this microelement is simply vital. By the way, in garlic, which is often used together with bacon, also contains a large amount of selenium. Lard does not deteriorate with long storage. In long trips it has always been one of the main sources of physical strength for travelers.

If you eat a couple of slices of fat on an empty stomach, you can quickly achieve a feeling of satiety. This will not allow you to overeat, and you can keep a good figure. Now, even there are diet for weight loss, based on moderate consumption of fat.

Rarely what a feast do without fat. Needless to say, a wonderful snack for vodka, moonshine or gorilochku. Yes, and fast intoxication fat is not conducive. So keep this in mind, and before libations, eat a slice of fat. This can save you from a heavy hangover. This is because fatty fat surrounds the stomach and does not give a drink with degrees quickly to assimilate. Alcohol is absorbed later, gradually, already in the intestine. Alcohol, for its part, helps to quickly digest fat and decompose it into components.