Should rendered pork lard be melting at only 85° F?
I recently rendered a bunch of pork fat into lard.
Some of it I froze (after solidifying in refrigerator), whereas the rest I put in mason jars and vacuum sealed. I just left these on a pantry shelf with a closed door (i.e. they're in darkness).
It mostly solidified overnight, and putting it in the refrigerator absolutely solidified it to the correct texture... I had filtered it through cheesecloth, and the resulting product was white or just slightly off-white.
The problem is, the jars get liquidy again, semi-melting at ""room temperature"". We've had a few hot days, and the pantry they are in unfortunately got to about 85 degrees (outside the cabinet) - a tad above room temperature.
My question is, should my lard be melting at only 85° F? It's not fully liquid, just liquid-y.
Best Answer
The melting point of lard can vary quite a bit: Wikipedia claims as low as 86F, depending on the type of pork fat used. (I don't know what their source is, but that sounds about right to me.) That number will also vary depending on the exact rendering and processing method, particularly cooling which will affect crystalline structure of the solid. Rapid cooling will generally produce a fat with a more disorganized crystalline structure and thus a lower melting point.
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What temperature does pork lard melt?
Portions like the pork belly, pork butt, or pork shoulder will render the most lard. The separated fat is solid and opaque at room temperature and turns into a clear liquid at around 95 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on its purity.What temperature should lard be rendered at?
You can render lard in a heavy pot (Dutch oven is perfect) in the oven between 225-250 degrees F, on the stove top over low heat (start at \u201c2\u201d and once it begins melting turn it down to \u201c1\u201d) or in a crock pot on LOW.How do you know when rendered lard is done?
When the fat starts to melt, it will separate itself from the \u201ccracklings,\u201d (crisp residue left after lard has been rendered). At this point after about 1.5 \u2013 2 hours once the cracklings start to settle on the bottom of the crock, it's done!Can you render lard too long?
You MUST be extra careful in the rendering process\u2026 repeat this to yourself over and over, \u201cLOW AND SLOW!\u201d Do not heat your pan up too high or you'll overcook your lard, burn the cracklings and give the lard a very distinct \u201cpig\u201d flavor and smell.How To Make Lard | How to Render Lard | How to Can Lard
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Answer 2
40 C is indeed over 100 F, so you didn't butcher the conversion. But amorphous solids like lard and butter don't really have a melting point, they have a range of temperature in which they transition from solid to liquid. So anybody talking about a melting "point" is simply picking one point out of that range and randomly declaring it to be "the" point.
So there is nothing unusual in lard being not in a perfectly solid state at 85 F. It will go back to solid when it cools down, and unlike butter, shouldn't be changed much.
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