# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Gardening >  Storing oil or lard or....?

## nimrod

If I have to use my one year supply, I will surely need oil, lard or something like it.  I understand that oil does not last much over 2 years.  Thus is lard better to store long term? 

If so, 

1) How long does lard last and in what type of containers?
2) Where is a guy to find lard and in the proper containers?

----------


## crashdive123

Not sure about lard, but Crisco will keep for a few years (unopened can, cool storage) and about a year after it has been opened.

How about sliding on over to the introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself.  Thanks.

----------


## wareagle69

nimrod, really ok  hope you can take some ribbing cuz with a ten dollar handle like that its a comin
ok as to your question you want the oil for cooking or baking- i would render animal fat for cooking not sure about baking though-i just checked my stores of vegetable shortening and i see no best by date on it at all

----------


## Rick

Best buy dates only refer to quality anyway. As Hope said in another thread, you can use the product well after the expiration date. It won't hurt you it just might not taste as good, not have the same level of vitamins or the texture/color might be off a bit. Medications, however, don't fall into that category. The use by dates can certainly affect the effectiveness of the medication.

Like Crash said, I've had Crisco for a long time and it was perfectly good. Another source for frying and/or cooking is Pam. That stuff will probably last well after the sun explodes. 

I don't/won't use lard so I can't tell.

----------


## nell67

WE,yes lard can be used for baking,it is what our forfathers used when there was no such thing as cooking oil and vegetable shortening that we know it today,biscuits and pastries come to mind off hand as using lard as an ingredient

True lard is an animal by product and therefore does not have as long a shelf life as vegetable oil or shortening,some say 6 months is about as long as it will last before going rancid unless stored in the freezer,then up to 2 years,if you store it in the freezer though,it will take on oders from whatever else you have stored in there and the flavor will come out when using the lard.

I just checked the best by date on a can of crisco I just purchased this week,and it is "best by Aug,20,2009" I have however used shortening that I have stored for over 2 years without any noticeable change in texture or flavor.

----------


## red lake

lard is rendered fat and has a much longer shelf life. You can render your own fat for use in things like pemmican.

When it goes bad it goes rancid and you will know right away.

----------


## RobertRogers

I prefer to keep away from "cooking oil" and the like.  Olive oil will store for a couple of years at least and I've used it with success in place of the other oils.  It's good stuff.

----------


## trax

Pemmican was made with lard back in the day and you could wrap that stuff up in a hide bag and bury it in the ground and it lasted for years and years, so I'm told.

----------


## Cannonman17

Forgive me if this is too far off topic or if it's been covered already on another thread that I have yet to find but: How do you render fat? Boil it? Is there certain animals that are better than others, are there some you shouldn't use at all? I know for a fact that bear fat is disgusting but remember it being used for lamps...

----------


## trax

bear fat is actually medicinal, but I'm not going to go there right now. I'm not way up there on the rendering process, but I'd think more fat is better, vis: beefies and piggies lots of fat, deer medium fat, moose, bison and caribou, low fat...

----------


## crashdive123

Two different methods to render fat that I know of.  First is put the protein in a frying pan on the lowest heat setting.  As the fat liquifies pour it off.  To get out any impurities strain it well or run through cheese cloth.  The second method - if you have just the animal fat (really cheap or free at some butcher shops) same method as #1 except cover with water.  Again, very low heat.  As the water cooks off, you are left with just the fat.

----------


## tsitenha

I store my "lard" around my waist, ooohhh I kill me :Stick Out Tongue:  :Big Grin:  :Wink:

----------


## Smok

What about Pemmican the one main ingredient  is fat / lard  and some of the voyagers used  stored Pemmican after 20 years with No ill ...  So what does that say about the long term storages of lard or oil

----------


## bulrush

Soybean oil has been used a lot in dressings and other foods lately because, I heard, it is more stable and doesn't go bad as fast.

----------


## old soldier

I store all oils, veg, canola,olive in vacumed sealed mason jars for yrs down in the basement out of the light., I store lard and strained bacon grease for yrs in Glad sandwich storage containers, then after it's been in the freezer over night, I put the lard or bacon grease, container and all inside a food savor bag and vacume pack the whole thing and store in the freezer, no oders escapes or gets in.

----------


## edr730

Oh, by the way. I recognize the name "Nimrod"...he was legend dating back to the Sumerian culture....a mighty hunter.

----------


## edr730

Lard is important to have in any survival situation. Coconut oil is superior for both health and storage reasons. All other oils will both become rancid more rapidly and convert to transfats while heating at high temperatures. The amount of energy that would be obtained from a five gallon bucket or lard or coconut oil is astronomical; sugar is not comparable. A greasy breakfast will take you far into the day, while a bowl of wheaties is like eating fluff in comparison. This is why the Eskimos eat fat, this is why the pioniers did the same, and this is why our forefathers saved some bacon for the summertime; to give them "strength".

----------

