Harte food column 6-20-24: Not your grandmother's tub of lard

During the recent commencement season there were many unusual, even downright peculiar, end-of-the-term rituals that went beyond merely throwing your mortarboard into the air.

Perhaps the most bizarre was the climbing of the greasy pole by students at the Naval Academy even before they graduate, to mark the end of their first year. They slither their way to the top of an obelisk which, to make the ascent harder, has been coated with fifty pounds of vegetable shortening, but which PBS incorrectly reported was lard.

To most people, that inaccuracy may seem trivial (though I did feel compelled to call it to the network’s attention), but I’m quite certain that William Procter and James Gamble would not have thought so.

Procter, a candlemaker, and Gamble, a soap merchant, were responsible for the first all-vegetable shortening on the market: Crisco (for crystalized cottonseed oil). At one time, not so long ago, you could find a can of it in nearly every pantry in the country.

But P&G did not set out to revolutionize American food preparation, let alone usher in the industrialization of American food, as some have accused. Rather they were just looking for a way to cut costs. The aim was to replace lard and tallow, traditionally used in soap and candle making, with something much less expensive, namely hydrogenated vegetable oil, aka Crisco. (No wonder that still today if you need an emergency source of light, a can of Crisco fitted with a wick will burn like a candle for hours.)

Only later, perhaps because it looked like lard, did Crisco move into the kitchen. It didn’t hurt that the process of making lard was portrayed negatively in an Upton Sinclair novel, but in any case, compared to lard, Crisco was cheaper, didn’t need refrigeration, was neutral in flavor, not being animal fat was a boon to those who keep Kosher and was seen as healthier.

Ironically, trans fats, which Crisco contained in abundance and were initially touted as better than saturated fats, came under suspicion, and Crisco became stigmatized. The trans fats have been all but removed, yet the suspicion remains.

Though Crisco is no longer as popular as it once was, there’s still a place for its judicious use. With it cookies are plumper, cakes are more tender, icings are more stable, and pie crusts are flakier. Though even William Procter might agree that for flavor Crisco can’t hold a candle to butter, blending them together gives you the best of both worlds.

Cheesecake Crostata with Grapes and Crisco Crust

Criso’s forte has always been pie crust. Thus I’ve adapted this recipe, from the Food 52 website, using a dough containing both shortening and butter, as per instructions on Criso’s very own website. The beauty of a crostata is that it is free-form, requiring only that the dough be folded over the filling. It’s actually easier than pie.

For the Crust:

n 1-1/4 cups flour

n 2 teaspoons sugar

n 1/4 teaspoon salt

n 12 stick cold butter, cubed

n 1/4 cup cold Crisco

n 4 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

n 6 ounces cream cheese, softened

n 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar

n 2-1/4 teaspoons flour

n 2 eggs

n 3/4 teaspoons vanilla

n 3 cups seedless red grapes, halved

n 1 tablespoon honey

n 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

n Coarse sugar for sprinkling

For the crust, in a food processor pulse together flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Add Crisco and butter and pulse into pea-sized pieces. Add ice water and pulse until dough starts to clump. Knead on lightly floured surface until dough comes together. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least one hour. Roll out on a sheet of parchment paper to a 10-11 inch circle. Transfer, with paper, onto a baking sheet. For filling, wipe out processor and add cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and one egg yolk (reserving egg white) and vanilla until smooth. Spread evenly on unbaked crust to within 1/2 inch of edge. Toss grapes, honey, and zest and mound over cream cheese layer. Fold dough over toward center, pleating all around. Beat egg white until frothy and brush on edges of pastry. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until browned.

Tom Harte’s book, “Stirring Words,” is available at local bookstores. A Harte Appetite airs Tuesdays at 7:42 a.m. and 5:18 pm on KRCU, 90.9 FM. Contact Tom at semissourian.com or at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63702-0699.