If you are lucky enough to live near a proper butcher then ask them if they can get you some leaf lard. This is the fat around a pigs kidneys and when rendered down, it makes the finest lard. Pure white, odourless and packed with some great nutrients. One teaspoon of this stuff is loaded with vitamin d which is a fat soluble nutrient so lard’s fatty acids make sure you metabolise it also.

Let’s face it – lard has a been given a bad rep and we need to bring it back to the kitchen and our healing diet.

Plus, and what a big plus, we can make some damn good pastry with it! And we know nothing is as nice as pie.

It sounds like a chore but it’s easy to do and rewarding. And you get a bag of the best pork scratchings at the end to boot!

All you have to do is cut the fat into one inch cubes, stick them into a pot, add a little water (this eventually evaporates) and slowly heat for an hour or so – until you have a pot of golden fat and some crispy scratchings. Then pour the fat through a sieve or cheesecloth into jars.

Only use fat from pastured pigs, and never buy hydrogenated lard from a store.