re lard - crisco is softer than butter when chilled/solid, which means it's a little easier to work and makes for a somewhat flakier end result. Crisco (or generic equivalent) is basically a vegetarian/kosher lard substitute, so i imagine lard is similar for these purposes. liquid oil pie crusts have a fairly different texture from solid fat ones. besides the options already mentioned, palm oil is actually solid at room temperature and works pretty well (sometimes it's sold just labeled as expensive vegetable shortening for people who're afraid of hydrogenated stuff). cacao butter seems like it'd be too hard but i admit i never actually tried it.
i've always gone with a simple flour+fat+water+salt approach. now i want to try the thing with eggs and some liquid oil to see how it compares.
in any case, i emphatically second the thing about particles of fat coated with flour, and about doing that part dry before adding any liquids. that's prettymuch essential. investing in decent pastry blender can be helpful here, but isn't essential.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-03-15 06:55 am (UTC)i've always gone with a simple flour+fat+water+salt approach. now i want to try the thing with eggs and some liquid oil to see how it compares.
in any case, i emphatically second the thing about particles of fat coated with flour, and about doing that part dry before adding any liquids. that's prettymuch essential. investing in decent pastry blender can be helpful here, but isn't essential.