Lard Substitutions

Flavor: This is where butter wins. Lard is essentially flavorless (good quality lard, that is), so it lets the other ingredients shine. Butter adds its own delicious, sweet, creamy flavor. In pie crusts, butter-based versions taste richer even if they're slightly less flaky.

Texture: Lard is 100% fat while butter is about 80% fat with water and milk solids. Lard produces exceptionally flaky, tender pastry — the flakiest pie crusts are traditionally made with lard. Butter creates a slightly less flaky but more flavorful result. Many experienced bakers use a 50/50 blend for the best of both worlds.