The thing that trips me up most about this subject is that 140 years ago, pork fat was very good for seasoning cast iron. Today, it isn't, because the composition of the fat has changed significantly.

That sounds very interesting! Is it because of the way pigs are raised now compared to back then? They eat way fewer babies now, I bet.

[–] prime_number_314159@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

I don't know what causes the difference, I just compared the first nutrition breakdown of rendered pork fat I could find to a recent USDA publication. I'm under the impression that we mostly grow different breeds of pork, on bigger farms, using a more consistent food blend, so pretty much everything has changed in that time.

[–] menemen@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Don't know of the given info about the pans is correct. But animals nowadays are defintly way more "optimized" than they used to be. Both genetically and the stuff they eat.