What ingredients do you associate with Italian cooking? . I bet olive oil is near the top of your list. Italians have been using it since time immemorial, right? . That’s what I thought till I read @historicalitalianfood’s fabulous collection of interviews with Italian women, aged 90+. Again and again (as you can see from my pictures – swipe to read) they used lard. Lard to fry, cured lard for pasta sauces, lard to preserve. . In these womens lives (they talk about the 1920s-40s and beyond) olive oil hardly ever features. . The common belief that Italians have always used olive oil is untrue. . So how did we get it so wrong? And what can that tell us? Have a read of my short blog post (top link in my linktr.ee today) and then dive into the beautiful book ‘Chewing the Fat’ by Karima of @historicalitalianfood. You’ll be amazed and moved. . And if you don’t already, cook with lard. It is the most delicious and healthy fat plus locally-sourced from a responsible farmer, it’s an ecologically-sound choice