was this an ethical oops?

[OakLeaf]

I'm generally in agreement that someone with dietary restrictions - whether religious, medical or legal (i.e. meat doctored with clenbuterol ) - is responsible for knowing what's in their food. So skhill, I don't think you did anything wrong.

But I have to say that as someone who doesn't eat pork for purely ethical reasons - I'm perfectly well aware that any vegetable, salad, bean or beef dish is likely to be po'kified - it would never occur to me to ask about pie. I didn't even know you could buy lard in consumer quantities any more. I knew it's a theoretical possibility, but I've never known anyone who's made pie crust with lard - butter, crisco or vegetable oil is all I've seen in the last 35+ years.

If you're in a farm community and getting your lard right from the farmer like everyone else does ... then all bets are off.

[Velocivixen]

If he, for example, had a severe food allergy, he would have certainly asked what the ingredients were. you are not responsible for what people freely choose to put into their mouths.

[ny biker]

I had no idea that lard is an ingredient in pie crusts.

BTW, nuts are not the only potentially life-threatening allergen in food. For some in my family, bananas and avocados are potentially life-threatening. And then there's shellfish, which is potentially life-threatening to many people.

[Irulan]

I had no idea that lard is an ingredient in pie crusts.

BTW, nuts are not the only potentially life-threatening allergen in food. For some in my family, bananas and avocados are potentially life-threatening. And then there's shellfish, which is potentially life-threatening to many people.

It isn't in all. You can make an oil based pie crust, it's just not as flaky.

[Irulan]

I had no idea that lard is an ingredient in pie crusts.

BTW, nuts are not the only potentially life-threatening allergen in food. For some in my family, bananas and avocados are potentially life-threatening. And then there's shellfish, which is potentially life-threatening to many people.

OK sure but let's assume that adults know how to take responsibility for what they put into their bodies... ask first then eat?

[ny biker]

OK sure but let's assume that adults know how to take responsibility for what they put into their bodies... ask first then eat?

Actually the easiest thing is to eat a full meal at home on the assumption that something on the buffet table will kill you. Otherwise you become the whiny killjoy who has to ask everyone about the ingredients in the dish they brought.

[PamNY]

Otherwise you become the whiny killjoy who has to ask everyone about the ingredients in the dish they brought.

It is entirely possible to make discreet inquiries without being either whiny or a killjoy. I do it all the time.

[grey]

It is entirely possible to make discreet inquiries without being either whiny or a killjoy. I do it all the time.

Usually I have other friends who are also vegetarian, and so we help each other find out which dishes are meatless - one of us will ask about one dish, then discreetly tell the rest of us -- or we just go through the line as a group.

[Geonz]

It is entirely possible to make discreet inquiries without being either whiny or a killjoy. I do it all the time.

(It's also possible to be a whiny killjoy. I have absolutely no issues with asking what's in something -- but when it includes the litany of symptoms and aggravations followed by all the things you really wish you could have and are miserable without and the other aches and pains that are bothering you today, I have to tune out...)

[zoom-zoom]

I didn't even know you could buy lard in consumer quantities any more. I knew it's a theoretical possibility, but I've never known anyone who's made pie crust with lard - butter, crisco or vegetable oil is all I've seen in the last 35+ years.

Really? Stores around here all carry lard in buckets, just like this:


That image is from Wal-Mart's site, so it's not small, rural stores carrying it, but big, urban/suburban megamarts. I know a lot of folks who make amazing pies with real lard. It's about the only type of pie crust that I don't turn my nose up at.

[Kerry1976]

Darn it, will try again. Site crashed when I put my post up. I'll write this faster!

My boss is Jewish and takes responsibility for what he eats. If he is at a potluck especially, he views it as his job to make correct choices. As a university president, he deals with this stuff on a near-daily basis.

We do tease him though that we appreciate him having brought beef hotdogs to our university (food service serves them at picnics, etc. instead of pork dogs). Fortunately, our next President doesn't like pork so I think we get to keep our beef hotdogs!

[PinkBike]

Really? Stores around here all carry lard in buckets, just like this:


That image is from Wal-Mart's site, so it's not small, rural stores carrying it, but big, urban/suburban megamarts. I know a lot of folks who make amazing pies with real lard. It's about the only type of pie crust that I don't turn my nose up at.

great. i just gained 3 lbs looking at the picture

[Blueberry]

I'm with Oakleaf - I don't eat pork products for ethical reasons.

I live in the south, but wouldn't have thought to ask about a pie crust. I also would not have been at all upset at the person who brought it. It's ethics not religion for me - but it really wouldn't bother me.

It sucks for people who have severe food allergies. But - I couldn't want someone who is, for example, peanut allergic to eat anything I've cooked. Why? DH and I eat peanut butter and peanuts. There could be trace particles on anything out of my kitchen potentially. I don't know of any food that is completely safe for all people (and certainly not enough of them to fill a buffet table).

[TrekTheKaty]

I can't have wheat/gluten. You pretty much have to be a cook and be aware of ingredients of most dishes. If I'm not sure, I ask or skip it altogether. When attending potlucks with dietary restrictions, the rule is to eat beforehand and eat some of your own dish before it becomes cross contaminated.

And yes--the best pie crusts are made from lard. I remember making pie crusts that way as a child. It's white (not dyed yellow like margarine) and may actually be healthier that man-made substitutes--depending on your health stance.