Ask Evan: What is the difference between Lard and Lardo?

Every week I answer a question from a Good Food listener. You can email me a question, leave one on Facebook or add one in the comments section here. This week’s came from my producer, Gillian:

Can you explain the difference between lard and lardo?

It’s so tempting to just add an “o” to the end of a word and figure that you’ve found the proper Italian, but in this instance you would be wrong. Lard (or pork fat) in Italian is Strutto. Lardo, such as the beautiful and tasty Lardo di Colonnata is fatback which has been cured in salt with herbs and spices such as rosemary and pepper. In Colonnata the curing is done in marble boxes that are like little coffins. Read all about it in this LA Times article.