Shortening is the same as lard, so the ratio is 1:1.
No. Lard is animal fat and shortening is vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated.
Lard is the rendered fat of hogs. Shortening is any fat product typically a mixture of different fats.
usually, yes. In fact, lard really makes some pastries taste so much better. However, lard is animal fat and therefore, not healthy. If you use it rarely, then enjoy the better taste, but if you cook with it routinely, switch to shortening.
vegetable shortening (CRISCO)
Lard, shortening, butter
Butter It can be lard from a pig, which can be used as butter.
fat, grease, shortening, suet
Shortening didn't come about until the 20th century, lard was used in place of shortening because it was what was on hand. When making things like biscuits and cornbreads country cooks often used bacon drippings (grease saved from cooking bacon).
Shortening is the lesser of two evils as an ingredient in cookies. It is an acceptable, but not desirable, substitute. Taste and texture are sub-optimum. Lard tends to give cookies an unusual texture, too flaky. Even cutting lard with shortening will not help greatly. However, butter is by far the ideal ingredient to supply the fat in cookies.
You could probably substitute a solid white shortening such as Crisco for lard, although I would be concerned about unhealthy aspects of partially hydrogenated oil.
The term "shortening" is often used instead of "fat" because shortening specifically refers to fats that are solid at room temperature, like vegetable shortening or lard, while "fat" is a more general term that can refer to both solid and liquid fats. Shortening is often used in baking to create a tender crumb texture in baked goods.