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Not only do local inhabitants of Siberia drink vodka, but they also eat a lot of lard to provide their organisms with enough calories. And the latter can be easily obtained from animal fats.
That is why Siberians have ( or used to have a few years ago) the highest heart attack index in the world.

Jerzy
It's not only the Siberians who eat a lot of lard. When in Poland I have been invited to several bankiety and all around the tabes there were pots of lard that were soon emptied. Not by me - I thought it was disgusting stuff, and also in UK 70-80 years ago this was what the poorest of the poor ate. YUK! And I am not being a snob!
Leslie

Jaga,
As far as the picture - are you thinking of Jozef Chelmonski's "Four in Hand"? See http://artyzm.com/c/chelmonski/e_4.htm for picture detail.

In Poland? I have never seen any lard on Polish tables. May be in some deep rural areas near eastern border. I don`t know, I don`t visit such places too often.

There was a tradition to chew paprika lard as a masculine snack to accompany heavy vodka drinking. But I thought these times passed long ago, even before WW2.

Still, lard finely cut into small pieces and fried in oil is delicious. It wonderfully goes with Polish pierogis with cabbage, meat or other stuff. But not berry or plum stuff, of course.

Jerzy
So you are saying Krakow and Warszawa are deep rural areas/ Because this is where I have encountered it! The 'proof of the "lard" is in the (not) eating'. These were bankiety attended by business Directors, managers, HR managers, consultants - you are obviously not invited to the right places!!!
Leslie <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" />

Are you talking about smoltes? (not sure if that is how you spell it - sorry)
If so I have had some and enjoyed it and as you say Leslie not only in the "rural" restraunts - guess my peasant stock is showing!

It's spelled smalec. To further astonish Leslie I have to say that the present trend to eat lard during parties came to Poland from the west. I first ate it at the party during a conference in Leipzig in the early nineties. Next year the conference of then same organization was held in Glasgow. Little pieces of bread with lard again! Obviously the British organizers liked the idea very much. But besides that I think that eating lard occasionally on the chique parties that Leslie is invaited to is not the same as eating lard as an everyday dish is Siberia. At least from the medical, not sociological point of view <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hmm, I don`t believe it.
Lard and all animal fats have been sidely acknowledged as harmful to your heart for many years now. I don`t believe that such intelligent people as directors etc are not aware of the cholesterol issue. Not to mention their stressful jobs which require them to take special care of their hearts, more than other people.

I would have to see the picture of some lard served on the table to believe it.

May be it`s not lard but something else.

Jerzy, please stop, I can't laugh anymore!!!

What`s wrong? Don`t you believe directors etc are intelligent people? ha ha ha ha I wrote it to build up Leslie who seems to be one {he mentioned banquet parties he attended}..... ha ha ha ha

I think we are all talking about two different things.
When I say LARD, I mean this crude pig`s fat which lies under animal`s skin. It is yellowish-pinkish white, about 1 inch thick, similar to rubber, it is sold in packages containing rectangular pieces. At home you cut it into smaller pieces and fry. Really, nobody in Poland ever eats such crude fat any longer. We may be poor, but not stupid cannibals ha ha ha ha ha

Leslie probably meant SMALEC. It is creamy fat, of butter or margarine consistency, which we get from frying/melting big pieces of lard. We can put smalec on toasted bread and eat it. It is quite popular here and there. I also like smalec, especially with some little fried cracklings (pieces of lard) in it. But not too often.