Schmaltz is fat from a chicken. You don't see it around much anymore, but once it was a very common thing in Germany and Austria, and among the peoples who emigrated from there, notably the Ashkenazi Jews. Though the word "schmaltz" can technically refer to beef, pork and even goose fat, it's come to mean "chicken fat" among people who use it in the States. The cost common use for schmaltz was as a spread, which is to say it was used like butter on toast. However it makes a very nice general-purpose cooking fat as well, and is useful in baking as a tenderizer for doughs (I've used it in knish dough) and some crusts.
Schmaltz is fat from a chicken. You don't see it around much anymore, but once it was a very common thing in Germany and Austria, and among the peoples who emigrated from there, notably the Ashkenazi Jews. Though the word "schmaltz" can technically refer to beef, pork and even goose fat, it's come to mean "chicken fat" among people who use it in the States. The cost common use for schmaltz was as a spread, which is to say it was used like butter on toast. However it makes a very nice general-purpose cooking fat as well, and is useful in baking as a tenderizer for doughs (I've used it in knish dough) and some crusts.
