Short Paste

I was taught, before anyone (at least, in northwestern Iowa) had ever heard of Spry or Crisco, that, if one liked tender pastry it should be made with lard and that, if one preferred crisp pastry, it should be made with butter. I have never liked lard (and it should be noted that lard pastry tastes like lard whereas pastry made with good, fresh unsalted butter tastes like butter), and I have never liked crumbly, fatty pastry, so my narrow path was, from the beginning, cleanly defined. For a