The "lard" you see sitting on supermarket shelves is a lard product, but with stabilizers added to extend shelf life. Unfortunately, it lacks the flavor profile of freshly rendered lard. Even so, I like lard for such things as biscuits and pie dough, but in combination with butter, because the melting point of each is different, resulting in lighter, fluffier and/or flakier products. As far as calories go, there's little to no difference between equal volumes of lard and butter, solid shortening, regular margarine or regular cooking oil. However, if you are watching cholesterol, that's another matter.
I would never use lard in frosting.
