In colder larders (4°C/40°F or lower), larded meat could last for months, while in warmer conditions, the fat turned rancid within weeks.
By the 18th century, the term had expanded: at that point, a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked meats were stored.
[1] Middle English (denoting a store of meat): from Old French lardier, from medieval Latin lardarium, from laridum.
[4] In medieval households, the word "larder" referred both to an office responsible for fish, jams, and meat, as well as to the room in which these commodities were kept.
[9] For alligators and crocodiles, larders are underwater storage places for their fresh kills until such time as they wish to consume the carcass when its flesh is rotten.