Tallow is rendered fat from ruminants, including cattle, bison, and lamb, whereas lard is rendered fat from pigs, boars, and other similar animals. Both are common cooking fats but are also used in other ways such as industrial lubricants. For frying and a beefier taste, use tallow.
Both tallow and lard are healthy, especially if you can get them from pastured (pigs) grass-fed and finished (cows) sources. Pastured lard is rich in vitamin D (something more than half all Americans are lacking), while tallow is rich in a slew of pro-metabolic fatty acids and vitamins.
Lard is rendered fat from pigs. It can be used as a substitute for beef tallow and comes with the same cooking properties.
What is Beef Tallow? Tallow is simply beef fat that has been rendered (cooked down) to remove impurities. Rendered beef or sheep fat is called tallow.
Ghee is a dairy product made of milk butter and does not contain milk solids like lactose casein and gluten. Ghee is a vegetarian product. Alternatively, tallow is animal fat rendered from cow or sheep fat. Similar to ghee, it is a shelf-stable product, but it is not a vegetarian product.
The healthiness of beef tallow versus oil depends on various factors such as overall dietary intake and individual health considerations, but in general, oils like olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil are often considered healthier choices due to their higher content of heart-healthy monounsaturated or ...
For frying and a beefier taste, use tallow. For a lighter taste and as a fat source in baking, opt for lard. And in both situations, always opt for tallow and lard from grass-fed, grass-finished, and pasture-raised animals — the negative health effects from industrially-produced lard and tallow are not worth it.
Tallow is made from the boiled carcasses of slaughtered sheep and cows, which the fatty product is then derived from.
Beef tallow was initially used because the supplier for McDonald's couldn't afford vegetable oil. In the 1990s, as health concerns over saturated fat reached an all-time high, McDonald's faced a backlash against the use of beef tallow, and worried about losing customers, the chain switched to vegetable oil.
McDonald's used to actually fry their French fries in beef tallow up until 1990. McDonald's founder Ray Kroc wanted the chain's French fry to be simple: just fry it in beef tallow. This was a trick he learned from Sam's, his favorite Chicago hot dog stand.
Tallow will solidify and keep at room temperature in a sealed container for up to a year and won't go rancid. Beef Tallow will keep even longer in the refrigerator or indefinitely in the freezer.
While they come from the same animal, bacon fat and lard differ in taste and function. Bacon fat has a smoky taste, while lard—rendered fat from the pig—has a neutral flavor. You can use bacon fat to add flavor to baked goods, gravies, and sautés, but lard primarily adds texture to fried or baked foods.
Whether you're new to using beef tallow or if you're a seasoned fan, it's helpful to know when beef tallow goes bad! Beef tallow will keep for 12 months at room temperature, 12-18 months in the refrigerator, and at least two years in the freezer.
Beef tallow is healthy
Grass fed beef tallow isn't just flavorful and a great local option for high-heat cooking, it's also a healthy option. Tallow contains linoleic acid which is considered a natural anti-inflammatory. Grass-fed beef tallow is rich in vitamin A and vitamin D.
Organic, unrefined avocado oil is the healthiest choice to use for cooking. Tallow is a form of rendered animal fat, usually made from beef, although there are also vegetarian versions also available.
However, beef tallow is hypercholesterolemic compared with fats containing less cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acid. Therefore, curtailment of beef tallow in a cholesterol-lowering diet seems appropriate.
No. Our fries are not coated in any fats or substances from an animal.
Over time, McDonald's and other fast-food joints made the beef fat part of their signature fry flavors. But in the 1980s, fast-food restaurants took the ingredient out when health advocates criticized how much “bad” saturated fat it added.
Once at the restaurant, our fries are simply cooked in dedicated frying vats in a non-hydrogenated blend of sunflower and rapeseed oil which is 100 percent suitable for vegetarians. In fact, McDonald's French Fries are officially accredited by the Vegetarian Society.
Of the three high fat diets, beef tallow was also found to increase intestinal carcinogenesis. Thus, the present data revealed carcinogenesis in the prostate and intestine to be promoted by beef tallow.
If tallow cools below 65°C, bacterial growth in the settled water and solids can result in enzymic activity and increases in free fatty acids.
Potential Concerns. Most of the potential concerns people have about tallow come from its saturated fat content. Some people believe that because tallow is high in saturated fat, it may increase LDL-cholesterol concentrations, and raise the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Tallow is the rendered fat of cattle and sheep predominantly, although other animals can be brought into the equation, such as horses, goats and other dead stock. (Pig fats have a totally different composition and are too soft to become tallow and form a group called greases.
Higher-quality beef and pork will produce better-quality tallow and lard. It might be hard to find in some places, but you should look for grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork animal oils. Healthy meats lead to healthy fats, and healthy fats taste better and provide more nutritional value.
Mutton tallow has a little more vitamin E than beef tallow, although the differences might not be significant. Tallow is known for its high oleic, palmitic, and stearic acid concentrations. Beef tallow has higher concentrations of palmitic acid, while mutton leads with more oleic and stearic acid.