Tallow has gained a lot of press from the crunchy community in recent years. As nose to tail eating has gained popularity, it only makes sense that the use of tallow, fat rendered from beef, would be in the spotlight more as well. Tallow has many uses and benefits from cooking to skincare. So, let’s take a look at all the wonderful ways tallow can be used in our day to day lives.
What is Tallow?
Tallow is simply rendered beef fat. It is a saturated fat and is white in appearance. Tallow is a solid at room temperature but turns into a liquid when it is heated. It has a very high smoke point, much like ghee. Tallow is made by simply cooking down beef fat. The liquid that is produced during this process is the tallow and will harden as it cools.
Benefits of Tallow
Tallow has many benefits. It is a great source of choline and fatty acids such as CLA. It is also full of vitamins A, D, K, and E. Because it is a saturated fat it is a more stable fat than many unsaturated fats, not allowing free radicals in the body.
Tallow does wonders for the skin. Because of the vitamins D and E found in tallow, it can help the skin appear smoother and increase the moisture in the skin. Also, the CLA found in tallow is antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, which are both great for your skin.
The nutrients in tallow are very bioavailable. Your body can easily absorb the nutrients and access them when needed. This is not the case with most vegetable oils that are high in PUFAS and fight the body’s natural ability to absorb.
On top of all the amazing health benefits, tallow is sustainable and can be very affordable. Tallow is sustainable because it uses up a part of the cow that would otherwise be thrown out. Most people don’t keep tons of beef fat. So, this is a great way to use that up! If you make the tallow yourself, it is very affordable, essentially free. And who doesn’t love free!
Uses of Tallow
Like we mentioned earlier, tallow can be used in many ways. It can be used from cooking to skincare and many ways in between!
- Cooking: tallow can be used as a cooking fat to sauté vegetables, make fries, or even as a spread on toast.
- Seasoning and Conditioning: use tallow to season a cast iron or condition a wood cutting board or spoon.
3. Skincare: tallow is great for nourishing both the skin and hair because of all it’s healthy fats and vitamins.
Though you can make tallow easily and affordably, there are also many great options for purchasing tallow if you do not want to go through that process.
