It seems that nowadays everyone on the internet is screaming about Grassfed Tallow and its benefits.
Social media is full of people recording themselves slathering beef fat on their face for moisturization. But is there any truth behind this? Is this just another tiktok trend? And what the heck even is Tallow?
So what is tallow?
Tallow is used to describe rendered animal fat, usually from ruminant animals, like cattle, bison, and deer. Rendering fat just means that the fat is cooked down and melted.
Sometimes people call rendered fat from other animals tallow as well, such as bear tallow. I’m going to be talking about beef tallow here.
What is the difference between lard and tallow? Lard usually refers to rendered pork fat. It’s also a great traditional fat, but not quite as amazing as beef tallow!
Tallow benefits
Beef tallow from 100% organic grass fed cattle has a lot of health benefits. Grass fed beef tallow is rich in so many beneficial nutrients.
Here are some of the nutrients found in tallow from 100% grass fed beef fat:
- Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) which has powerful anti-inflammatory properties
- Minerals
- Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K
You can enjoy these nutrients when you use tallow in cooking, or for skincare.
Tallow uses:
- Cooking– Can you eat tallow? Is tallow healthy to cook with? Absolutely! Since it has so many great nutrients, tallow is the perfect cooking fat. I use it all the time to fry and sauté foods, and to make pastries and piecrust. It adds a wonderful flavor and has a high smoke point, which makes it perfect for frying potatoes. Today's modern medical advice will warn you of heart disease if you eat too much tallow. However, seed oils which replaced much of animal fats in our diets are not natural or stable - and better suited as engine lubricant! But this is a topic for another day.
- Conditioning wooden cutting boards and cooking utensils– Tallow works really well to keep wooden spoons, cutting boards, and other wooden kitchen tools moisturized and conditioned.
Tallow for skincare, hair care, and soap
- Skincare– This is the best use for tallow! Following in your ancestors' footsteps who used Tallow for a variety of skincare uses! The most popular tallow skincare product is Tallow Balm. Grass fed tallow has the perfect combination of skin-friendly nutrients, that make it the perfect skin moisturizer because it is so compatible with how the skin is made. Tallow deeply nourishes skin like nothing else. It's also amazing for soothing eczema, diaper rash, sunburn, windburn, acne, and itchy skin. If you’re looking for the best ever moisturizer, check out our Whipped Tallow Balm or Bison Balm!!
- Hair care– Tallow is also perfect as a deep conditioning treatment for hair. You can use it on the ends of your hair to keep it soft and moisturized and to prevent split ends.
- Soap making– Tallow adds a wonderful hardness to soap bars. This makes soap last longer, since it won’t melt away in the shower or anytime it gets wet. Tallow adds a wonderful, creamy lather to soap bars, as well as wonderful skin benefits. It is also a sustainable soap making fat compared to other oils with similar benefits, like palm oil. It cleans your body while moisturizing it at the same time, tried and tested by your ancestors for centuries!
Beef tallow uses around the house, workshop, and homestead
- Candles – Traditionally, people used tallow to make candles quite often. You can still do that today! Tallow is a nice, hard fat that holds it shape well, and works great for candle making.
- Lubrication – You can use tallow to lubricate things with moving parts, like machinery. It is also beneficial for metal and helps to prevent rust.
- Guns – Tallow can also work as an oil for guns, in the same way it can be used for lubricating machinery.
- Leather – It makes sense that tallow would work wonderfully for conditioning leather.
Waterproofing – This is another use for tallow that our homesteading ancestors use. Anytime there is a piece of cloth or other material that needs to be made waterproof, tallow is a great thing to use.
Tallow gets a bad rap from health officials but has so many uses and benefits in our daily lives. Give tallow a try and see the difference in your life!