Tallow is arendered form ofbeef ormuttonsuet, primarily made up oftriglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow isanimal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, including itsmelting point. Commercial tallow commonly contains fat derived from other animals, such aslard frompigs, or even from plant sources.
The solid material remaining after rendering is calledcracklings, greaves, or graves.[1] It has been used mostly foranimal food, such asdog food.[2][3]
In the soap industry and among soap-makinghobbyists, the nametallowate is used informally to refer to soaps made from tallow.Sodium tallowate, for example, is obtained by reacting tallow withsodium hydroxide (lye, caustic soda) orsodium carbonate (washing soda). It consists chiefly of a variable mixture of sodiumsalts offatty acids, such asoleic andpalmitic.[4]
Tallow is 100%fat, mainly ofmonounsaturated fats (52%) andsaturated fats (42%), and contains no water,protein orcarbohydrates (table).
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 3,774 kJ (902 kcal) | ||||||
0 g | |||||||
100 g | |||||||
| Saturated | 42 g | ||||||
| Monounsaturated | 50 g | ||||||
| Polyunsaturated | 4 g | ||||||
0 g | |||||||
| |||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||
| Cholesterol | 109 mg | ||||||
Fat percentage can vary. | |||||||
| †Percentages estimated usingUS recommendations for adults,[5] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation fromthe National Academies.[6] | |||||||
The fatty acid content of tallow is:[7]
Tallow is used mainly in producingsoap and animal feed.[8]
A significant use of tallow is for the production ofshortening. It is also one of the main ingredients of theNative American foodpemmican. With asmoke point of 480 °F (249 °C), tallow is traditionally used indeep frying and was preferred for this use until the rise in popularity of plant oils for frying. Before switching to pure vegetable oil in 1990,[9]McDonald's cooked itsFrench fries in a mixture of 93% beef tallow and 7%cottonseed oil.[10] According to a 1985 article inThe New York Times, tallow was also used for frying atBurger King,Wendy's,Hardee's,Arby's,Dairy Queen,Popeyes, andBob's Big Boy.[11] Tallow is, however, making a comeback in certain nutrition circles.[12]
Greaves (alsograves) orcracklings is the fibrous matter remaining from rendering,[1] typically pressed into cakes and used foranimal feed, especially for dogs and hogs, or asfish bait.[13] In the past, it has been both favoured and shunned indog food.[2][3]
Tallow can be used for the production ofbiodiesel in much the same way as oils from plants are currently used.[14]
TheUnited States Air Force has experimented successfully with the use of beef tallow inaviation biofuels. During five days of flight testing from August 23 to 27, 2010, atEdwards Air Force Base,California, a U.S. Air ForceC-17 Globemaster III flew usingJP-8 conventionaljet fuel in three of its engines and a 50/50 blend of JP-8 and HRJbiofuel made from beef tallow in one engine on August 23, followed by a flight with the same 50/50 blend in all four engines on August 24. On August 27, it flew using a blend of 50% JP-8, 25% HRJ, and 25%coal-based fuel made through theFischer–Tropsch process, becoming the firstUnited States Department of Defense aircraft to fly on such a blend and the first aircraft to operate from Edwards using a fuel derived from beef tallow.[15]
Tallow also has a use in printmaking, where it is combined withbitumen and applied to metal print plates to resist acid etching.
The use of trace amounts of tallow as an additive to the substrate used inpolymer banknotes came to light in November 2016. Notes issued in 24 countries including Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom were found to be affected, leading to objections from vegans and members of some religious communities.[16][17]
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Tallow once was widely used to make moldedcandles before more convenientwax varieties became available and for some time after they continued to be a cheaper alternative. For those too poor even to avail themselves of homemade, molded tallow candles, the "tallow dip" a reed that had been dipped in melted tallow or sometimes a strip of burning cloth in a saucer/cresset of tallow grease was an accessible substitute. Such a candle was often simply called a "dip" or, because of its low cost, a "farthing dip"[18] or "penny dip".[19]
Early in the development of steam-driven piston engines, the hot vapors and liquids washed away most lubricants very quickly. It was soon found that tallow was quite resistant to this washing. Tallow and compounds including tallow were widely used to lubricate locomotive and steamship engines at least until the 1950s. (During World War II, the vast fleets of steam-powered ships exhausted the supply, leading to the large-scale planting ofrapeseed because rapeseed oil also resisted the washing effect.) Tallow is still used in thesteel rolling industry to provide the required lubrication as the sheet steel is compressed through thesteel rollers. There is a trend toward replacing tallow-basedlubrication with synthetic oils in rolling applications for surface cleanliness reasons.[20]
Another industrial use is as a lubricant for certain types of light engineering work, such as cutting threads on electrical conduit. Specialist cutting compounds are available, but tallow is a traditional lubricant that is easily available for cheap and infrequent use.
The use of tallow or lard to lubricate rifles was the spark that started theIndian Mutiny of 1857. To load the newPattern 1853 Enfield Rifle, thesepoys had to bite the cartridge open. It was believed that the paper cartridges that were standard issue with the rifle were greased with lard (pork fat), which was regarded asunclean by Muslims, or tallow (cow fat), which is incompatible withHindu dietary laws. Tallow, along withbeeswax, was also used in the lubricant for American Civil War ammunition used in theSpringfield rifled musket. A combination of mutton tallow,paraffin wax and beeswax is still used as a patch or projectile lubricant in present-day black powder arms.
Tallow is used to make a biodegradable motor oil.[21]
Tallow is also used in traditionalbell foundry, as a separation for the false bell whencasting.[22]
Tallow can be used asflux forsoldering.[23]
Mutton tallow is widely used as starch, lubricant and softener in textile manufacturing. Pretreatment processes in textiles include a process calledsizing. In sizing, a chemical is necessary to provide required strength to yarns mounted on the loom. Mutton tallow provides required strength and lubrication to the yarns.[citation needed]
