TALLOW

'Tallow' is rendered mutton, beef or other bovine fat, processed from suet. (Rendered fat obtained from pigs is known as lard.)
The tallow derived from beef is called stearin. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.
It is used in animal feed, to make soap, for cooking, as a bird food, and was once used for making candles. It can be used as a raw material for the production of biodiesel and other oleochemicals.
Industrially, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, including its melting point, which is also known as titre. It is not uncommon for commercial tallow to contain fat derived from other animals, such as pigs.
Prior to concerns in the 1990s over high cholesterol content and protests from Hindus (many of whom see themselves as being forbidden from consuming food derived from beef), McDonald's french fries were cooked in a mixture 93% beef tallow and 7% cottonseed oil.
Tallow is used in the steel rolling industry to provide the required lubrication as the sheet steel is compressed through the rollers. There is a trend towards replacing tallow based lubrication with synthetic oils in rolling applications for surface cleanliness reasons.^[1]
Tallow can also be used as flux for soldering.^[2]

Contents

Composition

See also

References

Composition

The composition of the fatty acids is typically as follows:^[3]

★ Saturated fatty acids:

★
★ Palmitic acid: 26 %

★
★ Stearic acid: 14 %

★
★ Myristic acid: 3 %

★ Monounsaturated fatty acids:

★
★ Oleic acid: 47 %

★
★ Palmitoleic acid: 3 %

★ Polyunsaturated fatty acids:

★
★ Linoleic acid: 3 %

★
★ Linolenic acid: 1 %

See also

★ Chinese tallow tree (''Sapium sebiferum'')

★ Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers

References

1. http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4891161-description.html
2. http://www.fantasyinglass.com/SiteDoc/flux.html
3. National Research Council, 1976, ''Fat Content and Composition of Animal Products'', Printing and Publishing Office, National Academy of Science, Washington, D.C., ISBN 0-309-02440-4; p. 203, online edition