Group · Fats & oils
Beef fat
Beef fat, or tallow, is the rendered and clarified fat of the animal. For a long time the default frying fat in Europe, it was displaced by vegetable oils before returning to some kitchens for its stability at high temperatures.
In terms of nutrition facts: 902 kcal per 100 g and 100 g of fat, of which 49.8 g is saturated fatty acids, 41.8 g monounsaturated and 4 g polyunsaturated. It contains 109 mg of cholesterol and 2.7 mg of vitamin E per 100 g. These values come from the USDA FoodData Central database, as the Ciqual table does not list tallow.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 902 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 3774 kJ |
| Fat | 100 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Omega-6 LA3,1 g31 %
- Omega-3 ALA0,6 g30 %
- Vitamin E2,7 mg23 %
- Vitamin D0,7 µg14 %
- Selenium0,2 µg0 %
USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy)
Tips
49.8 g of saturated fatty acids: half the product. That is double the amount in cottonseed oil and five times that of almond oil. French guidelines set saturated fatty acids at a maximum of 12% of total energy, so a spoonful of tallow uses up a notable share of that.
Its heat stability is real. Its high smoke point and low polyunsaturated content make it far less prone to oxidation than sunflower oil when frying. That is a technical argument, not a nutritional one.
It is still an animal fat. The 41.8 g of monounsaturated fat softens the picture, but olive oil has a much better profile and far more scientific evidence behind it for everyday use.
One tablespoon is 13 g and 117 kcal. As with any fat. What matters is the quantity used for frying, not the composition per 100 g.
It is solid at room temperature. This is a direct result of its saturated fatty acid content, and a simple visual cue: a fat that sets at 20 °C is rich in saturates.