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Is beef tallow making a comeback?

nytimes.com

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Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#71

Post by halostatue »

jmalicki wrote: post #16
halostatue wrote: post #10

Not to be flippant, but we know that the answer to that is "No" because of Betteridge's Law of Headlines[1]. I haven't read the article ("too hard, didn't care"), but as a foodie: - in certain food circles, it never went away - industrially, McD's in at least North America used beef tallow as one of the par-frying oils for their fries well into the 21st century -- which caused a stir amongst vegetarians and Hindu who…

If you are deep frying, for e.g. french fries, any cooking oil that is solid at room temperature can keep them from being greasy. This includes beef tallow, but also coconut oil for a vegetable-based oil. For some foods the being-solid-at-room-temperature property can be important for texture.

I have no disagreement with this and I think I said as much.

But the premise of the original article (that beef tallow ever went away, which is required for a comeback) is deeply flawed, and the fascionable junk science from RFK is the dumbest possible reason to use beef tallow.

Just don't expect me (a vegetarian) to eat anything that has beef tallow, and expect me to be very pissed off if I later learn a restaurant or food manufacturer uses beef tallow without disclosing it, because that's taking choice away from me.

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#72

Post by halostatue »

bowmessage wrote: post #19
halostatue wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compared to what and for what purpose? Olive oil? Peanut oil? No and (mostly) no. Compared to hydrogenated margarine that was pushed a couple of decades ago before we learned about trans-fats? Of course. If you use it when cooking for guests, you should disclose that you're using it (especially for non-meat dishes) because it may add extra fat that they're not OK with or consider inappropriate for personal dietary co…

Politics aside, the omega6:3 ratio and PUFA content of tallow is favorable.

Tallow is still higher in long chain SFAs than vegetable saturated fats, which are less healthy than short and medium chain SFAs (but neither is as good as PUFAs).

That sort of overwhelms the omega ratios. As I understand it, both fish oil and (fresh) flax seed oil are still better than tallow.

With RFK's dismantling of good science, politics can't be put aside, as his reasons are essentially "because I said so".

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#73

Post by stephenitis »

dsr_ wrote: post #24
bowmessage wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t particularly trust any claims from previous administrations’ health departments, let alone this one. Politics aside, the omega6:3 ratio and PUFA content of tallow is favorable.

You've made this comment three times so far. That changes my perception from "maybe that's a good point" to "spammers should die painfully."

I’m with you, repeating it is like low effort copy pasta when they should’ve put effort into backing up that claim.

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#74

Post by NedF »

Rendello wrote: post #7

I made it a few years ago. Tallow is trendy (and thus expensive), but you make it by rendering suet which is basically a throw-away product at butcher shops. Lots don't even bother selling suet, which is a pain. Rendering was just slow-cooking and removing the little pieces, then you're left with candle wax you can cook with. I thought the candle wax consistency was a coincidence, but it was the main way to make cand…

[dead]

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#75

Post by bowmessage »

halostatue wrote: post #70
bowmessage wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beef tallow has a favorable omega 6 to omega 3 ratio and low levels of PUFAs, compared to seed oils and other cooking fats. I recommend reading the article.

I won't bother as I'm vegetarian, which means that I really don't care the "supposed" benefits (which likely pale compared to the ingestion of long chain saturated fats present in beef tallow, as opposed to the short and medium chain saturated fats present in coconut oil). Beef tallow is irrelevant to me except for restaurateurs or food manufacturers who use it without disclosing it. (One should disclose its use in a…

> For large groups of people it's off limits due to personal dietary restrictions

So you’re proposing that the FDA should promote a vegan diet to cater to the lowest common denominator?

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#76

Post by fooker »

tombert wrote: post #62
fooker wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he thinks he knows better than the entire medical establishment I think you have missed the part about why we are in this situation. People are absolutely fed up with the medical establishment. There is no way to twist this.

The solution is to fix the medical establishment, not to appoint a person trained by Facebook moms and and natural food blogs.

Yes, I agree.

Now, everyone trying to fix the medical establishment is immediately called an anti vaxxer, science denier, etc.

At some point it was inevitable that we get someone who can shrug these labels off because they do not have a scientific reputation that can be killed with these labels.

My point is, again, we are in this situation because sane attempts to fix things has not worked. To an extent that people will literally try anything.

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#77

Post by aziaziazi »

akerl_ wrote: post #61
aziaziazi wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which ones? Aren’t you thinking about atoms instead?

The molecules I’m aware of are all made of atoms.

Those atoms were made in supernova, but the molecules themselves probably didn’t. It’s like saying "my car was made in a supernova" because it’s made of atoms. Sure…

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#78

Post by elric »

Rendello wrote: post #7

I made it a few years ago. Tallow is trendy (and thus expensive), but you make it by rendering suet which is basically a throw-away product at butcher shops. Lots don't even bother selling suet, which is a pain. Rendering was just slow-cooking and removing the little pieces, then you're left with candle wax you can cook with. I thought the candle wax consistency was a coincidence, but it was the main way to make cand…

If I understand it correctly, tallow is made from beef or mutton. The same principle can be applied to pork fat -- and presumably any other herbivore? -- to create lard. Which is is also delicous for fries.

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#79

Post by halostatue »

bowmessage wrote: post #75
halostatue wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't bother as I'm vegetarian, which means that I really don't care the "supposed" benefits (which likely pale compared to the ingestion of long chain saturated fats present in beef tallow, as opposed to the short and medium chain saturated fats present in coconut oil). Beef tallow is irrelevant to me except for restaurateurs or food manufacturers who use it without disclosing it. (One should disclose its use in a…

> For large groups of people it's off limits due to personal dietary restrictions So you’re proposing that the FDA should promote a vegan diet to cater to the lowest common denominator?

Not sure how you got that from anything I’ve written, because it’s not what I said.

What I said is the FDA shouldn’t be promoting junk recommendations as if it were gold-standard science.

There are good scientific reasons to avoid animal fats in one’s diet. There are no good scientific reasons to add them back to one’s diet.

In moderation, they aren’t harmful and may indeed improve the flavour or texture of certain dishes when had in moderation. I personally love making butter sage gnocchi or ravioli (it doesn’t work as well with olive oil), but I only make it every couple of months.

Beyond everything else, we know that replacing animal protein with plant protein is a good way to improve health. But it’s not accessible or acceptable to everyone. It’s also not necessarily a good use of some land — land that might be perfectly suited to raising goats is poor for growing crops for human consumption.

Re: Is beef tallow making a comeback?

#80

Post by tombert »

fooker wrote: post #76
tombert wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution is to fix the medical establishment, not to appoint a person trained by Facebook moms and and natural food blogs.

Yes, I agree. Now, everyone trying to fix the medical establishment is immediately called an anti vaxxer, science denier, etc. At some point it was inevitable that we get someone who can shrug these labels off because they do not have a scientific reputation that can be killed with these labels. My point is, again, we are in this situation because sane attempts to fix things has not worked. To an extent that people w…

If your “fixes” for the medical establishment include spreading unsubstantiated fear mongering about vaccines and science denial then you would be right to be classified as an anti vaxxer and a science denier.
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