What is beef tallow? Everything you need to know about this buzzy seed oil substitute.

Few foods have had such an explosive impact as has beef tallow. Though it has been around for over a century and was probably a staple in pot roasts and other savory dishes in the kitchens of your grandparents and even your great-grandparents, notes Mayo Clinic, beef tallow has reached a new level of popularity due to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly praising it while decrying seed oils.

He’s even been urging fast-food restaurants to ditch the “poison” of cooking with various forms of vegetable oil to use beef tallow in their fryers instead. ” … Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidized seed oils,” he tweeted on Oct. 21, 2024. “It’s time to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.” The post garnered 9.9 million views. Steak ‘n Shake has capitalized on the publicity by making the switch to beef tallow and have posted on X, formerly Twitter, of RFK Jr. visiting their restaurants.

So what is beef tallow? And is it healthy? It has several health benefits along with a couple of reasons for it to be used sparingly.

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What is beef tallow? 

Beef tallow is simply rendered animal fat. It’s created by slowly cooking parts of a cow over low heat until the fat separates from the meat tissue. The process also reduces water content and other particles, with only the saturated fat of the animal remaining, says Kristina Cooke, a licensed nutritionist and registered dietitian with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

She explains that, once cooled, beef tallow solidifies at room temperature and is known for being shelf stable. Over heat, it melts down again and becomes an oily substance that’s similar in appearance to vegetable oil. In this form, beef tallow is primarily used in cooking “and adds rich flavor when used for frying, roasting, and sautéing,” says Amy Goodson, a nutritionist and registered dietitian at The Sports Nutrition Playbook. 

Beyond cooking, “beef tallow is commonly used to make soap, candles and even skincare products,” says Cooke. 

Is beef tallow healthy? 

Like most animal products, beef tallow has nutrients and properties to praise along with a couple of components that make it best to be used in moderation. 

“Beef tallow contains fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K,” says Abby Langer, a clinical nutritionist, registered dietitian and founder of Abby Langer Nutrition. Together, these vitamins provide benefits associated with improved skin, eye, teeth and bone health, plus boosted immune function, healthy cell growth, improved reproductive health and improved digestion. 

Beef tallow “contains a mix of saturated and monounsaturated fats, which provide long-lasting energy and help with nutrient absorption (and) may support satiety, as fat plays a key role in keeping you full and satisfied,” says Goodson.

But it isn’t all good news. Cooke says she “would not recommend swapping seed oils for beef tallow.” While it is not harmful to consume small amounts of saturated fat, she explains, it is known to raise cholesterol levels and is associated with metabolic syndrome and several cardiovascular conditions. “It is something most people are consuming too much of — not too little of,” she adds.

“A diet high in saturated fat is a risk for heart disease and stroke,” echoes Langer. 

Beef tallow is also high in calories — 1,849 calories in a single cup, per U.S. Department of Agriculture, and has been shown to cause inflammation and may thereby contribute to chronic diseases like arthritis and cancer.

Is beef tallow better for you than seed oils?

These are the main reasons very few nutritional scientists are in favor of replacing “seed oils” (as common vegetable oils like sesame oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, and soybean oil have come to be called) with beef tallow. 

At the same time, “beef tallow and seed oils both have their pros and cons,” says Goodson. For one, “many seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fats, which can be more prone to oxidation when exposed to high temperatures,” she explains. In contrast, “tallow is more stable at high heat, reducing the likelihood of oxidation and the formation of harmful compounds during cooking.”

On the other hand, “seed oils also provide essential omega-6 fatty acids, which are an important part of a balanced diet,” she says. And seed oils have the benefit of having “far more positive research behind them in terms of health effects than beef tallow does,” says Langer. Plant-based oils are also linked to far better cardiovascular health outcomes than beef-based ones. This is one reason the American Heart Association notes there is “no reason” to avoid seed oils and even encourages their consumption.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is beef tallow? Everything you need to know about this buzzy seed oil substitute.