TALLOW
An amazing gentle remedy for skin
Tallow is a form of beef fat, but not necessarily what we call "beef dripping". Beef dripping is usually the fat left behind from roasting a joint of beef. Tallow, on the other hand, is made from suet (the raw fat from beef) which has been gently simmered in water for hours. This process renders a very fine, creamy white, almost butter-looking, fat which is a truly amazing substance. It is a very stable solid fat in higher temperatures, so it is ideal for deep frying. It is wonderful for general cooking, adding a small amount to soups and stews, making dumplings, adding to puddings and a whole lot of other recipes - most of them traditional and sometimes considered 'stodgy'. These would be usually winter fayre (e.g. bread and butter pudding, Christmas pudding) and you will find old cookbooks calling for suet in the recipe - before animal fats were demonised by the low-fat, statin-wielding brigade.
Tallow has also been traditionally used in candle making and the expression "burning the candle at both ends" comes from the time when people would fold a tallow candle in half and literally light both ends to have more light to work by.
Tablehurst Farm now stock the purest tallow made from fat that comes from the farm's own biodynamic herd. It is found in the chilled section in the farm shop.
One place I have found tallow invaluable is in the support of eczema and associated skin complaints, particularly in children. It can soothe and lubricate the unhappy skin and offer a gentle, non-reactive, non-toxic barrier which promotes skin integrity and supports the healing process. It is best applied after a bath to help seal in the moisture. If you'd like to know more, just get in touch.
