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Animal fats

Edible Tallow (beef/mutton dripping)

INCI Tallow. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Tallowate, with KOH as Potassium Tallowate. Also: Beef tallow, Dripping, Sevum bovinum, Mutton tallow.

Calculate a 100 % Edible Tallow (beef/mutton dripping) bar

Published values

Saponification value190–202 mg KOH/g
Used by the calculator196.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint)
SAP for NaOH0.1397 g/g
Iodine value40–53 g I₂/100 g
INS (SAP − IV)150
Melting point
Unsaponifiable matter≤ 1.2 %

A bar made of 100 % Edible Tallow (beef/mutton dripping)

Hardness 52 29–54
Cleansing 4 below 12–22
Conditioning 43 below 44–69
Bubbly lather 4 below 14–46
Creamy lather 48 16–48

Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.

Fatty-acid profile

Fatty acidPublished range, %Used
Myristic acid C14:0 · saturated 2–6 4.0
Palmitic acid C16:0 · saturated 20–30 25.0
Palmitoleic acid C16:1 1–5 3.0
Stearic acid C18:0 · saturated 15–30 22.5
Oleic acid C18:1 30–45 37.5
Linoleic acid C18:2 1–6 3.5
α-Linolenic acid C18:3 n-3 ≤ 1.5 1.5
Arachidic acid C20:0 · saturated ≤ 0.5 0.5
Gadoleic acid C20:1 ≤ 0.5 0.5
Behenic acid C22:0 · saturated ≤ 0.1 0.1

Where these numbers come from

Codex Alimentarius Commission (FAO/WHO)CODEX STAN 211-1999 Standard for Named Animal Fats (adopted 1999; amended 2009, 2013, 2015) - 2015 print · document dated 2015 · read 2026-09-20

Section 3 GLC fatty-acid ranges (% of total FA) are mandatory; the Appendix table 'Chemical and physical characteristics' (relative density, refractive index, titre, saponification value, iodine value (Wijs), unsaponifiable matter) is ADVISORY. Later editorial amendments (2019+) not checked - FAO site Cloudflare-gated.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan (Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 18th Edition, English version)JP XVIII, Crude Drugs and Related Drugs (official monographs) · document dated 2021-06-07 · read 2026-09-20

JP XVIII 'Beef Tallow' (Sevum Bovinum): melting point 42-50 C; acid value NMT 2.0; saponification value 193-200; iodine value 33-50.

Fatty acids from CXS 211 Section 3 GLC ranges, column 'Premier jus / Tallow' (% of total FA; mandatory). Also printed there and omitted here (outside key list): C6:0-C12:0 < 0.5 in total, C14:ISO < 0.3, C14:1 0.5-1.5, C15:0 0.2-1.0, C15:ISO + C15:ANTI ISO < 1.5 in total, C16:ISO < 0.5, C16:2 < 1.0, C17:0 0.5-2.0, C17:1 < 1.0, C17:ISO + C17:ANTI ISO < 1.5 in total, C20:2 < 0.1, C20:4 < 0.5, C22:1 not detected. '< x' limits are given as max only. SAP 190-202 mg KOH/g, IV (Wijs) 40-53, unsaponifiable <= 12 g/kg, titre 40-49 C, relative density 0.894-0.904 from the ADVISORY Appendix table (tallow column). Definition (2.4): rendered from fatty tissues, muscles and bones of bovine animals and/or sheep. JP XVIII 'Beef Tallow': melting point 42-50 C, SAP 193-200, IV 33-50, acid value NMT 2.0.

This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL). Found an error or a better primary source? The dataset is on GitHub; corrections with a document link are welcome.