tallow

tal·low   (tāl'ō)    n.   Hard fat obtained from parts of the bodies of cattle, sheep, or horses, and used in foodstuffs or to make candles, leather dressing, soap, and lubricants. Any of various similar fats, such as those obtained from plants. tr.v.   tal·lowed, tal·low·ing, tal·lows To smear or cover with tallow. To fatten (animals) in order to obtain tallow. [Middle English talow.] tal'low·y adj.

tallow 

Main Entry: tal·low
Pronunciation: 'tal-(")O, -&(-w)
Function: noun
: the white nearly tasteless solid rendered fat of cattle and sheep which isused chiefly in soap, margarine, candles, and lubricants and of which the form obtained from domestic sheep (Ovis aries) is used in pharmacy in ointments and cerates

tallow

odourless, tasteless, waxy white fat, consisting of suet (the hard fat about the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and horses) or similar vegetable substances. Tallow consists mainly of glyceryl esters of oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Tallow was used chiefly to make soap and candles until the development of synthetic surfactants made it available for animal feeds and as a base for chemicals and lubricants. Tallow is extracted by rendering, cutting, or chopping the fatty tissue into small pieces that are boiled in vats or cooked in steam digesters, then collecting the fat by skimming or by centrifuging.

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