MD.Life Beef Tallow for Cooking – 4 lb Grass-Fed, Pasture-Raised, Food Grade Tallow for Cooking Oil Replacement – Keto-Friendly Oil Alternative for Frying, Baking, Candles & Soap

I was a little hesitant to buy this product because I heard that it has a little stiff texture and there are some folks who mentioned smell and packaging as a negative. I've been using South Chicago Wagyu Beef Tallow, and like it. However, I am extremely impressed with this product as well, and I love the price point.Packaging: Comes in a Food Grade bag that is folded and twisted at the top and put into a cardboard box and the box is properly and adequately sealed. The bag is not vacuum packaged or mechanically sealed, but I see no necessity for that when it's coming in original packaging from the manufacturer. The consistency of the tallow in the bag would indicate that it was at least slightly warm when it was packaged, considering the fact that it form fits the box.Appearance: White, creamy color, obviously very well filtered, yet not stripped of character.Texture: This is February in the South and we are still pretty cold here, so this description will likely change a little with the weather, as you would expect. Doing a 3-second touch test, it starts to liquify enough to oil the end of my finger. What this means for summer shipment is unknown though leaving it out on the front step for very long probably isn't advisable. I'll be ordering this no later than May and no earlier than September.On a spoon and that is laid on a hot pan, melting is immediate, it slides off and leaves a clear and pure appearance, sliding around the pan and melting pretty fast. Pan temp where I noticed the first wisp of smoke was right about 410.Smell: It smells like grass-fed beef tallow, which is what it is. Yes, it does have a smell to it and people who think this should be odorless like Crisco might wonder about that. That said, in reasonable amounts or used as a deep fry, it doesn't add smell to food. Maybe a little beefy, but understand that this isn't a highly processed and deodorized food substitute. This has real food value and food has smells that don't come from chemicals.Taste: If you use this as you are supposed to, it won't add anything other than perhaps of small amount of umami. To me, food tastes so much better using tallow as the fat. That said, it isn't butter and while it adds a buttery texture to food, it's obviously not butter. So far my uses for this have been frying eggs and steak. But I am looking forward to doing pie crusts and bannocks with this.Size and storage: This is a LOT of fat. If you don't have a large family or use fat as a primary ingredient, it might be too much of it. Look around for various uses of beef tallow and you still might be able to justify it. BTW, it also makes a lovely soap and other beauty products as well. If you're interested in this, you're probably already aware of the health benefits, but there is quite a bit online and on YT regarding that.The package recommends to use [doesn't say expires] in 3 months, but that seems a bit of a short cycle for this. Keep the bag closed up so oxygen isn't in and out, keep it in cool storage, and you can more likely get 6-12 months out of it. The only real problem with older fat is that it may start to stink a bit, so you'll know it if it gets there. I've seen where people will carve this up and put it in the freezer to keep the life indefinite. I have a large commercial size second fridge so I will likely use this for a few months and then repackage it up and store it in there when my pantry is over 60F.

The media could not be loaded. I absolutely love this beef tallow. It smells and tastes great (obviously with the food I’m cooking 🤣 not from the jar) it’s grass fed, it’s fairly inexpensive as you don’t have to use a large amount. I can’t even begin to mention the health benefits of beef tallow and also vs using olive oil for high heat cooking. It heats up very fast so cook at a low temp. Texture is as if it was lard is the only way to explain? It is highly effective for cooking as only a small amount is needed.

Stay a while and listen.I have tried many brands and types of beef tallow, from whatever I could get my hands on locally, to the jars you can buy at a Steak ‘n Shake. Hands down, this one from MD. Life is the best bang for your buck - especially if you buy in bulk, like I do.I developed a pretty severe intolerance to histamine, and as a result, the usual seed oils I had no issues with before are now my worst nightmare. I’m talking anaphylaxis-type nightmare. Avoiding all the delicious foods made at family reunions-type nightmare. No more mouth-watering Asian cuisine because of sesame seed oil. No more grandmas outta this world homemade cakes because she puts mayo in the batter. Why mayo? I have no idea, but there’s something to it because her cakes are life-changing. I felt like I couldn’t eat anything anymore without it causing a histamine reaction.Enter beef tallow.For those unfamiliar with beef tallow, I must warn you there will always be a smell to it. It’s rendered animal fat. If it doesn’t have that strange, primal smell to it, it may not be legit. Out of all the beef tallows I have tried, this one has the least pungent smell to it. The texture is insane - no water content whatsoever, resulting in a smooth, creamy consistency. For the record, water in beef tallow isn’t a bad thing, but it results in a grainy tallow. If you are simply using tallow to cook with, that isn’t much of a problem. If you use tallow for skincare, or incorporating it into cold food (such as in a deviled egg recipe), or even just to have a spoonful, then creamy is generally what you want.When I first ordered this one from Amazon, I noticed there was a lot of room left in the container upon opening. No worries, folks. That seems to be the norm. I brought out my kitchen scale just to make sure I was getting every ounce I paid for, and it was spot-on.I’ve now ordered from this company three times. I think it’s safe to say I am a repeat customer. I highly recommend this one to whoever is reading this!

This item is going to be a regular for me. The first thing I used it for was an omelette, fantastic flavor. Next was fried chicken, also terrific. Then as a moisturizer for my dry skin, wow. My grandmother was right, beef tallow is great for many uses! The quality is very good, smooth, virtually tasteless (except when it counts)

It's been a hot summer and so I don't know why I was surprised that the tallow was soft when it arrived. I also didn't expect it to be a solid mass in a bag. But, other than that, I think it's good stuff. I repacked it into other containers. It smells fine, looks fine, tastes fine. Just came messy! :)

I bought this to use in skin creams. It works very well with no odor & no taste. I plan to try it in frying. Great price too.

The box came messed up but with it's weight it's expected, it didn't bother me. The item itself was safe. It was to big to keep in my kitchen so I had to transfer it to smaller containers. First time I buy so much, can't wait to see how long it last my family. Looks great and tastes great. I'm keeping the bag it came in to use as lotion. I just stick my hand in there after I wash the dishes and rub tallow on them. I'll keep on doing that until the bag is clean! We must waste nothing!