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It is interesting how that has changed over time. In the 1830's, the most valuable part of the beef animal was the hide, followed by the tallow. The meat was

It is interesting how that has changed over time. In the 1830's, the most valuable part of the beef animal was the hide, followed by the tallow. The meat was the cheap byproduct. Same for pork. In the 1940's, lard was highly valuable, and pigs were bred to maximize lard production.

dr_dshiv 7y ago
I couldn't exactly confirm. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.096205135&view=1up&seq=34 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.096205135&view=1u...
- dbcurtis 7y ago
  Sorry, I don't have time right now to read your link but I will get back to it after my event this evening. My citation for hogs... my father was a breeder of fine, pedigreed Duroc-Jersey swine. He literally lived through (and helped lead) the switch from selecting for maximum lard production to selecting for minimum back-fat. By the time I was cleaning barns after school, we were well into the "minimize fat" era. Which in my opinion has been taken too far, as pork now is often very dry. A little marbling would go a long way. (Aside: I vividly recall one night, near the end of the second cup of coffee, a nasty differential equations pset that was kicking my ass. I remember to this day saying to myself: You have two options here: a) wrap your mind around diffeq, and get that engineering degree, or b) go home and clean hog barns for the rest of your life. I chose option 'a'. Powerful motivation.)
simonsarris 7y ago
Haha well, those valuable-in-1830's parts are the parts that do not spoil at room temp and last a really long time, so that may have something to do with it. But it is an IMO superior (health and taste) fat for cooking and its absolutely crazy that people don't gobble it up, instead opting for canola, palm, safflower, etc. Tallow making: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1191748243429957632 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1191748243429957632 (Note that this here is scrap cuttings and the leaf fat, around the kidneys, is more ideal for making large quantities, but is also often thrown away!) Tallow slow-fried fries: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1215090611264610304 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1215090611264610304
- fiblye 7y ago
  For a long time, everyone said saturated fats and meat fats were a one way ticket to heart disease. Vegetable fats took over and it’ll take a while for anything to change.
  - wahern 7y ago
    Trans fats are the real killer and bans are already in effect around the world. The FDA banned trans fats in the U.S. as of June 2019: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/final-determination-regarding-partially-hydrogenated-oils-removing-trans-fat https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/final-dete... That seemed to happen rather quickly, at least once the evidence became overwhelming. The FDA was only a few years behind major cities like San Francisco, though some European countries were way ahead of the curve. Red meat and dairy have significant amounts of trans fats. You're still probably better off with vegetable fats if you can help it, at least where partially hydrogenated oils are banned.
    - teslabox 7y ago
      > Red meat and dairy have significant amounts of trans fats. Natural trans fats [1] are made by bacteria in the rumen, and are rather different than manufactured trans fats created from seed oils with hydrogen gas and catalysts. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid - "The biological activity of CLA was noted by researchers in 1979 who found it to inhibit chemically induced cancer in mice [...] In 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration categorized CLA as generally recognized as safe (GRAS)." > You're still probably better off with vegetable fats if you can help it, at least where partially hydrogenated oils are banned. Most polyunsaturated oils are deodorized ("refined"), so customers don't realize they're eating rancid oil. I bought unrefined grape seed oil years ago. Didn't know what to do with the obviously-rancid oil. Now I would give it to my father, so he could use it to help start his barbecue's charcoal.
    - otabdeveloper4 7y ago
      Worrying about trans fats and heart disease when over half of your population is so obese it's impairing their ability to walk seems insane. Then again, trans fats isn't the addictive high-margin industrial product... :(
bduerst 7y ago
Refrigeration technology greatly increased the reach, durability, and thus value of raw meat. Electricity and the lightbulb depleted demand for candles (and tallow).

dr_dshiv 7y ago

I couldn't exactly confirm. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.096205135&view=1up&seq=34 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.096205135&view=1u...

dbcurtis 7y ago
Sorry, I don't have time right now to read your link but I will get back to it after my event this evening. My citation for hogs... my father was a breeder of fine, pedigreed Duroc-Jersey swine. He literally lived through (and helped lead) the switch from selecting for maximum lard production to selecting for minimum back-fat. By the time I was cleaning barns after school, we were well into the "minimize fat" era. Which in my opinion has been taken too far, as pork now is often very dry. A little marbling would go a long way. (Aside: I vividly recall one night, near the end of the second cup of coffee, a nasty differential equations pset that was kicking my ass. I remember to this day saying to myself: You have two options here: a) wrap your mind around diffeq, and get that engineering degree, or b) go home and clean hog barns for the rest of your life. I chose option 'a'. Powerful motivation.)

simonsarris 7y ago

Haha well, those valuable-in-1830's parts are the parts that do not spoil at room temp and last a really long time, so that may have something to do with it. But it is an IMO superior (health and taste) fat for cooking and its absolutely crazy that people don't gobble it up, instead opting for canola, palm, safflower, etc. Tallow making: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1191748243429957632 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1191748243429957632 (Note that this here is scrap cuttings and the leaf fat, around the kidneys, is more ideal for making large quantities, but is also often thrown away!) Tallow slow-fried fries: https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1215090611264610304 https://twitter.com/simonsarris/status/1215090611264610304

fiblye 7y ago
For a long time, everyone said saturated fats and meat fats were a one way ticket to heart disease. Vegetable fats took over and it’ll take a while for anything to change.
- wahern 7y ago
  Trans fats are the real killer and bans are already in effect around the world. The FDA banned trans fats in the U.S. as of June 2019: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/final-determination-regarding-partially-hydrogenated-oils-removing-trans-fat https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/final-dete... That seemed to happen rather quickly, at least once the evidence became overwhelming. The FDA was only a few years behind major cities like San Francisco, though some European countries were way ahead of the curve. Red meat and dairy have significant amounts of trans fats. You're still probably better off with vegetable fats if you can help it, at least where partially hydrogenated oils are banned.
  - teslabox 7y ago
    > Red meat and dairy have significant amounts of trans fats. Natural trans fats [1] are made by bacteria in the rumen, and are rather different than manufactured trans fats created from seed oils with hydrogen gas and catalysts. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid - "The biological activity of CLA was noted by researchers in 1979 who found it to inhibit chemically induced cancer in mice [...] In 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration categorized CLA as generally recognized as safe (GRAS)." > You're still probably better off with vegetable fats if you can help it, at least where partially hydrogenated oils are banned. Most polyunsaturated oils are deodorized ("refined"), so customers don't realize they're eating rancid oil. I bought unrefined grape seed oil years ago. Didn't know what to do with the obviously-rancid oil. Now I would give it to my father, so he could use it to help start his barbecue's charcoal.
  - otabdeveloper4 7y ago
    Worrying about trans fats and heart disease when over half of your population is so obese it's impairing their ability to walk seems insane. Then again, trans fats isn't the addictive high-margin industrial product... :(

bduerst 7y ago

Refrigeration technology greatly increased the reach, durability, and thus value of raw meat. Electricity and the lightbulb depleted demand for candles (and tallow).