Once Again Paired with #NationalFrenchFryDay, Observance Showcases Authentic, Traditional Animal Fat for Maximum Flavor
Back for another helping, the Healthy Fats Coalition (HFC) marks today, July 13, as the fourth annual #NationalBeefTallowDay -- a celebration of beef fat, an authentic, traditional ingredient that brings out the very best in food. Like pure lard, duck fat, goose fat and other animal fats, beef tallow is now enjoying a resurgence within America’s food culture, in restaurants and fast casual operations.
#NationalBeefTallowDay, which shares the calendar with #NationalFrenchFryDay, is the brainchild of the HFC, a group of like-minded organizations, companies and individuals that have developed an educational initiative dedicated to the proposition that healthy fats aren’t merely having a moment – they’re here to stay, as an essential part of the food we most enjoy. The HFC’s mission is simple: affirm that animal fats like beef tallow deserve a central place in the American diet and in the popular imagination.
#NationalFrenchFryDay, doubling up with #NationalBeefTallowDay, is a delicious opportunity for those who love French fries fried right to go back to the future. As food writer Nancy Luna has mused in Nation’s Restaurant News, “Are French fries the new fast-food battleground? Fries have long been a staple on quick-service menus. But recently, the humble fried potato is undergoing a renaissance, with chains serving fries with a fancy twist.” A certain burger chain made its name in part through its beef tallow fries. And as writer/social critic/food lover Malcolm Gladwell has tweeted, https://twitter.com/Gladwell/status/903273630070657024
“Fat is the soul of flavor,” wrote Nina Teicholz in her groundbreaking book, Big Fat Surprise (Simon & Schuster, 2014). “Food is tasteless and cooking nearly impossible without fat. Fat is essential in the kitchen to produce crispness and to thicken sauces. It is crucial in conveying flavors. It makes baked goods flaky, moist, and light. And fat has many other essential functions in cooking and baking.”