Shortening frying (heavy duty), beef tallow and cottonseed

This shortening is a blend of beef tallow and cottonseed oil formulated for heavy-duty frying, the kind used behind the counter at diners and fast-food kitchens for french fries, fried chicken, and doughnuts. The tallow component gives fried food a savory, slightly meaty richness and a notably crisp texture, while the cottonseed oil helps it hold up to repeated use at high frying temperatures without breaking down as quickly as some other fats.

Because it is intended for commercial-style frying, it should be stored in a cool, dark place, sealed away from air and light, which slows the rancidity that can develop in any fat over time; it is typically solid or semi-solid at room temperature. As essentially pure fat, 100 g of fat per 100 g and 900 calories per 100 g, it functions purely as a cooking medium rather than a food eaten directly, with a 1 tablespoon (13 g) portion used for frying coming to about 117 calories. One nutrient worth noting is vitamin E, at 27% of the Daily Value per 100 g, which is naturally present in the fat blend and carries through into whatever is fried in it, an incidental benefit of the tallow component rather than the point of using this fat.