Tallow, Beef
Saponification values, fatty acid makeup, and what this oil does in a bar of soap.
Saponification values
Grams of lye needed to saponify one gram of tallow, beef. Multiply by your oil weight, then apply your superfat.
- NaOH (bar soap)
- 0.143
- KOH (liquid soap)
- 0.2
- Iodine
- 45
- INS
- 147
INCI: TallowSaponified name (for labels): Sodium Tallowate
Fatty acid profile
| Fatty acid | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Oleic | 36% |
| Palmitic | 28% |
| Stearic | 22% |
| Myristic | 6% |
| Linoleic | 3% |
| Lauric | 2% |
| Linolenic | 1% |
Soap qualities at 100%
What a bar made entirely of tallow, beef would score. Almost nobody soaps a single oil at 100% — this is here so you can see what the oil contributes to a blend. The shaded band is the range most makers aim for in a finished recipe.
What that means in a recipe
Contributes a lot of hardness (58), so it firms a bar up and helps it unmould cleanly and last in the dish.
Derived from the numbers above rather than written by hand, so it stays in step with the data. Tendencies, not guarantees — your oils, water, and technique all move the result.
Oils that behave similarly
Closest matches by fatty acid makeup — the usual starting point when you have run out of tallow, beef and need a substitute. Check the lye maths again after swapping: SAP values differ even between oils that behave alike.
- Tallow SheepSAP 0.138 NaOH
- Walmart GV Shortening, tallow, palmSAP 0.141 NaOH
- Cocoa ButterSAP 0.138 NaOH
- Tallow GoatSAP 0.137 NaOH
- Mowrah ButterSAP 0.138 NaOH
Recipes using tallow, beef
- Rustic Tallow & Olive 50%Traditional and hard-wearing. Tallow gives a creamy, long-lasting bar that costs very little.
- Creamy Shaving Bar 40%Tallow and butters for the dense, slick lather a brush can whip up. Traditional shaving soaps often add stearic acid -- worth exploring once you've made this base.
- Unscented Dog Bar 20%Mild, high-superfat, and deliberately fragrance-free. Leave essential oils out -- several, tea tree especially, are toxic to dogs. Check with your vet before washing a dog with any soap.
- Kitchen Hand Bar 15%A hardworking bar for the sink: cuts grease and onion smell, but superfatted enough that hands don't pay for it.
Open the calculator to load any of these from the recipe library.