Hard animal fat, chiefly from sheep and cattle, rendered by heating the suet and straining off the melted fat. It was the ordinary fuel for candles, made by dipping wicks repeatedly into the melted fat, because beeswax candles were costly and largely reserved for churches and wealthy households. Tallow candles smoked and smelled. Tallow was also used to grease leather, axles and tools.
Caveats (confidence: high)
None significant.
Sources: tallowchandlers.org
Made by
- Render tallow
Used to make
- Dip candles