Compare other cooking fats

Research · Other cooking fats

What our research found about other cooking fats

This shelf covers animal and dairy fats other than beef tallow: ghee, lard, duck fat and schmaltz. Ghee is clarified butter, with milk solids removed, so it is shelf-stable and tolerates high heat; it is still butterfat and counts as saturated fat. Lard and duck fat are rendered animal fats. Pure versions list one ingredient, while flavored ghees add spices and herbs.

As with other animal fats, source claims (grass-fed, pasture-raised, organic) describe how the animals were raised and are separate from the ingredient list. Compare the exact fat, whether it is flavored, and price per ounce, and keep saturated fat in context of your overall diet.

Products

216 brands

Full labels recorded

1152% of the shelf

Maker says organic

8maker’s claim

List an added sweetener

0of 11 labels

List a seed oil

0of 11 labels

Typical label length

4ingredients (median)

Counts use complete, current ingredient labels only. Records without a published label stay unknown and are never counted as clean.

What to compare

• Which fat. Ghee, lard, duck fat and schmaltz taste and cook differently.
• Plain or flavored. Flavored ghees add spices; plain versions list one ingredient.
• Source claims. Organic, grass-fed and pasture-raised are separate claims.
• Saturated fat. Use as a cooking fat within your overall intake.

References

1. Saturated fats American Heart Association
2. Types of fat Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
3. Organic labeling and what the USDA Organic seal means USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
4. AGA grass-fed standards American Grassfed Association