Beef dripping or vegetable frying fat?

Chips fried in beef dripping have a loyal following in the Netherlands and Belgium. The fat, known in Dutch as ossewit, gives chips a distinctive, savoury flavour that many people remember from their youth. At the same time, more and more businesses fry in vegetable fat. Which choice suits your business? That depends on your customers, your menu and your kitchen. Below we set out the differences.

1. Flavour and experience

Beef dripping gives chips a full, slightly meaty flavour and a firm crust. For anyone who grew up with chips from a chip stall, it is the taste of the past. Belgian friteries are known for it, and in the Netherlands too some businesses deliberately choose it to stand out. More about that tradition can be found under Belgian chips.

Vegetable frying fat has a more neutral flavour. The potato itself comes through more, which works well if you use a potato with plenty of flavour of its own. There are liquid oils, such as sunflower or rapeseed oil, and solid vegetable fats that behave more like beef dripping in the fryer. Neither is better by definition; it is a choice of flavour profile.

2. Vegetarian and vegan customers

If you fry in beef dripping, your chips are not vegetarian. The same goes for everything else that goes into the same fat, such as a cheese soufflé or a vegetable spring roll. For a growing group of customers that is reason to order elsewhere. If you want to cater for them too, state clearly on the menu and at the counter what you fry in, or use a separate tank with vegetable fat.

Customers who pay attention to the source of animal fat for religious reasons will ask about it too. With vegetable frying fat that question is quickly answered. Keep your staff well informed so they can tell customers honestly what you fry in.

3. Allergens in the fryer

Beef dripping itself is not one of the fourteen allergens you are required to declare. With vegetable oils, check the source: groundnut oil comes from peanuts, and peanut is an allergen. Ask your fat supplier exactly what is in the fat and include it in your allergen information.

The greatest allergen risk usually lies not in the fat but in what else is fried in it. Snacks containing breadcrumbs, fish, egg, milk or celery leave traces in the fat, which then end up on the chips. A separate tank for chips is the safest solution. How to record this is covered under HACCP and fresh chips.

4. Stability and working in the kitchen

Beef dripping consists largely of saturated fatty acids and is therefore stable at high temperatures. It lasts a long time, but it is solid at room temperature. At start-up it has to melt gently, preferably using a melt programme, otherwise it burns on the heating elements. After service it sets again, which makes filtering more of a chore.

Liquid vegetable oils are easy to use, but standard types break down faster under prolonged heat. There are special frying oils with more monounsaturated fatty acids that are considerably more stable. Solid vegetable fats behave more like beef dripping in terms of stability. However long your fat lasts, care makes the difference; see changing frying fat.

Whichever fat you choose, it has to suit your potato and your frying routine. The Van Beusichem family helps you choose an oil or frying fat that matches the fresh chips from their own Agria and Frieslander. A general overview of fat types can be found under the best frying fat. Call or message Thijs on 06 23972300 to talk it through.

Frequently asked questions