'Dripping', also known as 'beef or pork dripping', is an
animal fat produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of
cow or
pig carcasses. It is similar to
lard and
tallow.
It is used for
cooking, especially in
British cuisine, significantly so in
Yorkshire, though towards the end of the
20th century dripping had fallen out of favour, due to its being regarded as less healthy than
vegetable oils such as
olive and
sunflower oil.
Traditionally,
fish and chips were fried in beef dripping, and this practice does continue rarely in some places particularly in the North of England, however many such shops now use more healthy oils. Notable exceptions are many fast food restaurants which use
hydrogenated fats.
Pork dripping is served cold to be spread on bread (''bread and dripping''), particularly for
breakfast. In parts of
Yorkshire, this is known as a "mucky fat" sandwich. It is also served on toast with salt, also mainly for breakfast.