Not so long ago a lot of places still used lard for frying.
Some places still do.
If you’re sensitive to it (I know I am) it can’t hurt to ask. Or it may hurt if it’s something you’ve enjoyed without guilt in the past.
Perk at Work
A webcomic about a cafe worker and his regular customers.
Perk at Work Special Edition One-Off’s!
Beef tallow or lard for frying food, or french fries, is by far healthier than using hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is what the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) originally screamed, fought, bit, and filed suit to cause back when the sued places like McDonald’s because of their french fries. They said the beef tallow was bad for you, and the trans fats from the hydrogenated vegetable oils were “just fine”. Later, when it was shown that trans fats were downright dangerous, they did a 180, lied through their teeth, and said they had ALWAYS said trans fats were bad — and went right back and sued the same people to get them to change to zero-trans-fat oils.
Trouble is, the seed oils they’re using now are fats we didn’t evolve to absorb, and they cause other metabolic problems because the balance of long-chain omega-6 fatty acids is wrong for our bodies. Peanut oil, great for frying because of its high smoke point, has the worst omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of all the seed oils.
There’s actually a movie about this sort of thing that debunks “supersize me”, called “Fat Head”. You can see clips at http://www.fathead-movie.com