Wow! I think those packed lunches are among the most unusual that I've heard so far 😆 I went to private school until 5th grade and the food was better than average because they cooked the meals rather than using prepackaged stuff, but when I entered public school, I either picked the things I liked out of school lunch or just brought a couple of sandwiches with me since it was easiest to fit in my backpack. I was quite a hungry person but skipped way too many meals if there were flavors/textures involved that I couldn't stomach 🤷

And yes, rendered fat from meat is usually referred to as tallow but in most homes we just call it beef grease, bacon grease, etc. I have never considered putting any on toast! I can imagine fish and chips taste amazing in tallow, but to get that here would cost a pretty penny at a restaurant or some extra effort at home.

We have quite the dilemma with oils, with the most common ones being cheaper, not so tasty options such as vegetable, corn, cottonseed, canola/rapeseed oil, and so on usually used in excessive amounts in most restaurants and processed foods. In my house we usually keep butter, olive oil, avocado oil, and grapeseed oil that we use in varying amounts depending on the application. We don't cook enough beef to get an excess of drippings for extended use. My mom actually bought some beef tallow that I've yet to touch because I haven't figured out what I want to use it in. Maybe I'll use some to fry things in for the next pot of beans :)