In my case, it is rendered, filtered beef tallow, dried thin sliced meat, a little salt, a little pepper, dried huckleberries, and almonds. All the dried ingredients are ground coarse and mixed into melted tallow, which is then allowed to cool and harden. I've also used sunflower and sesame seeds at times. It packs as many calories as possible in the smallest space available and lasts longer than anything not hermetically sealed and sterilized that I've ever come across.