Nothing that ruins it. There is no water in the tin, so there is nothing to expand and split it, and freezing does not spoil fat. The only real consequence is that a freeze followed by a slow thaw can leave the texture grainy.
Why freezing does not hurt it
Water is what makes freezing destructive. Water expands about nine percent as it turns to ice, which is what splits pipes and bursts jars. A tallow balm is fat and wax with no water in it at all, so there is nothing in there to expand. What is in it.
It also does not separate. The beeswax is holding a solid structure, not an emulsion, so there is nothing to break.
The one actual effect
Grain. Freezing and thawing is a temperature swing, and a slow thaw gives the harder fats time to build large crystals as the tin comes back up. The balm works the same, it just feels sandy. Why that happens, and how to melt it back out.
Winter shipping
Mail sits in unheated trucks and on porches, and from about November a tin ordered in the Midwest is going to freeze somewhere along the way. That is fine and it is not worth worrying about. Bring it inside, let it come up to room temperature on its own, and judge the texture after that rather than the moment it arrives.
Do not speed the thaw on a radiator or a heat vent. Slow and warm is the worst combination and it is the one that makes grain.
Cold makes it hard, which is not damage
Well before freezing, somewhere below sixty degrees, the balm stiffens up and stops giving way under a fingertip. People read that as the tin being wrong. It is not. Scrape a thin layer off the surface with a thumbnail and warm it between your fingers until it turns clear, and it behaves normally. How much you are meant to be using.
Freezing one on purpose to make it last
Not worth doing. It keeps twelve to eighteen months unopened in a cupboard, so the freezer buys you very little and costs you the texture. Shelf life.
Made by hand in small batches in Wakarusa, Indiana. Seven ingredients, and 5% of every sale goes to FreedomSystem, which connects veterans through authentic camaraderie and meaningful programs.
