The whole body of a baleen whale is impregnated with oil. The blubber contains most, yielding 50-80% by weight, the bones contain 40-60% and the muscles 6-7%.

When whales were commercially exploited, there were 4 grades of oil on the market; grade 1, a clear straw coloured liquid, was the finest while grade 4 oil was dark brown and contained up to 60% of unsaturated fatty acids giving it a foul fishy taste and smell. Grade 1 and grade 2 oil came from the blubber, grade 3 from meat and bones and grade 4 from blood, viscera and other bits and pieces.

These bottles of oil and dried whale meat are on display in the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead. The specimens are the product of the 20th century Antarctic whaling industry rather the earlier Greenland fishery.

©Martyn Gorman/Arbuthnot Museum
Bottles of whale oil and meat