Sweetbread

Sweetbread is a culinary name for the thymus (also called throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread) or pancreas (also called stomach, belly or heart sweetbread), typically from calf ({{langx|fr|ris de veau}}) or lamb ({{lang|fr|ris d'agneau}}).{{cite book |last1=Spaull |first1=Susan |title=Leiths Techniques Bible |last2=Bruce-Gardyne |first2=Lucinda |date=2003 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=0-7475-6046-3 |edition=1st |page=451}} Sweetbreads have a rich, slightly gamey flavor and a tender, succulent texture.

The "heart" sweetbreads are more spherical, while the "throat" sweetbreads are more cylindrical.{{cite web |author=EricT |title=What Are Sweetbreads? |url=https://culinarylore.com/specialty-foods:what-are-sweetbreads/ |website=culinarylore.com |access-date=25 February 2019 |date=17 May 2012 |archive-date=25 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225162215/https://culinarylore.com/specialty-foods:what-are-sweetbreads/ |url-status=live }} As the thymus is replaced by fibrous tissue in older animals, only pancreatic sweetbreads come from beef and pork.{{cite book |author1=Herbert W. Ockerman |author2=Conly L. Hansen |title=Animal By-Product Processing & Utilization |year=2000 |isbn=1566767776 |pages=65–66, 271 }} Like other edible non-muscle from animal carcasses, sweetbreads may be categorized as offal, "fancy meat", or "variety meat".{{r|ockerman|p=4,23}} Various other glands used as food may also sometimes be called "sweetbreads", including the parotid gland ("cheek" or "ear" sweetbread), the sublingual glands ("tongue" sweetbreads or "throat bread") as well as ovary and testicles.{{cite book |author=W. A. Newman Dorland |title=The American Illustrated Medical Dictionary |year=1922 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Di6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1030 |page=1030 |via=Google Books }}{{cite book |title=The Medical Age |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hg8TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA702 |volume=11 |page=702 |date=1893 |publisher=E. G. Swift }}, quoting the British Medical Journal

Sweetbreads are often served as an appetizer or a main course and can be accompanied by a variety of sauces and side dishes. They are a part of traditional French cuisine. In Henri-Paul Pellaprat's classic Modern French Culinary Art, which was published in English in 1966, he includes six different recipes for sweetbreads, including versions with cream sauce, with ham, presented in pastry cases, and à la Florentine.{{cite book | last =Pellaprat | first = Henri-Paul| authorlink =Henri-Paul Pellaprat | title = Modern French Culinary Art | publisher =World Publishing Company | series = | volume = | edition = | date = 1966| location = | pages =636–638 | language = | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=PoREAQAACAAJ| doi = | id = | isbn = | quote=}} In the 1961 classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume 1, Julia Child and her co-authors also include six recipes for sweetbreads, with variations of cream and mushroom sauces, a version à l’Italienne including ham and mushrooms, and a gratin with Swiss cheese.{{cite book | last1 =Child | first1 =Julia | last2 = Bertholle| first2 = Louisette| last3 =Beck | first3 =Simone | authorlink = | title = Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume 1 | publisher =Knopf | date =2001 | location = | pages =408–413 | language = | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=332kK4Ek3YoC&q=sweetbreads | isbn =9785559440798 | quote=}}

In a cookbook published in 1949, American chef James Beard included recipes for sweetbreads en brochette, broiled sweetbreads, and three variations of sautéed sweetbreads.{{cite book | last =Beard | first =James | authorlink =James Beard | title = The Fireside Cook Book: A Complete Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert, Containing 1217 Recipes and Over 400 Color Pictures | publisher =Simon and Schuster | series = | volume = | edition = | date =1949 | location = | pages =124–125 | language = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NqovAAAAYAAJ | doi = | id = | isbn = | quote=}}

Sweetbreads are a component of the Creole cuisine of Louisiana, with recipes included in some of the earliest cookbooks published there. Many restaurants in New Orleans serve sweetbreads.{{cite news | last =McNulty | first =Ian | title = Where Y'Eat: New Orleans Chefs Share Their Love Of Sweetbreads | newspaper =WWNO | location = New Orleans| pages = | language = | publisher = | date = January 7, 2016 | url =https://www.wwno.org/food/2016-01-07/where-yeat-new-orleans-chefs-share-their-love-of-sweetbreads | accessdate =January 31, 2024 }}{{cite news | last =Knapp | first =Gwendolyn | title = A Guide To Sweetbreads, The Most Ragingly Popular Dish in New Orleans: Behold 16 incredible hotspots for sweetbreads in Nola.| newspaper =Eater | location =New Orleans | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =December 9, 2015 | url = https://nola.eater.com/2015/12/9/9878994/best-new-orleans-sweetbreads-restaurants| accessdate =January 31, 2024 }}

Sweetbread is a common Iranian street food and is often served as a kebab.{{cite web |title=خوش‌گوشت |url=http://reyhooon.com/Blog/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B4-%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%B4%D8%AA |website=Reyhoon }} One common preparation of sweetbreads involves soaking in salt water, then poaching in milk, after which the outer membrane is removed. Once dried and chilled, they are often breaded and fried.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/sweetbread Sweetbread] BBC food[https://britishfoodhistory.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/sweetbreads/ "Sweetbreads"], British Food: A History They are also used for stuffing or in pâtés. They are grilled in many Latin American cuisines, such as in the Argentine asado, floured and pan-fried in Greece (sheep's thymus is usually used), and served in bread in Turkish cuisine.

The word sweetbread is first attested in the 16th century, but the etymology of the name is unclear.{{Cite OED|sweetbread|4658000352}} Sweet is perhaps used since the thymus is sweet and rich-tasting, as opposed to savory-tasting muscle flesh.{{cite journal |url=http://www.takeourword.com/TOW176/page2.html |title=Words to the Wise |issue=176 |page=2 |journal=Take Our Word for It |date=14 November 2002 |access-date=2012-02-06}} Bread may come from Middle English brede, meaning "roast meat".{{Cite OED|brede|8047453319}}

{{Portal|Animals|Food}}

• Head cheese, or brawn – typically, meat from the head of a calf or pig
• Testicles as food ("Rocky Mountain oysters" and other euphemisms)

{{Reflist}}

Category:Offal

{{Meat-stub}}