Suet ( ) is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys. Suet has a

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state of matter, state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase (matter), phase exist in Thermodynamic equilib ...

of between and solidification (or congelation) between . Its high smoke point makes it ideal for

deep frying Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly Cooking oil, oil, as opposed to the shallow frying used in conventional frying done in a fryi ...

and pastry production. Tallow-beef suet after rendering

The primary use of suet is in tallow, although it is also used as an ingredient in cooking, especially in traditional baked puddings, such as British Christmas pudding. Suet is rendered into tallow by melting and extended simmering, followed by straining, then cooling. The process may be repeated to refine the product.

Etymology

The word ''suet'' is derived from Anglo-Norman , from

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

, from Latin (' tallow', 'grease', 'hard animal fat'). ''Sebum'' is from the Proto-Indo-European root ('pour out, trickle'), so it shares a root with ''sap'' and ''soap''.

Use

In cuisine

As suet is the fat from around the kidneys, the connective tissue, blood and other non-fat content must be removed. It must be refrigerated prior to use and used within a few days of purchase, similar to raw meat. Pastry made from suet is soft in contrast to the crispness of shortcrust pastry, which makes it ideal for certain sweet and savoury dishes. Suet is found in several traditional British dishes, such as the sweet baked puddings jam roly-poly and spotted dick. Savoury dishes include dumplings, which are made using a mixture of suet, flour and water rolled into balls that are added to stews during the final twenty minutes or so of cooking. In the savoury dish steak and kidney pudding, a bowl is lined with a suet pastry, the meat is placed inside and a lid of suet pastry tightly seals the meat. The pudding is then steamed for approximately four hours before serving. Suet is also an ingredient of traditional mincemeat, which is also referred to as 'fruit mince'. Due to its high energy content, cold weather explorers use suet to supplement the high daily energy requirement needed to travel in such climates. Typically the energy requirement is around 5,000–6,000 Cal per day for sledge hauling or dog-sled travelling. Suet is added to food rations to increase the fat content and help meet this high energy requirement.

Suet-based recipes

* Christmas pudding * Clangers * Clootie dumpling *

Dumpling Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made from a variety of starchy sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled wi ...

s * Haggis * Jamaican patty * Kishka/Kishke * Mincemeat *

Pemmican Pemmican () (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigeno ...

* Rag pudding * Spotted dick * Steak and kidney pudding * Suet pudding * Chapli Kabab * Sussex pond pudding * Suet-crust pastry * Windsor pudding

In bird feed

Cakes of suet are popularly used for feeding wild birds and may be made with other solid fats, such as lard. Rolled oats, bird seed, cornmeal, raisins, and unsalted nuts are often incorporated into the suet cakes.

Availability

Pre-packaged suet sold in

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

s is dehydrated suet. It is mixed with flour to make it stable at room temperature, requiring some care when using it for recipes calling for fresh suet, as the proportions of flour to fat can change. Most modern processed recipes stipulate packaged suet. Also available is vegetable suet, which is made from refined vegetable oil.

Cultural and religious restrictions

Consumption of suet is forbidden according to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

law and it was reserved for ritual altar sacrifices. This restriction only applies to those animals which were used for sacrifices, and thus does not include wild animals such as deer.

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

in his book Guide To The Perplexed, writes that one of the ideas behind this commandment is that the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

wants to teach people to develop the discipline to avoid very tasty foods that are unhealthy.

References

{{Subject bar, Food, Birds, auto=1 Animal fat products Cooking fats Bird feeding