Suet (/suːɪt/) is a type of fat obtained from the kidneys and other internal organs of cattle and sheep. The word derives from the Middle English word 'sueten' meaning to sweat. The spelling of 'suet' can be related to its phonetic transcription in IPA. The 's' is pronounced as /s/ and the 'u' is /uː/ with a long vowel sound. The 'e' is pronounced as a weak schwa /ə/, and the 't' is /t/ with an unvoiced dental sound. Together, suet sounds like /suːɪt/.
Suet is a noun that refers to the solid white fat found around the kidneys of animals, especially cattle and sheep. This term is commonly used to describe the raw fat obtained from these animals, which is often used in cooking and as bird food.
In culinary terms, suet has been used for centuries as a key ingredient in traditional recipes, especially in British and European cuisines. Its high melting point and dense texture make it ideal for applications such as pastry production, where it adds flakiness and richness. Suet is commonly used to make traditional desserts like Christmas pudding or steamed puddings. It can also be employed in the preparation of savory recipes, such as dumplings or pie crusts, to add a moist and tender texture.
Aside from its culinary uses, suet is extensively used as bird feed due to its high energy content. Bird feeders or suet cakes are often made by blending suet with other ingredients like seeds, grains, fruits, or dried mealworms to provide a high-calorie food source for birds, especially during cold weather or migration periods.
Overall, suet plays a versatile role in both culinary and ornithological contexts, offering its unique qualities of fat and flavor to a range of traditional recipes while providing nourishment and sustenance to various bird species.
The internal fat of the sheep and other animals.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
The fat of an animal, particularly the hard fat about the kidneys and loins, usually restricted to the fat of sheep, lambs, and the ox kind.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "suet" comes from the Old French word "siuet", which is derived from the Latin word "sebum", meaning "tallow" or "grease". "Sebum" originally referred to the fatty substance secreted by the sebaceous glands in animals. Over time, the term "suet" specifically came to refer to the hard fat found around the kidneys and loins of cattle and sheep, which is often used in cooking.