Sweetbread

{{Short description|Culinary name for types of offal}} {{About|the organ meat|sweetened breads|Quick bread|and|Sweetmeat|and|List of sweet breads|the Major League Baseball pitcher|Sweetbread Bailey}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

thumb|A dish of crusted sweetbreads '''Sweetbread''' is a culinary name for the thymus or pancreas, typically from calf or lamb. Sweetbreads have a rich, slightly gamey flavour and a tender, succulent texture. They are often served as an appetizer or a main course and can be accompanied by a variety of sauces and side dishes. The etymology of the name is unclear.

== Description == 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}}).<ref name="oed" /><ref name="Leiths">{{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}}</ref>

The "heart" sweetbreads are more spherical, while the "throat" sweetbreads are more cylindrical.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McLagan |first=Jennifer |title=Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal [a Cookbook] |date=2011 |publisher=Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale |others=Leigh Beisch |isbn=978-1-60774-075-9 |location=Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar}}</ref> As the thymus is replaced by fibrous tissue in older animals, only pancreatic sweetbreads come from beef and pork.<ref name="ockerman">{{cite book |author1=Herbert W. Ockerman |author2=Conly L. Hansen |title=Animal By-Product Processing & Utilization |year=2000 |isbn=1566767776 |pages=65–66, 271 |publisher=CRC Press }}</ref> 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) and the sublingual glands ("tongue" sweetbreads or "throat bread"), as well as ovary and testicles.<ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{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''</ref>

== Use == 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 ''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''.<ref>{{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=}}</ref> In their 1961 book ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume 1'', Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child 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.<ref>{{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=}}</ref>

In a cookbook published in 1949, the American chef James Beard included recipes for sweetbreads ''en brochette'', broiled sweetbreads, and three variations of sautéed sweetbreads.<ref>{{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=}}</ref>

Sweetbreads are a component of the Creole cuisine of Louisiana, a state in the United States, with recipes included in some of the earliest cookbooks published there. Many restaurants in the city of New Orleans serve sweetbreads.<ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref>

Sweetbread is a common Turkish street food and is often served as a kebab.<ref>{{cite web |title=خوش‌گوشت |url=http://reyhooon.com/Blog/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B4-%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%Bاشت |website=Reyhoon }}</ref> 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.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/sweetbread Sweetbread] BBC food</ref><ref>[https://britishfoodhistory.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/sweetbreads/ "Sweetbreads"], British Food: A History</ref>

Sweetbreads, called ''mollejas''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vaughn |first=Daniel |date=February 26, 2020 |title=The Smoked Mollejas of Duval and Jim Hogg Counties |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/smoked-mollejas-duval-jim-hogg-counties/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304153628/https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/smoked-mollejas-duval-jim-hogg-counties/ |archive-date=2020-03-04 |access-date=May 13, 2026 |website=Texas Monthly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Grilled Veal Sweetbreads Tacos |url=https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/grilled-veal-sweetbreads-tacos/ |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=Rick Bayless |language=en-US}}</ref>, are also eaten in Northern Mexican cuisine and the regional variations of the neighbouring US state of Texas, where they are commonly slow-grilled over charcoal, sometimes after poaching. Prior to cooking, they are often soaked in salted water or milk as a form of dégorgement.

==Etymology==

The word ''sweetbread'' is first attested in the 16th century, but the etymology of the name is unclear.<ref name=oed>{{Cite OED|sweetbread|4658000352}}</ref> ''Sweet'' is perhaps used since the thymus is sweet and rich-tasting, as opposed to savoury-tasting muscle flesh.<ref>{{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}}</ref> ''Bread'' may come from Middle English ''brede'', meaning "roast meat".<ref>{{Cite OED|brede|8047453319}}</ref>

==See also== {{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)

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Offal Category:Sweetbread dishes Category:Thymus Category:Pancreas

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