Suet

Suet (latin for 'tallow') is the hard, white fat that surrounds lamb's or ox kidneys. It is usually sold shredded and dehydrated. Vegetarian suet is also available, made from fat such as palm oil combined with rice flour. It resembles shredded animal suet, and may be used in exactly the same way.

Suet melts slowly and may be used in a wide variety of dishes, including dumplings, sweet steamed puddings such as jam roly-poly or Christmas pudding, savoury steamed puddings such as steak and kidney pudding, and crusts for Cornish pasties and pork pies.

When rendered (melted and simmered), suet may be transformed into tallow, which is used in industrial cooking (for deep-frying), or to make soap, bird feed or as a raw material for the production of biodiesel.