1 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Anyries and I'm 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: Lauren bulk Bom, and today we're talking about something that 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: we've gotten a lot of listener requests for sweetbreads. Sweetbreads. Yeah, 4 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,639 Speaker 1: thanks to Lindsay Ben and Micah All for writing in 5 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: about this one. And we're talking about sweetbreads, like not 6 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: sweet pastry breads. Right, this is not a sweet bread 7 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: It's not a bread that is sweet, which is what 8 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:42,200 Speaker 1: I thought sweetbreads were until last year. Not exaggerating, Yeah, 9 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: I thought on a many and I was like, I 10 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: love a pastry sen rolls in the face. I'm comforted 11 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: that the Internet tells me this is a common misconception 12 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: because the name is confusing. Sure, yes, yeah, and sometimes 13 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: it does refer to sweetbreads. If there's a space, If 14 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: there's space, yes, sweet spacebreads, yes, pastry Yeah, then you're 15 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: then you're in for maybe a delicious croissant. But we're 16 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: talking about sweetbreads as in a type of awful. That's 17 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: how you pronounce it, right, yeah, which is unfortunate, but 18 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: it comes from off All are cuts from the carcass 19 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: of an animal that are not skillful muscle and quote 20 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: fall off when the animal is butchered, and are also 21 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: called variety meats. Yeah, yeah, it's it's just a general 22 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: word for for for organs kind of sometimes um also 23 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: sometimes called the quinto corto in Rome a k a. 24 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,720 Speaker 1: The fifth quarter of the animal, which I think is 25 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: real cute um. In Spanish, awful istas and sweetbreads are 26 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: sometimes referred to as molier huss um, although molier huss 27 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: can also refer to gizzards like chicken gizzer m. I 28 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: have no idea why this is. I suspect it has 29 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: to do with the shape. I think they kind of 30 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 1: looks similar. They do, but it's a different color anyway. Okay, 31 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: Malia has a sweetbread Mola has are particularly popular as 32 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: an appetizer and Argentina apparently. But yes, they are an 33 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: organ meat right, and they are most commonly from the 34 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: famous gland um. And this is sold in two usually 35 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: connected pieces, the irregularly shaped throat sweetbreads in the slightly larger, 36 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: lower fat and thus more desirable heart sweetbreads. Yes, uh, 37 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: similar organ, just kind of in too slightly different places. 38 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,919 Speaker 1: It's it's doing the same stuff working together, right and 39 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: less commonly included in the definition of sweetbreads. It's the 40 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: pancreas are the stomach slash cut slash belly sweetbreads and 41 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: stomach sweetbreads are not highly regarded in much of the 42 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: culinary community, and it's often sometimes called the fall sweetbread 43 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: but they are cheaper, which might be because thymus drive. 44 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: Swetbreads begin shrinking with the animal has reached six months old, 45 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: and the pancrease sticks around. That's because the thymus is 46 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: shut off by high concentrations of sex hormones that flood 47 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: an animal's body during puberty. Why that's a great question. 48 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: I have no idea, but human thymus is work the 49 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: same way. Thamus is what creates and matures your lifetime 50 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: supply of T cells, which are part of your body's 51 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: immune system, and most of these are created before puberty, 52 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:35,839 Speaker 1: and the thamus then shrinks and declines in T cell 53 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: production afterward. Anyway, now I'm thinking of Resident Evil and like, 54 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: just to entice you, I think we're going to come 55 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,119 Speaker 1: back to Resident Evil at the end of this episode. 56 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: Oh excellent. Uh. The type of sweeprads you're most likely 57 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: to encounter on a menu or in a store are 58 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: veal sweetbreads um or vealer lamb. Really right, um, but 59 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: you can find pork as well. And according to nineteen 60 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: eleven The Grocer's Encyclopedia, quote sweetbread, the soft milky thymus, 61 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: glands of the young calf, and lamb, the former being 62 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: the more highly esteemed and considered one of the greatest 63 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: of all meat delicacies. And kind of going off of that, Um, 64 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: if we look at the name sweetbread, the first time 65 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,359 Speaker 1: it popped up was in a sixteenth century book. And 66 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: there's a lot of Old English here with like extra 67 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: ease and stuff. So I'm going to try to not 68 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: miss this. Where's Jonathan Strickland when you need him? Oh? 69 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: I know, we should have bought him in anyway, the 70 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: book is called The History i e. Of Man and 71 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: quote a certain glandulous part called thymus, which in calis 72 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: cows cows. Oh okay, it's spelled c a l u 73 00:04:54,480 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: e s calves calves, not cows calves. Makes way more sense. Okay, continue, Sorry, 74 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: Lauren and Annie bungle through Old English. The sweetbread episode 75 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: that's actually a really good type, um, is most pleasant 76 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: to be eaten. I suppose we call it the sweet 77 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: bread end quote. So one theory is that sweetbread might 78 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: be referring to the fact that thamus meat is relatively 79 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: sweeter than other meats. I guess, and bread could come 80 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: from the Old English bread b r e d e, 81 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: meaning roasted meats are flesh or bread as in another 82 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 1: word for morsel, because they kind of look like perhaps 83 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: because the name, most people are confused about what sweetbreads 84 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: are like we alluded to even chefs they came from, 85 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: and they also very probably don't want to know. Yeah, 86 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: there's a there's a perception in in a lot of 87 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: modern Western thought that that awful is awful, man, it's 88 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: tasty more and that later providing extra complication to the term. Um. 89 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: You've also got the words sweet meats kicking around, which 90 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: generally means a sugared confection but is occasionally used to 91 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: mean sweetbread. So they're not meats. They're not like candied bacon. No, well, 92 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: I guess it could be because candied bacon could be 93 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: a sugared confection. Usually just means like a like like 94 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: a small like like pastry, or like a like a 95 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: like a or something like that. Yeah, okay, yeah, like 96 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: a piece of candy. Just want sweetmeat. Sometimes he used 97 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: to mean sweetbread. The origin of sweetmeat lies in the 98 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: Old English circa tenth century c E. When the word 99 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: meat M E t e simply meant food. The narrower 100 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,280 Speaker 1: definition of meat being like animal flesh that we consume 101 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: um didn't pop up until around thirteen hundred, So when 102 00:06:55,560 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: it was first used, sweetmeat meant just a sweet food. Wow, 103 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: the evolution of language. Oh, it's really great. I really 104 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: want to do that etymology show sometimes maybe someday, Lauren, 105 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: maybe maybe someday. So to prepare sweetbreads, and this is uh. 106 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: Annie read a lot of research about this, has never 107 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: done it herself. I've never done myself either. All right, 108 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: but we're in this together. But but but this is 109 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: a this is the tried and true method from many sources. 110 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: You first want to remove any impurities by soaking them, 111 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: usually in cold and I read in some places salted water, water, 112 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: but sometimes milk or butter milk, anywhere from three to 113 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: twenty four hours. And according to what I read, it's 114 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: a good idea to change out that milk or water 115 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: whatever you're soaking in a couple of times. That also 116 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: helps out loosen up the membrane around the actual flesh 117 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: that you want to consume, and um, then you blanche 118 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: go back and revisit that favorite thing is my absolute favorite, 119 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: that is sarcasm. And then you do that by putting 120 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: it in a cold pot of cold water or chicken stock, 121 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: bringing it to a boil, simmering for about five minutes, 122 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: and then chilling rapidly by placing a nice water. UM. 123 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 1: So this doesn't cook them, but it firms them up 124 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: and makes um. Removing what I frequently referred to as 125 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 1: the quote grizzly bits easier, which has the next step 126 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: And it sounds like it's pretty tricky um and or 127 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: just sort of gross yep. Um. Once it's cool enough 128 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 1: to handle, you do your best to remove the veins, 129 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: the fat, the s new, the gristle, and sometimes the membrane, 130 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,559 Speaker 1: depending on the recipe. Um. And you can use a 131 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: knife or your very own fingers. And you want to 132 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: keep the sweetmeat. It's not not sweetmeat sweetbread sweetbreads, confusing myself. 133 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,839 Speaker 1: You want to keep them whole and enlarger clumps. And 134 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: after this, a lot of chefs like to chill and 135 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 1: press the meat into it even think that's a preference thing. 136 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: And actually so it's the blanching. Um. But that being 137 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: a preference is relatively new. Some people think it's more 138 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: tender if you don't blanch. Yeah, if you haven't, if 139 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: you haven't ever seen uh sweetbreads, they're sort of this 140 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: like this like clumpy, massive clump stuff. Clump clump stuff. 141 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 1: That's an off branch show. Maybe we'll have a segments. 142 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: It sounds like a lumpy space princess show on how 143 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: stuff works. Anyway, once you have prepared done this like 144 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:48,319 Speaker 1: preparation step to cook them, you can grill them, braise them, 145 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,320 Speaker 1: or fry them. Those are the most common ways. But 146 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: they can't be poached, are bo broiled, almost boiled, And 147 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: I was like, wait a minute, no, Apparently they're very 148 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: difficult to overcook. So it's forgiving food to try. Um. 149 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 1: And they can cook for several minutes without getting tough. Yeah, 150 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: and they remain moist. Oh all right. Um. If you 151 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,560 Speaker 1: look at traditional French and Italian recipes, uh, you can 152 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:18,199 Speaker 1: often find them served in rich creamy sauces. Add richness 153 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: to a rich food share that's your French an Italian way. Yeah, 154 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: it is um and I think hearkening back to our 155 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:29,679 Speaker 1: cauliflower episode, there was an uber rinch rich French cauliflower 156 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: recipe that involved sweetbreads. Yes, I still want to eat that. 157 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: It did sound good. Uh. And today you'll likely find 158 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: them paired with something sour or acidic or both, probably 159 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: the same thing, almost to compliment the richness of the meat, 160 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: like lemons or capers alongside bacon. I saw bacon a lot, 161 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: and vegetables like beans are peas or they can be 162 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:59,199 Speaker 1: more of a supporting character to something like patte or sausage. Sure. Yeah, 163 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: that's the throughout history. Like like people just cook them 164 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 1: any which way they want to. Yeah. Um. And once 165 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: they've been cooked, what do they taste like? Uh? As 166 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: we're recording this, I have no idea, but the things 167 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: I read, I saw a lot of tender, rich, creamy, smooth, 168 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: and I can attest to this. Um, I've had sweetbreads there. Um. 169 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: Have you ever had like a like a liver patte? Yes? Okay, 170 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: so sweetbreads are like a slightly firmer like ready made 171 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: liver patte, Like it's just an organ hanging out in 172 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: an animal that's sort of tastes like liver patte. Um, 173 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 1: they're like a slightly sweet meat butter. Oh, like a meatcake. 174 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not sure if the words I'm saying 175 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: are making it sound more or less appetizing. And the 176 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: flavor is is really delicate, though compared with with liver Um, 177 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: it doesn't have this sort of like metallic or gamey 178 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: twinge that you get from liver um and and some 179 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 1: other kinds of awful. Um. If you've never had patta 180 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: out there in a podcast land um, okay, Like if 181 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: you've ever had a flowerless chocolate cake, like one that's 182 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: like really like like like rich and dense and creamy 183 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: and kind of like fine grained on the tongue, um 184 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: the text or something like that. And the taste is 185 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: a little bit like the char on the outside of 186 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: a grilled steak, but without the char flavor, Like it's 187 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,719 Speaker 1: just sort of like sweet and meaty, okay, like it. 188 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:31,319 Speaker 1: That's the best way that I can think of to 189 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 1: describe It's it's a very it's a very individual profiled flavor, 190 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,800 Speaker 1: So that was an excellent way to describe it, because 191 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: I'm generally like it was salty. I'm terrible at describing taste, 192 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: so my hat goes off to you, Thank you, thank you. 193 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: We will be going to Did you try some sweetbreads 194 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: at a place in Atlanta that has some called Holman infintion? Yeah? 195 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: Possibly before this episode airs time travel, I know podcasting 196 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: and publication schedules. I'm telling you. Um, sweetbreads are often 197 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 1: called the least awful tasting of awfuls, and this apparently 198 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: means less musty. Sure, musty is a good word for that, 199 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: for that metallic um gaming flavor that I was describing earlier. 200 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 1: Share Okay, I was thinking, like an old coat. That's terrible. 201 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,200 Speaker 1: So sweetbreads are a good place to start your awful 202 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: journey if that is a thing you're looking to embark on. 203 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 1: I'm loving all the double meanings this is having. Now. 204 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: Hominems are the best they are if you want to 205 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: go on this journey, though it could be very expensive homophones, 206 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 1: I got that wrong, anyway, Go ahead, Yes, expensive journey. Yes. 207 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: Sweetbreads can range from seven dollars to sixteen dollars a pound, 208 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 1: which is a newish thing in our recent times because 209 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: they used to be very difficult thing to sell and 210 00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:00,200 Speaker 1: they go bad very quickly. So plan to cook dotty 211 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: soon after buying and most things I said, mind cook 212 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: the same day, And now I I don't know if 213 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 1: I'm prepared to. I really don't like preparing meat. I don't. 214 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:10,600 Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm prepared to go out and 215 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: find sweetbreads and cook them at home. I have no problem. 216 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,400 Speaker 1: I have no problem for preparing meat. Maybe maybe I'll 217 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: run the camera on that one. Okay, that's fine with me. 218 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: I'm sure nothing disasters will happen. Speaking of disasters, Uh no, no, 219 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: not speaking of disasters. But let's let's let's dig into, 220 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: um into how this entire eating this strange gland from 221 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: animals thing started started happening in human culture. But first 222 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:41,360 Speaker 1: let's take a quick break for a word from our sponsor, 223 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you sponsor. 224 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: So when exactly did this become a thing? Probably since 225 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: humans started hunting animals. Yeah, but infection. Next, throughout most 226 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: of our history, we haven't had refrigeration again, frozen food. Um, 227 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: and when humans had to butcher their own animals, you 228 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: didn't want to waste any of that hard work or 229 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: any of the animal so so yeah, so just eat 230 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,280 Speaker 1: it it's there, find a way to make it good. 231 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 1: According to the book odd Bits, which is a great book, um, 232 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: these and other highly perishable organs were eaten in many 233 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: cultures by either the hunters themselves um a kind of 234 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: as a reward because they're tasty for their hard work, 235 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 1: or be because they were just the first person who 236 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,560 Speaker 1: had access to them. They're going to go bad, go 237 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: on and eat it um. Or they were saved for 238 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: and for an esteemed group elder oh and uh. And 239 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: later they were probably saved and served to royalty when 240 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: the butchery happened. UM. As we said earlier, the first 241 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:02,440 Speaker 1: that the first use of the term sweetbreads appeared around 242 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: the fifteen hundreds. Around that time, there was a recipe 243 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 1: from Italy that recommended um using veal or or goat 244 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: like like kids sweetbreads to make this kind of eggy 245 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: pottage that was seasoned interestingly with rosewater, saffron, ginger, cinnamon, 246 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: and sugar. Very fancy, yeah, very fancy pottage. Pottage sort 247 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: of like a very richly seasoned meat egg stew soufla thing. 248 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: If I just keep saying food words, isn't going to 249 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: make more sense Eventually? Maybe I also thought of pottage 250 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: was a pot of dessert. So I've been wrong about 251 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: many things. Sweetbreads, We've been wrong about many things. That's 252 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: also a good episode title. There we go. We have 253 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 1: a lot of contenders, a lot of strong contenders. A 254 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 1: lot of recipes around this time were crafted around sweetbreads, 255 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 1: which were viewed by the eighteenth nineteenth century Europeans as nutritious. 256 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: We'll examine that, claiming a bit um, thrifty and easy 257 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: to come by. This is very different than what it 258 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: is now. Yeah. Yeah, Also they like to taste, and 259 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: this time was the height of their popularity. The nineteenth 260 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: centuries their moment in the sun. So many meat dishes 261 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: were served with sweetbreads as a garnish huh yeah um, 262 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,359 Speaker 1: and sweetbreads began to fall out of fashion towards the 263 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: end of the eighteenth century, with the introduction of industrialized farming, refrigeration, 264 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: grocery stores, and the removal of most consumers from the 265 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: process behind how their food got to their table, i e. 266 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,360 Speaker 1: Not Between our own animals, right, and all of these 267 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaker 1: innovations drove down the price of me and made it 268 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: more readily available, but mass scale production didn't really allow 269 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 1: for the tricky process of getting awful and keeping it 270 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: intact and storing it intact and packaging, shipping and selling 271 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: it before it went bad. Um, and it just wasn't 272 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: cost effective for them, so they didn't want to do 273 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: it anymore. And as butcher's shops closed to make way 274 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:21,719 Speaker 1: for these lower cost grocery stores, we lost a lot 275 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,159 Speaker 1: of our knowledge of how to like buy and cook 276 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: rare types of meat as well. Sure. Um, this this 277 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:33,120 Speaker 1: industrialization process is also what began to lead to um 278 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: to to awful and and bones from meat being um 279 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 1: processed and used as feed in livestock, which is another 280 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: thing we'll come back to in a few minutes. Um. 281 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,680 Speaker 1: They've always been pretty consistently featured on French menus, though 282 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 1: particularly Read the Vote or Reveal sweetbreads and uh French 283 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 1: inspired cookbooks like The Joy of Cooking, of which was 284 00:18:57,359 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: first published in which I always forget about it seems 285 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:02,400 Speaker 1: like such a modern cook bit to me anyway. Um. 286 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,280 Speaker 1: The Joy of Cooking and also Julia Child's recipes from 287 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:09,640 Speaker 1: the sixties on have have continued to feature sweetbreads. Yeah yeah, um. 288 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: They're also ground up in dog food and cat food, 289 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: and they's sometimes been used in meat based baby food. Um. 290 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,399 Speaker 1: And yet definitely um have been part of the that 291 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,680 Speaker 1: meat and bone meal that's used as animal feed on farms. Um. 292 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: Modern regulations in some areas outlaw that because of transmittable 293 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: brain diseases, which I'm betting you didn't think was a 294 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: sentence you'd here in this episode, and which I'll talk 295 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: more about in a depressing and slightly frightening tangent at 296 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:46,120 Speaker 1: the end. And I'll make another resident evil reference. Awful 297 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,440 Speaker 1: became all the rage once again and of scale restaurants 298 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 1: in the ninety nineties, but it fell away again towards 299 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: the end of the decade. And a note about the 300 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,639 Speaker 1: popularity of the dish in the late nineties. Okay, so 301 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: sweetbreads are a major up point in the Hannibal Lecter 302 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,680 Speaker 1: film Red Dragon, which is the prequel to Silence of 303 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 1: the Lambs, because his removal of a human thimus gland 304 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 1: from a victim and his notation on the I wasn't 305 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 1: paying attention when you said it a second ago. The 306 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: sweetbread entry the read de vous um and in his 307 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:24,440 Speaker 1: copy of the French Encyclopedia of Cooking uh loose gastronomy Um. 308 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 1: That event leads an investigator to capture him, which is 309 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: why he's in prison. At the beginning of Silence of 310 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,879 Speaker 1: the Lambs. Yeah, I do seem to recall that it's 311 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: all the sweetbreads. It's all the sweetbreads, um. But that 312 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: aside aside um. I think I think that that sweetbreads 313 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:47,439 Speaker 1: United States popularity didn't so much fall away as like 314 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:51,360 Speaker 1: kind of like justest state and morphed slowly into the 315 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 1: nose to tail movement, which which, if you will recall, 316 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,200 Speaker 1: was was skipping merrily hand in hand with the farm 317 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: to table movement um throughout the late odds and early teens, 318 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:05,360 Speaker 1: leading us to sweet breads are making a come back. Yeah, 319 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,439 Speaker 1: don't call it a comeback right now, and not just 320 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: enough scale restaurants, um. And that's yeah. And part thinks 321 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: this idea that we shouldn't be wasting so much food 322 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: or killing an animals for certain pieces, although I did 323 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 1: read like a critique of that point of view is 324 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: that we aren't really wasting it because it is getting 325 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: used in dog food and cat food, and sweetbreads were 326 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,480 Speaker 1: included on the Daily Meals Top food Trends. Yeah, I 327 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,440 Speaker 1: definitely I feel that I've been seeing them more often, 328 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,400 Speaker 1: But I do think it's like a rotating thing. It's hard. 329 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 1: It was hard for me to think of a menu 330 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: that I knew would have them, no matter what, if 331 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like, I feel like they 332 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: pop up sometimes on menus. Yeah, it's also a freshness 333 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,440 Speaker 1: issue because I mean, you know, it depends on because 334 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,600 Speaker 1: they are taken from very young calves um or or 335 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 1: other livestock. And so the season in which there are 336 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: a whole bunch of very young livestock animals is a 337 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:07,719 Speaker 1: particular season. Yeah, makes sense. Alright, So that brings us 338 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:12,480 Speaker 1: to the end of our history segment. Yes, yes, when 339 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,840 Speaker 1: we get back from this another short ad break, we 340 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 1: will discuss health and yes, so stick correct and we're back, 341 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:44,199 Speaker 1: Thank you sponsor. So sweetbreads health, What's what's the deal there? Um? 342 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 1: It was actually really interesting to read about, thanks in 343 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: part to Sugar. Hello, Sugar, We're just going to mention 344 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 1: every like episode we work in a bloody Mary and 345 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 1: a brunch. Somehow, the demonization of animal fats and cholesterols 346 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: thanks to part in part in part thanks to sugar, um, 347 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: sweetbreads were perceived pretty negatively in the West, like gross 348 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: and unhealthy, and that stigma is still associated with them. 349 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,680 Speaker 1: To some degree. Uh. And I will say my parents 350 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: they like them some liver and onions when I was 351 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,359 Speaker 1: growing up, and they like they ordered out restaurants. We 352 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: never made it, but when they would order it, and 353 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: I had had friends with me, my friends later would 354 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: tell me how gross they thought that was, and I 355 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: would get embarrassed, an anxious one that like I thought 356 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 1: on a menu because I later people can be like, 357 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: there was so grouge anyway. Um. Speaking of liver, another 358 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:52,119 Speaker 1: popularly held belief is that sinse awful like liver filter 359 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: toxins and they must be build but they're not like 360 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,199 Speaker 1: I mean that that's that's not how it does. No, 361 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: because the liver neutralizes toxins. It doesn't like store them. 362 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: And yes, yes it's just livers aren't sweet press. But 363 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of awful and organists get 364 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:13,399 Speaker 1: lump together, get all together. Yeah sure so, but no, no, 365 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,159 Speaker 1: it's no like like your liver is not like a 366 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 1: repository for bad stuff. It breaks them down so that 367 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:27,479 Speaker 1: you can clear them out. I'm making all of these gestures. Um. 368 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: I A lot of places we're saying that uh Organs 369 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,200 Speaker 1: are often described as the most nutrient rich part of 370 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: the body, in particular with B vitamins, iron, potassium, and 371 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:44,480 Speaker 1: a magathy fatty acids. But important caveat these are um 372 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:51,040 Speaker 1: organs from animals not raised in confined spaces like yeah, 373 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: like like like normal animals not yeah, not like caged 374 00:24:55,119 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: and can't move okay, sure, Yes, And speaking of animals 375 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,879 Speaker 1: and the animal kingdom, animals usually go for the organ first. 376 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:07,959 Speaker 1: The theory being here that the animals instinctively know that 377 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,879 Speaker 1: this is the most dense concentration of nutrients. Take that 378 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: for what you will. Yeah, I mean it makes sense. 379 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: You know sometimes the you know, the way that tasty 380 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,600 Speaker 1: stuff for us is nutrient dense. That's maybe they just 381 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: go straight for the straight for the sweetbreads. Yes, the 382 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: opposite of what I like to do is save the 383 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: best for last, if we're talking about taste. But anyway, 384 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:32,919 Speaker 1: I can't. I don't know what the animals going on 385 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: in their head, but yeah, do it now before the 386 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:41,879 Speaker 1: hyena eats me? Could be? Could be? Yeah, um. Several 387 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: indigenous cultures would give women of childbearing age organ meats 388 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: to improve their strength. Yeah. Um. But and this is 389 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 1: a big butt. Um. This is for small amounts and 390 00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,639 Speaker 1: not too often sweetbreads consumption, yes, um, because they're not 391 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: really something you should be eating every day. They have purines, 392 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:08,240 Speaker 1: which one broken down creates uric acid, which can cause gout. 393 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: You need to eat a lot, a lot, a lot 394 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 1: a lot sweetbreads for this to occur, unless you're eating 395 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: other foods that have parings at the same time. Things 396 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: like asparagus, mushrooms, call a flower, muscles, scallops, liver, too 397 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,440 Speaker 1: much meat in general, and beer can all cause increased 398 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 1: uric acid production. Right, and then, uh, there's one more 399 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 1: thing we got to talk about. Yeah, yeah, the the okay, yeah, 400 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,919 Speaker 1: zombie things. Um, it's it's not really about zombies. Um. 401 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 1: There there is one more cause for some amount of 402 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 1: concern about bad stuff in sweetbreads that actually holds water, um, 403 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 1: and that is that the famus gland is thought to 404 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,919 Speaker 1: harbor high amounts of the malfunctioning protein that leads to 405 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: mad cow disease, yes depressing in somewhat frightening tangent to 406 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: call suck Um. Okay, we could probably do an entire 407 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:08,159 Speaker 1: episode on the mad cow outbreak and scare of the 408 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,760 Speaker 1: eighties and nineties, but let's save that one. Can we 409 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: maybe like do like milkshakes first or something anyway, top 410 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:19,479 Speaker 1: top top level Mad cow stuff um. Mad cow disease 411 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,920 Speaker 1: is a brain disease more technically known as bovine spongeform 412 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:27,560 Speaker 1: and cephalopathy, and it is a nasty bit of work. Um. 413 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: The sponge of form in the name is because the 414 00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:35,000 Speaker 1: disease makes some of the brains crinkly foldy. Prions prance 415 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: being a type of protein, misfold and when this misfolding 416 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,400 Speaker 1: happens in mass, it MisShapes the brain, making it look 417 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: like a sponge and this, as Egan would say, is bad. 418 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: It's fatal within a year. Um. So that explains the spongeform. 419 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 1: The bovine in bovine spongeform and cephalopathy is because the 420 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: disease appears in other species two sheep, cats, deer, and 421 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 1: humans for sure um. And it can be transmitted from 422 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:11,160 Speaker 1: species to species through contact with infected tissue, including consumption 423 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:16,040 Speaker 1: of brains and other specific organs including stuff like marrow 424 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 1: and the thymus gland oh ooops um. The whole disease 425 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: group is not deeply understood because because prions are complicated 426 00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:31,560 Speaker 1: and the incubation time and humans can be years um 427 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:36,199 Speaker 1: like like decades usually um, and the infamous outbreak in 428 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: the UK was was due to infected animals being unknowingly 429 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: used in meat and bone meal that was fed widely 430 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: to livestock. And there are still fears that there may 431 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: be a spate of human spongeform en cephalopathy cases in 432 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 1: the future because of it. That's scary. Yeah, yep um 433 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: but but but governments, once they got savvy to the situation, 434 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,440 Speaker 1: began to do what they could to protect the populace. 435 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 1: And in the United States, the UK and other places 436 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: that use this meat and bone meal is feed um. 437 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,760 Speaker 1: The sale of sweetbreads and other specified bovine AFLs which 438 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,600 Speaker 1: is which is actually it's an acronym specified bovine novels um. 439 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: The sale of all that for human consumption was temporarily banned, 440 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: and then as researchers started discovering more about the disease, 441 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 1: bands were put on on certain practices during slaughter that 442 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,160 Speaker 1: put meat in contact with the most dangerous bits, being 443 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,720 Speaker 1: the brain and the and the spinal fluid um. And 444 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,960 Speaker 1: there's other legal requirements now to um. Cattle over thirty 445 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: months of age must be tested because the disease fully developed. 446 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: An older cat and older cattle. And so although mad 447 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: cow disease still pops up because it can happen due 448 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 1: to perfectly natural genetic mutations too, um, not just infection, 449 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:54,200 Speaker 1: it's basically under control. So what I'm saying is that 450 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: eating sweetbreads will probably not net you a brain disease. 451 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: The thymuses that are used are taken from young cattle 452 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: not likely to have developed large amounts of those misfolding 453 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: proteins that are responsible even if they are infected, which 454 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: they probably are not. If you're in any way concerned, 455 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: you can read so much about what's being done to 456 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 1: prevent mad cow disease in your country. There's so much 457 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 1: out there about it. Um And and actually actually like 458 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: like I'm I'm shaky on eating brains for this reason, 459 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: For this and related reasons, there's there's a bunch of 460 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:30,280 Speaker 1: brain diseases that I don't really want to get, and 461 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:34,120 Speaker 1: you can get most of them by eating infected brains. Um. 462 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 1: But but actually researching this, uh like it It's set 463 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,400 Speaker 1: off a a huge amount of fear about sweetbreads in 464 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 1: me and and then really actually soothed me. It's so 465 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:50,120 Speaker 1: so it's like icy hot. Yeah. I was like, oh, 466 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: think that I didn't know I had to be upset about. 467 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:53,640 Speaker 1: And then I was like, oh, I'm actually less upset 468 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 1: about a number of things now great, so good. Yeah, well, 469 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 1: I guess mad cow disease. This is a good place 470 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:05,479 Speaker 1: to end on. Isn't go out? I know that's what 471 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:10,320 Speaker 1: they say. Yep, yep, that's that's positivity. Lauren here for you, 472 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: making making everything just glow with it's her specialty, folks. Um. Yeah, 473 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: I think that's pretty much what we've got on sweep press. Um. 474 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 1: I'm excited to try them. Uh yeah, they're they're they're 475 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: they're real tasty. Okay. And to our vegetarian listeners, we 476 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:35,960 Speaker 1: are going to do something like a vegetarian yes, yes, 477 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: sorry friends, Yeah, I mean and or you're welcome. I 478 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:45,440 Speaker 1: mean maybe this is giving you giving you ammunition, that's 479 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: true to continue being vegetarian with uh either way, either way, 480 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: we will be doing something um vegetarian team soon and 481 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:00,040 Speaker 1: uh this brings us to our listener males. Yes, a 482 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: stern mail thank you to everyone who sent him to 483 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: brunch emails. Oh yeah, we've got so many great emails 484 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 1: about brunch, really good ones. Yes, Yes, listener David wrote 485 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 1: in to say, having just finished listening to your episode 486 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,320 Speaker 1: on brunch, and having lived in the brunch capital of 487 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: the world, New York City, I thought i'd let you 488 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,960 Speaker 1: guys in on a little shift in the brunch scene 489 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:24,120 Speaker 1: here over the past three to five years or so. 490 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: It is certainly true here that brunch is steeped in 491 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:31,240 Speaker 1: much socio economic ickiness, but there's also a fascinating human 492 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:36,000 Speaker 1: sexuality aspect taking root. Recently, on any given Sunday morning 493 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:40,040 Speaker 1: slash afternoon, in all the most fashionable gayborhoods in Manhattan, 494 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 1: Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea Meatpacking, Midtown, etcetera, you can't walk half 495 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 1: a block without finding a drag brunch poster or sidewalk board. 496 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 1: Like your normal straight people brunch sarcasm intended, drag brunch 497 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 1: marries all the strangeness of brunch you so thoughtfully laid 498 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 1: out in the episode Oh Thank You With a drag show. 499 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 1: A well known city drag queen will usually host the 500 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 1: show with several guest performers who shaken shimmy in the 501 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,120 Speaker 1: aisles and between the tables while the patrons partake of 502 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:11,680 Speaker 1: the requisite bottomless booze and eggs in all shapes and sizes. 503 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,800 Speaker 1: In truth, it's not unlike dinner theater and is a 504 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 1: highly enjoyable experience, even if some tourists stare wide eyed 505 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,400 Speaker 1: and mouths to gape at what is most likely their 506 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: first interaction with a drag queen. Most often they get 507 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,360 Speaker 1: a little show and a good meal before they head 508 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 1: off to the matinee of Wicked or Book of Mormon. 509 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,360 Speaker 1: And yes, the DJ is often part of the show. 510 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 1: I thought you might find this an interesting tidbitt tidbit 511 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 1: on the evolution of brunch. It does offer a venue 512 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: for lesser known and up and coming drag performers to 513 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: get their name out there on a newly carved out 514 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: show day. And no queen will ever pass up a 515 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 1: free meal, which is often the only compensation for performing 516 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,720 Speaker 1: other than a few tips here and there. That's great, 517 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,600 Speaker 1: I know, I love that. Yeah, A thank you for 518 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:57,320 Speaker 1: writing in David uh Be that there is a drag 519 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:01,640 Speaker 1: branch here in Atlanta. Umps lips it's lips Um. There's 520 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:05,400 Speaker 1: a drag venue way outside of the local gaborhoods. Actually, 521 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:08,640 Speaker 1: but yeah, lips and it does a Southern drag brunch. 522 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 1: It's a it's a very I feel like every time 523 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 1: you say Southern. You guys can't see this, but yes, 524 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:19,920 Speaker 1: this is the this is a gesture of Southern its 525 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:21,840 Speaker 1: right here. I don't know, I don't need. That was 526 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:24,600 Speaker 1: a terrible accent too. I apologize to everyone involved. Oh 527 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:28,759 Speaker 1: my goodness, um, but but yeah, I didn't know that 528 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:32,399 Speaker 1: it was a very widespread phenomenon me either. And I'm 529 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: going to New York and July and I'm determined to out. Yeah. Yeah, okay, 530 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:39,560 Speaker 1: maybe we can go to Lips too. Maybe we can 531 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 1: make this a occurring Yeah, excellent, we should do that. Awesome. 532 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:47,440 Speaker 1: Tanya also wrote in about brunch and brunch in Dubai, 533 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: and it's even more steroids here than I imagined. She wrote, 534 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,400 Speaker 1: I'm not really sure how or when it started, but 535 00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:01,040 Speaker 1: when these boozy restaurants decided to do Friday brunch, the 536 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,960 Speaker 1: hotels decided to kick it up a notch. Brunches are 537 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,839 Speaker 1: Fridays from twelve to four pm, and buffets. It's a 538 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:11,600 Speaker 1: fixed fee that usually has three options. The cheapest that 539 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:15,640 Speaker 1: is just unlimited food and soft drinks slash juice, the 540 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:19,359 Speaker 1: medium that is unlimited food and house beverages at et, 541 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:23,400 Speaker 1: house wines, well drinks, etcetera. And the most pricey that 542 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:28,840 Speaker 1: includes all of the above plus bottomless champagne. Yeah. On Friday's, 543 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 1: each hotel will open up the lobby or the area 544 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 1: that usually host the guest breakfast to brunching guests, and 545 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:38,480 Speaker 1: each restaurant in that hotel will open and serve that 546 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:42,320 Speaker 1: area with a brunch menu. Huh. So in one hotel brunch, 547 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,920 Speaker 1: you will have access to fresh pasta from the token, Italian, 548 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,160 Speaker 1: sushi from the token Japanese falafel, and hummas from the 549 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:54,000 Speaker 1: toca token Middle Eastern, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. There's one 550 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,440 Speaker 1: hotel and ab Dhabi that has a German restaurant, and 551 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,000 Speaker 1: during their Friday brunches, the inside of the German restauran 552 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,560 Speaker 1: becomes a cheese room, and one door of the restaurant 553 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:05,640 Speaker 1: opens up to the pool area where there is a 554 00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:08,719 Speaker 1: huge grilling section with all kinds of meats and sausages. 555 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:11,759 Speaker 1: So it's not just this one office building he saw, 556 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 1: it's literally literally every hotel in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 557 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,759 Speaker 1: As a guest, you have access to each restaurant and 558 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:21,520 Speaker 1: can meander between them, picking and choosing what you want 559 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,880 Speaker 1: to eat. These brunches get pricey, usually between one d 560 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:29,040 Speaker 1: two dar a person. With the bottomless alcohol options, it 561 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,640 Speaker 1: is very common for everyone to leave brunch completely taisted. 562 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,319 Speaker 1: This is also because, as stata above, alcohol is not 563 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:40,520 Speaker 1: commonly served are sold um and when it is, it's 564 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:46,279 Speaker 1: usually expensive, so expats and locals alike take complete advantage 565 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 1: of bottomless drinks. When last calls announced at around three 566 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:52,800 Speaker 1: forty is everyone rushes to the bar and orders another 567 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:56,000 Speaker 1: few rounds to keep them going until around five PM 568 00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: when restaurants kicks out. It's known that you don't really 569 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:02,880 Speaker 1: plan and doing much after brunch. You are fed and 570 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 1: boozed enough to last you all night. There is a 571 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:09,960 Speaker 1: hotel in Dubai minas Alam that is beautifully designed in 572 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:13,320 Speaker 1: old Arabian market style, with canals and gondolas all around. 573 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,279 Speaker 1: This hotel is one of the priciest and most extravagant 574 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:20,200 Speaker 1: Friday brunches. However, given the levels of drunkenness and number 575 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: of expats that have fallen into the canals, they had 576 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,680 Speaker 1: to restructure and build a certain barricades to make their 577 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:32,440 Speaker 1: brunch safer for the intoxicated ladies and stiletto heels. I 578 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:35,959 Speaker 1: know it sounds insane, and it usually is. It's gotten 579 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:37,600 Speaker 1: to the point where you can't even go to a 580 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:40,680 Speaker 1: hotel restaurant for Friday lunch a la carte. It's either 581 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,719 Speaker 1: a Friday brunch package or a non alcohol infested restaurant. 582 00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:48,719 Speaker 1: Are just eating at home? Wow? Yes, so thank you 583 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,360 Speaker 1: so much for sending that in time. That really painted 584 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 1: a much clearer picture for me of how how crazy 585 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:59,040 Speaker 1: the thing is. These are how beautiful cultural notes I know. 586 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:03,520 Speaker 1: And we got um several messages from listeners in Dubai 587 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 1: describing just how big a deal this is. And I yeah, 588 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,799 Speaker 1: we enjoyed reading everyone. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank 589 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,440 Speaker 1: you so much. Keep keep those emails coming. Uh, if 590 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,600 Speaker 1: you'd like to send us one, you can do so 591 00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:22,040 Speaker 1: at food Stuff at how stuff works dot com. I 592 00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 1: forgot the name of our show for just a milliseconds there. 593 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:27,240 Speaker 1: It was a really cool moment. We're also on Twitter 594 00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:30,759 Speaker 1: and Instagram, Um our Twitter. Our Twitter account is at 595 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:35,600 Speaker 1: food stuff hs W and our Instagram is simply at 596 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:40,439 Speaker 1: food stuff Yes, so please uh connect with those there 597 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:43,040 Speaker 1: send us an email. We've already gotten some food puns 598 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:45,120 Speaker 1: from our food pun contest. Thank you, thank you, thank 599 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,600 Speaker 1: you for doing us oh Man yeah, there's been some 600 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:49,799 Speaker 1: coming in on on Instagram to well, we'll have to 601 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:54,360 Speaker 1: compiles everything. Um. Other thanks go out to Tristan McNeil 602 00:38:54,600 --> 00:39:01,040 Speaker 1: and Noel Brown who are our audio engineers. And uh yeah, 603 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 1: thank you for listening. Yeah huh you can listen to 604 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,440 Speaker 1: us again soon and we hope that in the meanwhile, 605 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:12,000 Speaker 1: lots of good things are coming your way