1 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Savor Protection of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: I'm Annie Reese and I'm Lauren vocal Baum. And today 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: we have a classic episode for you about sweetbreads. Yes, 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: and this one has so many fond memories associated with it. 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: Um because, as we told the story before, we got 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: to go to a local restaurant. Because this was many 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: years ago when we were still doing video, right, Yeah, 8 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:37,599 Speaker 1: this came out in June of twenty seventeen. We were tiny, 9 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: little baby podcasters. We were so small, so sweet um. 10 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: And we went to yeah, a local restaurant home in Finch, 11 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: and we got we got to film the making of 12 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: sweetbreads and the eating of sweetbreads and they were so good. Yeah. 13 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: And it was Annie's first time having sweetbread and they 14 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: were so delicious and and we were kind of coming 15 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: off of this. It's it's always uh stressful might be 16 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: the wrong word or too negative, but just but just 17 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: a high anxiety being in someone's kitchen, um, and you know, 18 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: trying to get the good interview conversation going. Um, it's 19 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: it's just it's it's it's it's a lot. It's a 20 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: high anxiety kind of job for for me certainly, and 21 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: so when the chef brought this like lovely plate of 22 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: sweetbreads and I think there was maybe some like citrus 23 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: and salad on there too, um, and it was so 24 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: good and we were just sharing this plate and our 25 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: our Darlin producer, Tyler clang Um thought to set up 26 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: a camera and just film us as we were just 27 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: chatting and eating and it was very nice. It was 28 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: all very very nice. It was it was it was 29 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: very sweet. I actually it kind of brought me to 30 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: tears a night because I we didn't know he was 31 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: doing that. It wasn't super shady or anything, but um, 32 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: when I found the footage later and it was just 33 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: so it was like, oh, this is the connection we're 34 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: always talking about in the show, and like having this 35 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 1: moment together over food and laughing and each other's cos 36 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: just really touching in a surprising way. Yeah, I will 37 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: say I recently went to our office UM to drop 38 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: something off for the first time in a while, and 39 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: I went down to the food hall because we're in 40 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: kind of this like food market situation um our offices, yeah, 41 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: play and the kind of I don't know, satellite or 42 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,799 Speaker 1: sister restaurant of Home and Infants where we got these 43 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: sweetbreads is in that area in that space, and they're 44 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: not a sponsor or anything, but um they they were 45 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: all decked out in Star Wars theme. Everyone there were yes, 46 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: there were like fifteen cardboard cutouts. There were sticker, like 47 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: those big human size stickers, And I had a moment 48 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: of I wish I wasn't such a shy person because 49 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: I want to take a picture with Darth Vader Skywalker 50 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: and there's two Baca over there, and there's lay just 51 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: standing there awkwardly outside of this restaurant. O. My goodness. 52 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: I'm assuming it went up for me the fourth and 53 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: never came down, but I yeah, that would be my assumption. 54 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,839 Speaker 1: But now I'm like holeman in Finch, what what's going 55 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: on with your Star Wars theme? Okay, we need to 56 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: get to the bottom of this. Cool. I mean I'm 57 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: into so like they're ever giving away cardboard cut out 58 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: I wanted. I'm the last thing my very crowded apartment needs, 59 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: as I have all this like Star Wars cosplay behind me. 60 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah. Currently on on the back of Annie's chair, 61 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: I can see like a like a Luke Skywalker, um, 62 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: like a like flight jacket. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's really 63 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: comfortable like it. I bet it is. I bet it is. 64 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: It is got the poop, the very poopy collar. Um. Anyway, 65 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,159 Speaker 1: I've gotten away from the topic here. Uh we have, 66 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: we have, and I will say that although our our 67 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: memory about sweetbreads is very delightful, this episode goes in 68 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: some really weird places. Um. And it was early enough 69 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: that we we didn't quite have the flow down, so 70 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: it gets weirder before it gets like more normal, which 71 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: I think is great. But yeah, that's that's right up, 72 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:55,239 Speaker 1: that's our speed. I like this, like warning, you're giving 73 00:04:55,279 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: people a little bit, a little bit m hm m 74 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: m um. Well on that note, uh, let's let's pass. 75 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 1: Eddie and Lauren take it away. Hello, and welcome to 76 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: food Stuff. I'm Anyries and I'm Lauren vulk Bam. And 77 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: today we're talking about something that we've gotten a lot 78 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 1: of listener requests for sweetbreads. Sweetbreads. Yeah, thanks to Lindsay 79 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: Ben and Micah All for writing in about this one. 80 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: And um, we're talking about sweetbreads, like not sweet pastry breads. Right, 81 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: this is not a sweet bread. It's not a bread 82 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: that is sweet, which is what I thought sweetbreads were 83 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: until last year. Not exaggerating. Yeah, I thought on a 84 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: menu and I was like, I love a pastry when 85 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: rolls in. I'm comforted that the Internet tells me this 86 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: is a common misconception because the name is confusing. Sure, yes, yeah, 87 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: and sometimes it does refer to sweetbreads if there's a space, 88 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: If there's a space, yes, sweet spacebreads, yes, pastry, Yeah, 89 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: then you're then you're in for maybe a delicious croissant. 90 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:26,239 Speaker 1: But we're talking about sweetbreads as in a type of awful. 91 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: That's how you pronounce it, right, yeah, which is unfortunate, 92 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 1: but it comes from off all our cuts from the 93 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: carcass of an animal that are not skeletal muscle and 94 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: quote fall off when the animal is butchered, and are 95 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: also called variety meats. Yeah. Yeah, So it's just a 96 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: general word for for for organs kind of sometimes um 97 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 1: also sometimes called the quinto corto in Rome a k a. 98 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: The fifth quarter of the animal, uh, which I think 99 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: is real cute um. In Spanish, awful is attras and 100 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: sweetbreads are sometimes referred to as molier hus um, although 101 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: molier hus can also refer to gizzards like chicken gizzards. 102 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: I have no idea why this is. I suspect it 103 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: has to do with the shape. I think they kind 104 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: of looks similar. They do, but it's a different color anyway. Okay, 105 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: Malia has a sweetbread. Molahs are particularly popular as an 106 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: appetizer and Argentina apparently. But yes, they are in organ 107 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: meat right, and they are most commonly from the famous 108 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: gland um. And this is sold in two usually connected pieces, 109 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: the irregularly shaped throat sweetbreads in the slightly larger, lower 110 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: fat and thus more desirable heart sweetbreads. Yes, uh, similar organ, 111 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: just kind of in too slightly different places. It's it's 112 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: doing the same stuff working together, right and less commonly 113 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: included in the definition of sweetbreads. The pancreas are the 114 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: stomach slash gut slash belly sweetbreads and stomach sweetbreads are 115 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: not highly regarded in much of the culinary community, and 116 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: it's often sometimes called the false sweetbread But they are cheaper, 117 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: which might be because thymus. Dry sweetbreads begin shrinking once 118 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: the animal has reached six months old, and the pancreas 119 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: sticks around. That's because the thymus is shut off by 120 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: high concentrations of sex hormones that flood an animal's body 121 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: during puberty. Why that's a great question. I have no idea. 122 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: But human thymus is work the same way. Thymus is 123 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: what creates and matures your lifetime supply of T cells, 124 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,439 Speaker 1: which are part of your body's immune system, and most 125 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: of these are created before puberty, and the thymus then 126 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: shrinks and declines in T cell production afterward. Anyway, now 127 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: I'm thinking of Resident Evil and like, just to entice you, 128 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: I think we're going to come back to Resident Evil 129 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,319 Speaker 1: at the end of this episode. Oh excellent. Uh. The 130 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: type of sweetbreads you're most likely to encounter on a 131 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:07,079 Speaker 1: menu or in a store are veal sweetbreads um or 132 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: Vealer lamb. Really right, Um, But you can find pork 133 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: as well. And according to nineteen eleven the Grocer's Encyclopedia 134 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: quote sweetbread the soft, milky thomus glands of the young 135 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: calf and lamb, the former being the more highly esteemed 136 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: and considered one of the greatest of all meat delicacies. 137 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: And kind of going off of that, um, if we 138 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: look at the name sweetbread, the first time it popped 139 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,719 Speaker 1: up was in a sixteenth century book, and there's a 140 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: lot of Old English here with like extra ease and stuff. 141 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: So I'm going to try to not miss this. Where's 142 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland when you need them? Oh? I know, we 143 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 1: should have bought him in anyway, the book is called 144 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:55,959 Speaker 1: The History I e. Of Man and quote a certain 145 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: glandulous part called Thymus, which in all cows cows. Oh okay, 146 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,199 Speaker 1: it's spelled c A l u e s calves calves 147 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:14,679 Speaker 1: cows calves. Makes way more sense. Okay, continue, Sorry, Lauren 148 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: and Annie bungle through Old English. The sweetbread episode that's 149 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: actually a really good type um is most pleasant to 150 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 1: be eaten. I suppose we call it the sweet bread 151 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: end quote. So one theory is that sweetbread might be 152 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,959 Speaker 1: referring to the fact that thamus meat is relatively sweeter 153 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: than other meats I guess, and bread could come from 154 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: the Old English bread b r E d e, meaning 155 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: roasted meats or flesh or bread as in another word 156 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: for morsel, because they kind of look like perhaps because 157 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,439 Speaker 1: the name, most people are confused about what sweetbreads are 158 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: like we alluded to even chefs they came from, and 159 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,960 Speaker 1: they also probably don't want to know. Yeah, there's a 160 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: there's a perception in in a lot of modern Western 161 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: thought that that awful is awful, and man, it's tasty 162 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 1: more and that later um. Providing extra complication to the 163 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: term um. You've also got the words sweet meats kicking around, 164 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: which generally means a sugared confection but is occasionally used 165 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,560 Speaker 1: to mean sweetbread. So they're not meats. They're not like 166 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: candied bacon. No, well, I guess it could be, because 167 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:35,440 Speaker 1: candied bacon could be a sugared confection. Usually just means 168 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,559 Speaker 1: like a like like a small like like pastry, or 169 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: like a like like a fruit or something like that. Okay, yeah, okay, yeah, 170 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:47,079 Speaker 1: like a piece of candy. Just want sweetmeat sometimes used 171 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: to mean sweetbread. The origin of sweetmeat lies in the 172 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: Old English circa tenth century c E, when the word 173 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: meat m E t e. Simply meant food. The narrow 174 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: word finition of meat being like animal flesh that we 175 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: consume um didn't pop up until around thirteen, So when 176 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: it was first used, sweetmeat meant just a sweet food. Wow, 177 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: the evolution of language. Oh it's really great, I really 178 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: want to do that etymology show. Sometimes maybe someday, Lauren, 179 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: maybe maybe someday. So to prepare sweetbreads. And this is 180 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: uh Annie read a lot of research about this, has 181 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 1: never done it herself. I've never done it myself either. 182 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 1: All right, but we're in this together. But but but 183 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,080 Speaker 1: this is a this is the tried and true method 184 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 1: from many sources. You first want to remove any impurities 185 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 1: by soaking them, usually in cold and I read in 186 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:46,320 Speaker 1: some places salted water, water, but sometimes milk or buttermilk, 187 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,840 Speaker 1: anywhere from three to twenty four hours. And according to 188 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: what I read, it's a good idea to change out 189 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: that milk or water whatever you're soaking in a couple 190 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 1: of times. That also helps out loosen up the membrane 191 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: around the actual flesh that you want to consume and um. 192 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: Then you blanch. You can go back and revisit that 193 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: favorite thing is my absolute favorite, that is sarcasm. And 194 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,600 Speaker 1: then you do that by putting it in a cold 195 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: pot of cold water or chicken stock, bring it to 196 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: a boil, simmering for about five minutes, and then chilling 197 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,840 Speaker 1: rapidly by placing a nice water. Um. So, this doesn't 198 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: cook them, but it firms them up and makes um 199 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: removing what I frequently referred to as the quote grizzly 200 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: bits easier, which is the next next step. And it 201 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: sounds like it's pretty tricky um and or just sort 202 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: of gross yep um. Once it's cool enough to handle, 203 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,320 Speaker 1: you do your best to remove the veins, the fat, 204 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: the s new, the gristle, and sometimes the membrane depending 205 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: on the recipe. Um. And you can use a knife 206 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: or your very own fingers. And you want to keep 207 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: the sweetmeat. It's not not sweetmeat sweetbread sweetbreads. I'm confusing myself. 208 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: You want to keep them whole and enlarger clumps. And 209 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: after there's a lot of chefs like to chill and 210 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: press the meat into an even thickness. That's a preference thing. 211 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: And actually so it's the blanching um. But that being 212 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: a preference is relatively new. Some people think it's more 213 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 1: tender if you don't blanch. Yeah, if you haven't, if 214 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: you haven't ever seen uh, sweetbreads, they're sort of this 215 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: like this like clumpy, massive clump stuff. Clump clump stuff. 216 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:43,359 Speaker 1: That's an off brand show. Maybe we'll have a segments 217 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: that sounds like a lumpy space princess show. On how 218 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: stuff works. Anyway, once you have prepared done this like 219 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:00,160 Speaker 1: preparation step to cook them, you can grill them, is 220 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: them or fry them. Those are the most common ways. 221 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: But they can't be poached, are or broiled almost boiled 222 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: and I was like, wait a minute, no, Apparently they're 223 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: very difficult to overcook. So it's forgiving food to try. Um. 224 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: And they can cook for several minutes without getting tough. Yeah, 225 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: and they remain moist. Oh all right. Um. If you 226 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: look at traditional French and Italian recipes, you can often 227 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: find them served in rich, creamy sauces. Add richness to 228 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,000 Speaker 1: a rich food share. That's your French an Italian way. Yeah, 229 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: it is, um and I think hearkening back to our 230 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: cauliflower episode, there was an uber Wrench rich French cauliflower 231 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: recipe that involved sweetbreads. Yes, I still want to eat that. 232 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 1: It did sound good. Uh. And today you'll likely find 233 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: them paired with something sour or acidic or both, probably 234 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: the same thing, almost to compliment the richness of the meat, 235 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,840 Speaker 1: like lemons or capers alongside bacon. I saw bacon a lot. 236 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: And vegetables like beans are peas or they can be 237 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: more of a supporting character to something like patte or sausage. Sure, yeah, 238 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: that's throughout history, like like people just cook them any 239 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 1: which way they want to. Yeah. Um. And once they've 240 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: been cooked, what do they taste like? Uh? As we're 241 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 1: recording this, I have no idea, but the things I read, 242 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: I saw a lot of tender, rich, creamy, smooth, and 243 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: I can attest to this. Um, I've had sweetbreads there. Um, 244 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 1: have you ever had like a like a liver patte? Yes? Okay, 245 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: so sweetbreads are like a slightly firmer like ready made 246 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: liver patte, Like it's just an organ hanging out in 247 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: an animal that's sort of tastes like liver patte. Um, 248 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:55,239 Speaker 1: they're like a slightly sweet meat butter. Oh, like a meatcake. 249 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not sure if the words I'm saying 250 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: are making it sound more or less appetizing. The flavor 251 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 1: is really delicate, though compared with with liver um, it 252 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:06,480 Speaker 1: doesn't have the sort of like metallic or gamey twinge 253 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,680 Speaker 1: that you get from liver um and and some other 254 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,399 Speaker 1: kinds of awful um. And if you've never had patta 255 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: out there in a podcast, land um Okay, like if 256 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,080 Speaker 1: you've ever had a flowerless chocolate cake, like one that's 257 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: like really like like like rich and dense and creamy 258 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,399 Speaker 1: and kind of like fine grained on the tongue um 259 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: the text or something like that, and the taste is 260 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,200 Speaker 1: a little bit like the char on the outside of 261 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: a grilled steak, but without the char flavor, Like it's 262 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,919 Speaker 1: just sort of like sweet and meaty. Okay, like it. 263 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: That's the best way that I can think of to 264 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: describe It's it's a very it's a very individual profiled flavor. 265 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: So that was an excellent way to describe it, because 266 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:55,280 Speaker 1: I'm generally, like it was salty, I'm terrible at describing taste. 267 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: So my hat goes off to you, Thank you, thank you. 268 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:05,439 Speaker 1: We will be going to try some sweetbreads at a 269 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: place in Atlanta that has some called home and Infinch. Yeah, 270 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: possibly before this episode airs time travel, I know podcasting 271 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: and publication schedules. I'm telling you. Um, sweetbreads are often 272 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:24,719 Speaker 1: called the least awful tasting of awfuls, and this apparently 273 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: means less musty. Musty is a good word for that. 274 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: For that metallic um gaming flavor that I was describing, 275 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: earlier share. Okay, I was thinking like an old coat terrible. 276 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: So sweetbreads are a good place to start your awful 277 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,879 Speaker 1: journey if that is a thing you're looking to embark on. 278 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,919 Speaker 1: I'm loving all the double meanings this is having. Now. 279 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:53,200 Speaker 1: Homonyms are the best they are if you want to 280 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,879 Speaker 1: go on this journey, though it could be very expensive homophones. 281 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 1: I got that wrong, anyway, Go ahead, Yes, expensive journey. Yes, 282 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: sweetbreads can range for seven dollars to sixteen dollars a pound, 283 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: which is a newish thing in our recent times because 284 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: they used to be very difficult thing to sell and 285 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: they go bad very quickly. So planned to cook pretty 286 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: soon after buying, and most things I said, plan to 287 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 1: cook the same day. If now, I I don't know 288 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:20,760 Speaker 1: if I'm prepared to. I really don't like preparing meat. 289 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't know if I'm prepared to go 290 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: out and find sweetbreads and cook them at home. I 291 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:28,160 Speaker 1: have no problem. I have no problem for preparing meat. 292 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: Maybe maybe I'll run the camera on that one. That's 293 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: fine with me. I'm sure nothing disasters will happen. Speaking 294 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,680 Speaker 1: of disasters, Uh no, no, not speaking of disasters, but 295 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: let's let's let's dig into um into how this entire 296 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:49,359 Speaker 1: eating this strange gland from animals thing started started happening 297 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: in human culture. But first, let's take a quick break 298 00:19:52,280 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: for a word from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank 299 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:09,359 Speaker 1: you sponsor, Yes, thank you sponsor. So when exactly did 300 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: this become a thing. Probably since humans started hunting animals, yeah, 301 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: end of section. Next, throughout most of our history, we 302 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: haven't had refrigeration again, frozen food. Um. And when humans 303 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:28,960 Speaker 1: had to butcher their own animals, you didn't want to 304 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,639 Speaker 1: waste any of that hard work or any of the 305 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: animal so so yeah, so just eat it. It's there, 306 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,720 Speaker 1: find a way to make it good. According to the 307 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,680 Speaker 1: book odd Bits, which is a great book, um, these 308 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,159 Speaker 1: and other highly perishable organs were eaten in many cultures 309 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: by either the hunters themselves um a kind of as 310 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: a reward because they're tasty for their hard work, or 311 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: be because they were just the first person who had 312 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,639 Speaker 1: access to them. They're going to go bad, go on 313 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: and eat it um. Or they were saved for and 314 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,199 Speaker 1: for an esteemed elder. Oh and uh and later they 315 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 1: were probably saved and served to royalty when the butchery happened. Um. 316 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 1: As we said earlier, the first that the first use 317 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,359 Speaker 1: of the term sweetbreads appeared around the fifteen hundreds. Around 318 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:19,680 Speaker 1: that time, there was a recipe from Italy that recommended 319 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: um using veal or or goat like like kids sweetbreads 320 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: to make this kind of eggy pottage that was seasoned 321 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:34,200 Speaker 1: interestingly with rosewater, saffron, ginger, cinnamon, and sugar. Very fancy, yeah, 322 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:40,439 Speaker 1: very fancy pottage pottage sort of like a very richly 323 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 1: seasoned meat, egg stew, soufla thing. If I just keep 324 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: saying food words, isn't going to make more sense eventually. 325 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:58,639 Speaker 1: Maybe I also thought a pottage was a pot of dessert. 326 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:06,479 Speaker 1: So I've been wrong about many things. Sweetbreads, We've been 327 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: wrong about many things. That's also a good episode title. 328 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: Here we go. We have a lot of contenders, a 329 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: lot of strong contenders. Do a lot of recipes around 330 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,880 Speaker 1: this time were crafted around sweetbreads, which were viewed by 331 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: the eighteenth nineteenth century Europeans as nutritious. We'll examine that, 332 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 1: claiming a bit um, thrifty and easy to come by. 333 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,120 Speaker 1: This is very different than what it is now. Yeah. Yeah, 334 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 1: Also they like to taste, and this time was the 335 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:37,359 Speaker 1: height of their popularity nineteenth centuries. Yeah, their moment in 336 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:42,919 Speaker 1: the sun. So many meat dishes were served with sweetbreads 337 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:48,439 Speaker 1: as a garnish. H Yeah. Um and sweetbreads began to 338 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,199 Speaker 1: fall out of fashion towards the end of the eighteenth 339 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: century with the introduction of industrialized farming, refrigeration, grocery stores, 340 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: and the removal of most consumer from the process behind 341 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: how their food got to their table i e. Not 342 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: betweing our own animals right. And all of these innovations 343 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:10,919 Speaker 1: drove down the price of me and made it more 344 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: readily available, but mass scale production didn't really allow for 345 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 1: the tricky process of getting awful and keeping it intact 346 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,040 Speaker 1: and storing it intact and packaging, shipping and selling it 347 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 1: before it went bad. Um And it just wasn't cost 348 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,719 Speaker 1: effective for them, so they didn't want to do it anymore. 349 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:31,880 Speaker 1: And as butcher's shops closed to make way for these 350 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:33,959 Speaker 1: lower cost grocery stores, we lost a lot of our 351 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,399 Speaker 1: knowledge of how to like buy and cook rare types 352 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,480 Speaker 1: of meat as well. Sure um. This this industrialization process 353 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 1: is also what began to lead to um to to 354 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 1: awful and and bones from meat being um processed and 355 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,400 Speaker 1: used as feed in livestock, which is another thing we'll 356 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,080 Speaker 1: come back to in a few minutes. Um. They've always 357 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,120 Speaker 1: been pretty insistently featured on French menus though particularly read 358 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: the vox or reveal sweetbreads and uh French inspired cookbooks 359 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:09,960 Speaker 1: like The Joy of Cooking, of which was first published 360 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: in which I always forget about. It seems like such 361 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: a modern cook back to me anyway. Um, The Joy 362 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: of Cooking and also Julia Child's recipes from the sixties 363 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,639 Speaker 1: on have have continued to feature sweetbreads. Yeah yeah, Um. 364 00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 1: They're also ground up in dog food and cat food, 365 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: and they've sometimes been used in meat based baby food. Um. 366 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 1: And yet definitely um have been part of the that 367 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: meat and bone meal that's used as animal feed on farms. Um. 368 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,359 Speaker 1: Modern regulations in some areas outlaw that because of transmittable 369 00:24:39,359 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 1: brain diseases, which I'm betting you didn't think was a 370 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: sentence you'd here in this episode, and which I'll talk 371 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: more about in a depressing and slightly frightening tangent at 372 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,200 Speaker 1: the end. And I'll make another resident evil reference. Baby 373 00:24:54,840 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 1: will see awful became all the rage once again, and 374 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: of scale restaurants in the nineties, but it fell away 375 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: again towards the end of the decade, and a note 376 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: about the popularity of the dish in the late nineties. Okay, 377 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:12,959 Speaker 1: so sweetbreads are a major plot point in the Hannibal 378 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,639 Speaker 1: Lecter film Red Dragon, which is the prequel to Silence 379 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,480 Speaker 1: of the Lambs, because his removal of a human thymus 380 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 1: gland from a victim and his notation on the I 381 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 1: wasn't paying attention to when you said it a second ago, 382 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:29,400 Speaker 1: the sweetbread entry the read de vous um and in 383 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: his copy of the French Encyclopedia of Cooking uh Lows 384 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:39,919 Speaker 1: gastronomy Um. That event leads an investigator to capture him, 385 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 1: which is why he's in prison at the beginning of 386 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,439 Speaker 1: Silence of the Lambs. Yeah, I do seem to recall 387 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,400 Speaker 1: that it's all the sweetbreads. It's all the sweetbreads, um, 388 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 1: but that aside aside um. I think I think that 389 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: that sweetbreads United States popularity didn't so much all away 390 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: as like kind of like just state and morph slowly 391 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: into the nose to tail movement, which which if you 392 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,879 Speaker 1: will recall, was was skipping merrily hand in hand with 393 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 1: the farm to table movement UM throughout the late auts 394 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,480 Speaker 1: and early teens, leading us to sweetbreads are making a 395 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,400 Speaker 1: come back. Yeah, don't call it a comeback right now, 396 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,640 Speaker 1: and not just enough scale restaurants. Um. And that's yeah. 397 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:25,600 Speaker 1: And part thinks to this idea that we shouldn't be 398 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: wasting so much food or killing an animals for certain pieces, 399 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:34,399 Speaker 1: although I did read like a critique of that point 400 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,480 Speaker 1: of view is that we aren't really wasting it because 401 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: it is getting used in dog food and cat food 402 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:45,440 Speaker 1: and sweetbreads were included on the Daily Meals Top Food Trends. Yeah, 403 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 1: I definitely I feel that I've been seeing them more often, 404 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: but I do think it's like a rotating thing. It's hard. 405 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: It was hard for me to think of a menu 406 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,439 Speaker 1: that I knew would have them no matter what, if 407 00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like, I feel like they 408 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: pop up some times on menus. Yeah, what's also a 409 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:04,880 Speaker 1: freshness issue, because I mean, you know, it depends on 410 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 1: because they are taken from very young calves um or 411 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 1: or other livestock. And so the season in which there 412 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,440 Speaker 1: are a whole bunch of very young livestock animals is 413 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:19,199 Speaker 1: a particular season. Yeah makes sense, all right. So that 414 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 1: brings us to the end of our history segment. Yes, yes, 415 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,720 Speaker 1: when we get back from this another short ad break, 416 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: we will discuss health and yes, so it stick correct 417 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 1: and we're back, Thank you sponsor. So sweet bread's health, 418 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:57,240 Speaker 1: What's what's the deal there? Um? It was actually really 419 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:02,560 Speaker 1: interesting to read about, thanks in part to Sugar. Hello, Sugar, 420 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 1: We're just going to mention every like every other episode, 421 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: I have to work in a bloody marry and a 422 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 1: brunch somehow. Um. The demonization of animal fats and cholesterols 423 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: thanks to part in part in part thanks to Sugar. Um, 424 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 1: sweetbreads were perceived pretty negatively in the West, like gross 425 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: and unhealthy, and that stigma is still associated with them 426 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:31,680 Speaker 1: to some degree. Uh. And I will say my parents 427 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: they like them some liver and onions. When I was 428 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 1: growing up, and they like they had ordered out restaurants. 429 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,920 Speaker 1: We never made it, but when they would order it, 430 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: and I had had friends with me. My friends later 431 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 1: would tell me how gross they thought that was, and 432 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,720 Speaker 1: I would get embarrassed. I anxious one that like I 433 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: saw it on a menu because I later people can 434 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: be like there was so grooge anyway. Um. Speaking of liver, 435 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: another they're popularly held belief is that sinse awful like 436 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: liver filter toxins and they must be build But they're 437 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: not like a I mean that that's that's not how 438 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,320 Speaker 1: it does. No, because the liver neutralizes toxins, it doesn't 439 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: like store them. And yes, yes, it's just livers aren't 440 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: sweet press. But I feel like a lot of awful 441 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: and organ meats get lump together, get all lump together. Yeah, 442 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:26,479 Speaker 1: sure so, but no, no, it's no like like your 443 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: liver is not like a repository for bad stuff. It 444 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 1: breaks them down so that you can have clear them out. 445 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: I'm making all of these gestures, um. I a lot 446 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:46,400 Speaker 1: of places we're saying that organs are often described as 447 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,600 Speaker 1: the most nutrient rich part of the body, in particular 448 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:53,280 Speaker 1: with B vitamins, iron, potassium, and a magathew fatty acids. 449 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 1: But important caveat these are um, organs from animals not 450 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 1: ra confined spaces like yeah, like like like normal animals 451 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: not yeah, not like caged and can't move okay, sure yes, 452 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,640 Speaker 1: And speaking of animals and the animal kingdom, animals usually 453 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 1: go for the organ first. The theory being here that 454 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 1: the animals instinctively know that this is the most dense 455 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 1: concentration of nutrients. Take that for what you will, and yeah, 456 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: I mean it makes sense. You know sometimes the you know, 457 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 1: the way that tasty stuff for us is nutrient dense. 458 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 1: That's just maybe they just go straight for the straight 459 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: for the sweetbreads. Yes, it's the opposite of what I 460 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: like to do is save the best for last, if 461 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,480 Speaker 1: we're talking about taste. But anyway, I can't. I don't 462 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: know what the animals going on in their head, but yeah, 463 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:52,320 Speaker 1: do it now before the eats me could be could 464 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: be Yeah. Um. Several indigenous cultures would give women of 465 00:30:55,880 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 1: childbearing age organ meats to improve their strength. Yeah. Um. 466 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:06,640 Speaker 1: But and this is a big butt Um. This is 467 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: for small amounts and not too often. Sweetbreads consumption, yes, um, 468 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,080 Speaker 1: because they're not really something you should be eating every day. 469 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:18,360 Speaker 1: They have purines, which one broken down creates uric acid, 470 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,720 Speaker 1: which can cause gout. You need to eat a lot, 471 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,920 Speaker 1: a lot, a lot a lot swebreads for this to occur, 472 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 1: unless you're eating other foods that have parings at the 473 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:35,360 Speaker 1: same time, things like asparagus, mushrooms call a flower muscles, scallops, liver, 474 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,800 Speaker 1: too much meat in general, and beer can all cause 475 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: increased uric acid production. Right, and then, uh, there's one 476 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 1: more thing we got to talk about. Yeah, yeah, the 477 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: the okay, yeah, zombie things. Um, it's it's not really 478 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:53,480 Speaker 1: about zombies. Um. There there there is one more cause 479 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:57,280 Speaker 1: for some amount of concern about bad stuff in sweetbreads 480 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,120 Speaker 1: that actually holds water. Um, and that is that the 481 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,920 Speaker 1: thamus gland is thought to harbor high amounts of the 482 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: malfunctioning protein that leads to mad cow disease, depressing in 483 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:15,840 Speaker 1: somewhat frightening tangent to clock. Um. Okay, we could probably 484 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,200 Speaker 1: do an entire episode on the mad cow outbreak and 485 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 1: scare of the eighties and nineties, but let's save that one. 486 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 1: Can we maybe like do like milkshakes first or something? Anyway? 487 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 1: Top top top level mad cow stuff. Um. Mad cow 488 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,160 Speaker 1: disease is a brain disease more technically known as bovine 489 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:39,640 Speaker 1: spongefform and cephalopathy, and it is a nasty bit of work. Um. 490 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,360 Speaker 1: The sponge of form in the name is because the 491 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 1: disease makes some of the brains crinkly foldy prions, prions 492 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:51,840 Speaker 1: being a type of protein misfold. And when this misfolding 493 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,440 Speaker 1: happens in mass, it MisShapes the brain, making it look 494 00:32:55,480 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 1: like a sponge and this, as Egan would say, is bad. 495 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:05,520 Speaker 1: It's fatal within a year. UM. So that explains the 496 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:10,160 Speaker 1: spongeyform the bovine in bovine spongeform en cephalopathy is because 497 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 1: the disease appears in other species to sheep, cats, deer 498 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: and humans for sure, um. And it can be transmitted 499 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: from species to species through contact with infected tissue, including 500 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:27,200 Speaker 1: consumption of brains and other specific organs including stuff like 501 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 1: marrow and the thymus gland oh ooops. Um. The whole 502 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,680 Speaker 1: disease group is not deeply understood because because prions are 503 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,160 Speaker 1: complicated and the incubation time and humans can be years 504 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 1: um like like decades usually um. And the infamous outbreak 505 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,720 Speaker 1: in the UK was was due to infected animals being 506 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,600 Speaker 1: unknowingly used in meat and bone meal that was fed 507 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:57,560 Speaker 1: widely to livestock. And there are still fears that there 508 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:01,040 Speaker 1: may be a spate of human spongeform en cephalopathy cases 509 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 1: in the future because of it. That's scary, yeah, yep, um. 510 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:08,600 Speaker 1: But but but governments once they got savvy to the 511 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 1: situation began to do what they could to protect the populace, 512 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 1: and in the United States, the UK and other places 513 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:18,560 Speaker 1: that use this meat and bone meal is feed um. 514 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:22,799 Speaker 1: The sale of sweetbreads and other specified bovine offals which 515 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:26,640 Speaker 1: is which is actually it's an acronym specified bovine novels um. 516 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 1: The sale of all that for human consumption was temporarily banned, 517 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,760 Speaker 1: and then as researchers started discovering more about the disease, 518 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 1: bands were put on on certain practices during slaughter that 519 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 1: put meat in contact with the most dangerous bits, being 520 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 1: the brain and the and the spinal fluid um. And 521 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 1: there's other legal requirements now to um. Cattle over thirty 522 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 1: months of age must be tested because the disease fully 523 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:54,080 Speaker 1: developed an older cat an older cattle. And so although 524 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 1: mad cow disease still pops up because it can happen 525 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:01,320 Speaker 1: due to perfectly natural genetic mutations too um, not just infection, 526 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:06,239 Speaker 1: it's basically under control. So what I'm saying is that 527 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,240 Speaker 1: eating sweetbreads will probably not net you a brain disease. 528 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,600 Speaker 1: The thymuses that are used are taken from young cattle 529 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,200 Speaker 1: not likely to have developed large amounts of those misfolding 530 00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:20,719 Speaker 1: proteins that are responsible even if they are infected, which 531 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 1: they probably are not. If you're in any way concerned, 532 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 1: you can read so much about what's being done to 533 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,759 Speaker 1: prevent mad cow disease in your country. There's so much 534 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 1: out there about it. Um and and actually actually like, like, 535 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 1: I'm I'm shaky on eating brains for this reason, for 536 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,680 Speaker 1: this and related reasons. There's there's a bunch of brain 537 00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:42,440 Speaker 1: diseases that I don't really want to get, and you 538 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:46,160 Speaker 1: can get most of them by eating infected brains. Um. 539 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 1: But but actually researching this, uh like it. It's set 540 00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:52,560 Speaker 1: off a huge amount of fear about sweetbreads in me 541 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:57,200 Speaker 1: and and then really actually soothed me. It's so so 542 00:35:57,239 --> 00:36:02,359 Speaker 1: it's like icy hot. Yeah. I was like, oh, think 543 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:03,879 Speaker 1: that I didn't know I had to be upset about. 544 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:05,680 Speaker 1: And then I was like, oh, I'm actually less upset 545 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:11,359 Speaker 1: about a number of things now great, so good. Yeah, Well, 546 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:13,680 Speaker 1: I guess magic cow disease. This is a good place 547 00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:17,399 Speaker 1: to end on. Isn't go out on? I know that's 548 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:21,200 Speaker 1: what they say. Yep, yep, that's that's positivity, Lauren, here 549 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:28,799 Speaker 1: for you making making everything just glow with it's her specialty, folks. Um. Yeah, 550 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: I think that's pretty much what we've got on sweetbreads. Um, 551 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,759 Speaker 1: I'm excited to try them. Uh yeah, they're they're they're 552 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:41,880 Speaker 1: they're real tasty. Okay, And to our vegetarian listeners, we 553 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: are going to do something like vegetarian Yes, yes, sorry friends. Yeah, 554 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,800 Speaker 1: that brings us to the end of this classic episode. 555 00:36:55,840 --> 00:37:01,560 Speaker 1: I have such a craving for sweetbreads right now. Oh yes, 556 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:06,640 Speaker 1: I am having a sweetbread problem at this current moment, 557 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:09,160 Speaker 1: so I'm gonna have to figure out a way to 558 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:14,640 Speaker 1: solve that again. I love the name sweetbread, like sweetbread problem. 559 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:16,600 Speaker 1: If you didn't know what a sweetbread was, I would 560 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:22,520 Speaker 1: think like a loaf of bread perhaps Nope. In either case, 561 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:25,640 Speaker 1: I love it, um and we would love to hear 562 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,480 Speaker 1: from you listeners. You would like to email as you can, 563 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:31,440 Speaker 1: or email us hello at savor pod dot com. We 564 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,600 Speaker 1: are also on social media. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, 565 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:37,520 Speaker 1: and Instagram at savor pod and we do hope to 566 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,360 Speaker 1: hear from you. Savor is production of I Heart Radio. 567 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,759 Speaker 1: For more podcasts to my heart Radio, you can visit 568 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:45,480 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 569 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,319 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. Thanks as always to our 570 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:51,200 Speaker 1: superproducers still in Fagin and Andrew Howard. Thanks to you 571 00:37:51,239 --> 00:37:53,040 Speaker 1: for listening, and we hope that lots more good things 572 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:53,919 Speaker 1: are coming your way.