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Sweetbread is the name of a dish made of the pancreas (belly/stomach/heart sweetbread) or thymus gland (neck/throat/gullet sweetbread) of an animal younger than one year old. These animals are usually lambs or calves.

The two organs have very different biological functions, but look fairly similar and so are considered, for the purpose of cooking, to be comparable. Thymus sweetbreads are slightly longer and more irregular, with pancreas sweetbreads being larger and more rounded.

The term can also refer to the sweetening of bread with honey or sugar.

Sweetbread is highly perishable and is considered a good source of vitamins and minerals.

Sweetbreads are simple to prepare and cook. Preparation is usually by boiling for a time, after which the fatty sinew is removed carefully without breaking up the sweetbreads. Unlike kidneys which require salting and soaking, sweetbread is simply seasoned and fried, with a knob of butter to finish. Often sweetbreads are crumbed, deep fried, and served with a slice of lemon.

A popular French recipe (ris de veau sautés) involves calf's sweetbreads, which are first boiled with carrots, celery stalks, shallots, garlic, and aromatic herbs, then taken out and dried before being dipped into wheat flour and sauteed in a pan with butter. Sauteed sweetbreads are served with beurre noir poured over them. Sweetbread is also an ingredient in the classic recipe for bouchées à la reine, a cylindrical puff-pastry dish with a savory veal or chicken, mushroom, and cream-based filling.

In Argentina and Uruguay, sweetbreads (mollejas) are usually used for an asado. In northern Spain, they are cooked as a stew in an earthen casserole.

In Turkey, uykuluk (Turkish for sweetbread) is a popular dish to go with raki. Lamb sweetbreads are favoured in Turkey. The preparation of the meat before cooking is very important as this is a delicate part of the animal. Normally it's boiled for a short time and then immersed in cold water. After that the thin layer of skin should be peeled off. Then it's ready to be cooked. Mostly it's cooked either in a bit of butter or over the grill. Some red pepper, oregano and salt is added to the meat after the first 5 minutes of cooking. Istanbul's Sütlüce quarter is well-known for its restaurants specialised in preparing sweetbreads.