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I am watching a Gordon Ramsey youtube video, he is cooking dumplings. At approximately the 6:04 mark of the video Gordon mentions "Next the dumpling essentail, soit". It looks to be a off white substance about the size of rice kernels, almost exactly like shredded cheese.

What is this "dumpling soit"? I assume some form of animal fat?

KDecker
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1 Answers1

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Yes, it is animal fat. The word is spelled "suet" and it comes from beef.

I haven't been able to find a recording of the word with British accent, but this is what fits the context too. It also seems to exist in this flaky form that is shown in the video.

rumtscho
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    You can get vegetarian suet too - Atora is the best-known manufacturer of both in the UK [Link to product on supermarket site](https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/atora-vegetable-shredded-suet/006232-2752-2753) Basically, it's just fat & flour, well-rubbed. I found their site too - https://www.atora.co.uk idk how common it is as an export. – Tetsujin Apr 22 '20 at 06:42
  • Brings back memories of one of my favourite pubs that sold a steak and kidney pudding followed by jam roly poly for dessert. Two suet classics. – Laconic Droid Apr 22 '20 at 12:00
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    I can't check with the video as it's blocked here in the UK, but yes, that's almost certainly right.  I think most of us would pronounce ‘suet’ somewhere between _‘soo-it’_ and _‘syoo-it’_ — mostly near the former (except for those affecting RP).  Stress on the first syllable.  In some regional accents, either vowel may drop a little. – gidds Apr 22 '20 at 13:18
  • I have been told that in the US suet is considered animal / bird food and not for humans. Which is a shame as it means you're missing out on loads of lovely dumplings and steamed pastry puddings. – Vicky Apr 22 '20 at 15:13
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    @Vicky, in the US, a traditionalist who wants to make those things will probably just use lard instead of suet. You can probably also get suet, but might have to special-order it from the butcher's counter. – The Photon Apr 22 '20 at 15:19
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    @ThePhoton lard and suet are very different things ... sure, they're both fat from animals, but they have different properties and affect the final product in different ways. If you substitute lard for suet, you're going to have disappointing results in most recipes that call for suet. – Stephen M. Webb Apr 22 '20 at 16:39
  • @StephenM.Webb, some recipe adjustment might be needed, but lard is very commonly used for the fat in pastry (I assume Vicky used the word *pudding* to mean what I would call a *dessert*). I don't know as much about dumplings so maybe you're right and lard can't be substituted there. – The Photon Apr 22 '20 at 16:42
  • @ThePhoton I use lard in baked pastry all the time, but I would expect if I used it in a steamed pudding pastry it would come out tough as leather. Sounds like a reasonable grounds for investigative comparison cooking, though, if only the rest of my family would eat steak and kidney. – Stephen M. Webb Apr 22 '20 at 16:52
  • @StephenM.Webb, can you share a link to what you call a "pudding pastry"? When I google this term I just get things that look like ordinary baked pastries. – The Photon Apr 22 '20 at 17:01
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    Definitive version, Delia ;-) https://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/baking/how-to-make-suet-pastry – Tetsujin Apr 22 '20 at 17:46
  • UK pronunciations: [MacMillan](https://www.macmillandictionary.com/pronunciation/british/suet), [Oxford Learner's](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/suet). I found a few others but these sound more like Gordon. – wjandrea Apr 22 '20 at 20:34
  • @Tetsujin - Is vegetable suet made from transfats? – Kingsley Apr 23 '20 at 04:36
  • There are no manufacturers selling hydrogenated oils in food in the UK. There is no law against it, but in 2012 an agreement was reached & the practise ended. The only law on it is "if it's there it **must** be clearly labelled as such", which is why when one stopped the practise, so did all the others within a year. – Tetsujin Apr 23 '20 at 06:51