This is a preview of the content in our French Food Decoder app. Get the app to:
- Read offline
- Remove ads
- Access all content
- Use the in-app Map to find sites, and add custom locations (your hotel...)
- Build a list of your own favourites
- Search the contents with full-text search functionality
- ... and more!
ris de veau
veal sweetbreads
Ris de veau or sweetbreads, made from the thymus gland of the calf, are a big French favourite, as are ris d’agneau (lamb sweetbreads).
There are countless recipes for ris de veau—the one with mushroom and cream perhaps the most popular—while lamb sweetbreads are often fried or braised.
Did you ever wonder, as I used to, why they are called sweetbreads in English? It’s because they have a richer and sweeter taste than typical meat, and the Old English word for flesh is bræd.
Text © Dana Facaros
Image by Pierre-Olivier Carles