Sweetbread is a culinary name for the thymus (also called throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread) or pancreas (also called stomach, belly or heart sweetbread), typically from calf (French: ris de veau) or lamb (ris d'agneau).^[1][2] Sweetbreads have a rich, slightly gamey flavor and a tender, succulent texture. They are often served as an appetizer or a main course and can be accompanied by a variety of sauces and side dishes.

The "heart" sweetbreads are more spherical, while the "throat" sweetbreads are more cylindrical.^[3] As the thymus is replaced by fibrous tissue in older animals, only pancreatic sweetbreads come from beef and pork.^[4] Like other edible non-muscle from animal carcasses, sweetbreads may be categorized as offal, "fancy meat", or "variety meat".^[4]: 4,23 Various other glands used as food may also sometimes be called "sweetbreads", including the parotid gland ("cheek" or "ear" sweetbread), the sublingual glands ("tongue" sweetbreads or "throat bread") as well as ovary and testicles.^[5][6]

Sweetbreads are a part of traditional French cuisine. In Henri-Paul Pellaprat's classic Modern French Culinary Art, which was published in English in 1966, he includes six different recipes for sweetbreads, including versions with cream sauce, with ham, presented in pastry cases, and à la Florentine.^[7] In the 1961 classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume 1, Julia Child and her co-authors also include six recipes for sweetbreads, with variations of cream and mushroom sauces, a version à l’Italienne including ham and mushrooms, and a gratin with Swiss cheese.^[8]

In a cookbook published in 1949, American chef James Beard included recipes for sweetbreads en brochette, broiled sweetbreads, and three variations of sautéed sweetbreads.^[9]

Sweetbreads are a component of the Creole cuisine of Louisiana, with recipes included in some of the earliest cookbooks published there. Many restaurants in New Orleans serve sweetbreads.^[10][11]

Sweetbread is a common Iranian street food and is often served as a kebab.^[12] One common preparation of sweetbreads involves soaking in salt water, then poaching in milk, after which the outer membrane is removed. Once dried and chilled, they are often breaded and fried.^[13][14] They are also used for stuffing or in pâtés. They are grilled in many Latin American cuisines, such as in the Argentine asado, floured and pan-fried in Greece (sheep's thymus is usually used), and served in bread in Turkish cuisine.

The word sweetbread is first attested in the 16th century, but the etymology of the name is unclear.^[1] Sweet is perhaps used since the thymus is sweet and rich-tasting, as opposed to savory-tasting muscle flesh.^[15] Bread may come from Middle English brede, meaning "roast meat".^[16]

• Head cheese, or brawn – typically, meat from the head of a calf or pig