WHY SUET? - 5/13/20


 Why Suet?

BY: PEGGY WILLIAMS AKA Birdie of Mississippi

 

This morning I got tickled because I saw two little Downy Woodpeckers literally licking the cage that I put my suet in.  My daughter Amanda Vines bought me two containers of Peanut Crunch suet from the Senatobia Co-op as part of my birthday present in April.  The brand and type of suet was different from what I usually buy from Wal-Mart and it has attracted a variety of birds that I don’t usually have come to visit.  This brand also seems to be irresistibly delicious because Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Carolina Wrens, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, Chickadees and even Cardinals are waiting in line and even having a fight or two over it.  A Catbird is a total newcomer to my yard and apparently has taken up residence in my yard just to eat on this new suet.

 

So, why suet?  What makes suet so desirable? One main ingredient of suet is “fat.” This fat is the hard white fat on the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and other animals. When you look at the suet cake the gooey stuff that holds the cake together is “fat.”  This sticky stuff that gets all over your hands when loading the cage is what locks in the corn, milo, wheat, millet, sunflower seed and peanut parts that are mixed into the cake.  And the birds love it!  During the winter they need this fat to give them energy and to layer on a little bit of fat to their bodies to help keep them warm. I have found that birds will eat suet even during the summer, but due to the high temps that we experience in the South suet usually melts. This melted fat can become rancid and nurture bacteria or fungus which can be harmful to birds.  It can also coat their feathers and be just as toxic as an oil spill can be to birds by causing a bird’s natural oils to be destroyed. Their own oils insulate them naturally from cold temperatures and rain. So I have found it’s best to stop putting out suet when temps begin to get in the 90’s.

 

One interesting thing that I found funny was the mention of “figgy pudding” in an article on USA TODAY.com  One famous old Christmas tune says, “Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer!” I have memories of Ms. Kathryn Gabbert playing this song at our Methodist women’s Christmas parties on the piano and having us sing along.  “Figgy pudding” sounds like a wonderful pudding made with figs or maybe even plums for the holidays.  But, what exactly is a “figgy pudding”? This is a staple dessert from the British Christmas tables, but it isn’t filled with figs or plums or creamy custard as we American’s have as a dessert.  It is a sweet dessert, but it’s made with suet – yes the hard raw fat found around the kidneys and loin of beef or mutton!  Eggs, brown sugar, breadcrumbs, spices, dried fruits and brandy are added to this fat and steamed to make a cakelike dessert. Since I have never had figgy pudding, I really don’t know if this is good or something that only the British would like.  I do know one thing – I never would have thought that I would have gone from suet bird cages to a Christmas “figgy pudding” all in the same article as I continue to “look at the birds of the air….” Matthew 6:26. 

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