Sweetbread is a mild-flavored meat that comes from the thymus of a young calf or lamb, or the pancreas of a hog. The thymus is a glandlike organ located inside the animal’s chest cavity. The pancreas is a gland situated near the stomach. The largest and most tender sweetbreads come from young calves because the thymus shrinks as the animal ages. Fine restaurants serve sweetbread as a main dish. Some supermarkets sell calf sweetbreads, but lamb sweetbreads are too small to be sold in markets. Few markets sell hog sweetbreads because demand is low. Most sweetbreads in the United States are exported to Europe, where they are more popular.
