What animal does sweetmeat come from?

Answer 1

Sweetmeat actually doesn't come from an animal. The term 'sweetmeat' refers to a way of preserving nuts/fruits with sugar. What you are thinking of is 'sweetbreads'. Sweetbreads are taken from the thymus gland, pancreas or genitalia of young animals, most often calves, pigs or lambs. They are roundish in shape and are a favorite ingredient in many European dishes. Additionally, my Good Housekeeping cookbook categorizes cow brains as sweetbreads, so it may be used more broadly to refer to traditionally unused animal parts in American Cooking.