Seed plants (offal)

Seed plants are a byproduct of castration of young animals raised for meat. Therefore, dishes from testes were traditionally prepared in the season of mass castration of animals on farms - in late spring ^[1] . At any time of the year, frozen animal testes are available for sale.

Testes are a source of easily digestible protein , contain vitamins and important trace elements . They have a delicate structure and a pleasant taste, slightly reminiscent of the taste of mushrooms or kidneys , but do not have a specific smell ^[2] .

The testes of animals used in food have long been considered an aphrodisiac . Testosterone is destroyed when heated, so these dishes cannot increase the level of hormone in the body of the eater ^[3] . But in old recipes, to increase male strength, the testes were prescribed to be used raw. As a source of testosterone, they were even used as doping at the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece ^[4] .

Testes are known in culinary under a variety of euphemisms that are designed to save the consumer from unnecessarily direct associations. In England, sheep and cockerel testes have long been called “pebbles” ( English stones ), fried mutton testicles - “fried” ( English fries ). In America , the oyster euphemism is used: “steppe oysters” or “prairie oysters” are called fried bull and bison testes, mutton testes are called “Rocky Mountain oysters” ^[1] . The name “external kidneys” is found in Middle Eastern cuisine ^[6] , and in France - “white kidneys” ( French rognons blancs ) ^[7] .

Testes are used in cooking in various ways. They are stewed , fried , used as a filling for pies and minced meat for sausages , fried in breading and batter , stewed , baked on the grill , put in soups , served as a hot snack . Before cooking, the testes are usually scalded, dipped in cold water and then skin is removed. The testes freed from the skin are cut into slices along or across and prepared by the selected method ^[8] .

In the English cookbooks of the 17th-19th centuries there are recipes for mutton testes in spicy cream sauce and fricassee , “pebbles” are part of many giblets . Roasted bull and lamb testes with sweet meat , cockerels , bone marrow and bacon were served on the large table with artichokes , pistachios and citrus slices ^[1] .

In Spain, criadillas are popular - bull testes, sliced ​​and fried with garlic and parsley ^[1] . In the Middle East , in Asia, testes are used for cooking everyday dishes. In Iceland, sheep testicles are harvested for the winter in pressed form ^[1] . In the Caucasus and Central Asia, bull and lamb testes are cooked on skewers, like barbecue ^[9] .

In the USA and Canada, "prairie oysters" are fried, stewed and even stuffed. The dish here is so popular that in many cities hold for cooking and eating "oysters" ^{[10] [11]} .

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  Bull testis

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  Bull testes in a market in Italy

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  Cockerel Stew
  ( kakashere pörkölt ) in Hungary

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  Bull testis stew (right) in Austria

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  Rocky Mountain Oysters