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Tripe

Edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals

  • 10 min read
  • 4 chapters

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Through Sheep

Types

Beef

Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's stomach chambers: the rumen (blanket/flat/smooth tripe), the reticulum (honeycomb/pocket tripe), and the omasum (book/bible/leaf tripe). Abomasum (reed tripe) is seen less frequently, owing to its glandular tissue content.

Other animals

Tripe refers to cow (beef) stomach, but includes stomach of any ruminant including cattle, sheep, deer, antelope, goat, ox, giraffes, and their relatives. Tripas, the related Spanish word, refers to culinary dishes produced from the small intestines of an animal. In some cases, other names have been applied to the tripe of other animals. For example, tripe from pigs may be referred to as paunch, pig bag, or hog maw.

Washed tripe

Washed tripe is more typically known as dressed tripe. To dress the tripe, the stomachs are cleaned and the fat trimmed off. It is then boiled and bleached, giving it the white color more commonly associated with tripe as seen on market stalls and in butchers' shops. The task of dressing the tripe is usually carried out by a professional tripe dresser.

Dressed tripe was a popular, nutritious and cheap dish for the British working classes from Victorian times until the latter half of the 20th century. While it is still popular in many parts of the world today, the number of tripe eaters, and consequently the number of tripe dressers, in the UK has rapidly declined. Tripe has come to be regarded as a pet food, as the increased affluence of postwar Britain has reduced the appeal of this once staple food.

It remains a popular dish in many parts of continental Europe such as Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. In France, a very popular dish, sold in most supermarkets, is tripes à la mode de Caen. In Spain callos a la madrileña are served as tapas in many restaurants as well as in supermarkets. The most beloved and celebrated dish in the city of Porto and surrounding areas, in Portugal, is tripas à moda do Porto, a tripe stew made with white butter beans, carrots, paprika and chouriço. It is so loved that locals are called 'Tripeiros', in an homage to the 'tripa' (tripe).

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