The best way to use it for any pastries or recipes is to freeze and then grate it to replicate the consistency of the suet. 2. Beef fat Put the fat and seeds in a saucepan and heat gently until the fat has melted. Pour the mixture into the yoghurt pots, stand in a tray and leave to set overnight in the fridge. Carefully remove the empty pot from the fat and hang the feeder from a tree. Pine cones Self-raising flour. Or plain flour with bicarbonate of soda. Plain flour in the UK is known as all purpose flour in the US. Any one of these choices will work equally.

This piece of meat has a high smoke point, making it great for deep frying and pastry recipes. It is used in a lot of British cuisines, primarily in Christmas Pudding, traditionally. Some foods should never be fed to birds, including the fat from a roasting tin, salted nuts, desiccated coconut and cooked oats. Atora is the main UK brand for suet – but any supermarket brand of suet is just as good, so don’t think this is the only name that works.Use an ice cream scoop, or mould with your hands, into balls. If you want them to hang from a tree thread some string through them. We present in this booklet a varied selection of all that is best in suet cookery. This is one branch of the culinary art that is essentially British – it suits our climate and our way of life – and perhaps that is why many succeeding generations have shown such singular adaptability in evolving the numerous delightful recipes now available to us. One last important point. These recipes prepared with “ATORA” are not only nice – they contain all the nourishment of good beef suet. Remember that suet is more than a cooking medium, it is a food, and there is no substitute for it. Beef fat should be used for savory recipes but can also be replaced in sweet recipes and baked goods, as sugar will be added to balance out the flavor. 3. Lard Take a plastic plate or the lid of a plastic box to make a tray-style feeder. Make four evenly spaced holes around the edge, thread through four equal lengths of twine or string and tie together at the top so that the tray is suspended horizontally. Knot the ends of the twine together over a branch. Sprinkle the tray with bird seed. Seeded apples

Butter has a much lower smoke point than suet. So, it will burn if using it for deep frying, and might not add that light and airy consistency to your plum pudding or Christmas cakes. This may not be easily accessible in your supermarket, however, vegetable suet has become more popular over the years. It can also be used for savory dishes including dumplings or pastry for pies, making it a versatile ingredient to have in your cupboard. Weigh out double that amount in flour (200 grams of suet to 400 grams of flour). If you’re using plain flour and adding bicarbonate of soda or baking powder then add in two teaspoons of that too.Spoon the mixture into the prepared pudding basin, cover with parchment paper and foil and steam for 8 hours. Reuse empty yoghurt pots to make hanging feeders. Make a small hole in the bottom of each pot and thread some string or twine through the hole in the bottom and out through the top of the pot, leaving it long enough to tie the feeder to a branch.