a : a candied or crystallized fruit. b : candy, confection.

Why is it called a sweetmeat?

The word 'sweetmeat' is considered to be old fashioned; some dictionaries label it as being 'archaic'. ... In Old English, the word 'mete', from which we get the modern 'meat', meant 'food'. All items of food, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, were called 'meat'. The original meaning of 'sweetmeat' was 'sweet food'.

What meat is sweetmeat?

Would you rather eat sweetbreads or sweetmeats? While sweetbreads might sound like sugary buns, they are actually a form of meat. They consist of the pancreas (“heart,” “chest” or “stomach” sweetbreads) or thymus glands (“throat” or “neck” sweetbreads) of an animal, usually a calf or a lamb.