Can I store shredded suet or home-rendered tallow at home? The recipe book of Atora: The Good Beef Suet is a good example.

The first mention of Suet in a recipe for Cambridge pudding was in 1617, when it was used as a key ingredient.Suet was time consuming to use and prepare, and involved removing the fat from beef, clarifying it over heat and chopping it ready for use.

It was not until 1893 that the first pre-shredded suet became available.Gabriel Hugon is a Frenchman living in Manchester.He watched as his wife tried to cut blocks of suet in the kitchen.

The product was called 'Atora' because it was derived from the Spanish word for bull.Up until world war II, the suet was transported around the country in painted wagons pulled by six pairs of bulls.

The brand was bought by Rank Hovis McDougall in 1963, and the rest of the group became part of Premier Foods in 2007.

Atora is a British brand of shredded suet that is used in the production of pastries and jam roly-poly.

packet suet has a limited shelf life once opened.I threw out the rancid suet I was using to make the dumplings and made them with a fresh packet.