Atora is a British brand of pre-shredded

suet Suet is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys. Suet has a melting point of between 45 °C and 50 °C (113 °F and 122 °F) and congelation between 37 °C and 40 °C (98.6& ...

(the hard fat around the kidneys). As suet most commonly needs to be shredded in its typical uses in British cuisine (e.g. in pie crusts, steamed puddings, and dumplings), Atora can be seen as a labour-saving convenience item. Atora only uses suet from cattle and sheep. Atora is also available in a vegetable fat-based version labeled "vegetable suet".

History

In the past, it was common to be able to find blocks of suet at grocery shops; however, it was not until 1893 that the first pre-shredded suet became available. This was the brainchild of Gabriel Hugon, a Frenchman living in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He observed his wife struggling to cut blocks of suet in the kitchen and set about to create ready-shredded suet.

Etymology

Hugon called his product "Atora", derived from "toro", the Spanish word for bull. To reinforce this connection, prior to the Second World War, the suet was transported around the country in painted wagons pulled by six pairs of Hereford bulls.

Ownership

In 1974 production was moved from the factory in Ogden Lane, Openshaw, Manchester to another site at Greatham, near Hartlepool. Production at Greatham ended around 2002–2003.{{citation needed, date=June 2017 The brand was bought by

Rank Hovis McDougall RHM plc, formerly Rank Hovis McDougall, was a United Kingdom food business. The company owned numerous brands, particularly for flour, where its core business started, and for consumer food products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...

in 1963 and, along with the rest of their assets, it became part of

Premier Foods Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The group owns many well-known brands, including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Bird's Custard, Angel Delight, Homepride cooking sauces, Lyons, Sharwood's, Loy ...

in March 2007.

References

External links

Official Website

Atora
at gracesguide.co.uk Food brands of the United Kingdom Cooking fats Premier Foods brands British Royal Warrant holders