Suet is animal fat that has been processed into (usually) dry pellets for convenience. It is possible to get reduced fat suet and vegetarian suet, which makes puddings much lighter. You CAN make Spotted Dick with other animal fats such as butter, but it doesn't work so well.. the secret to a good Dick is the long, slow cooking process.

This site will tell you more than you ever needed to know about suet.

Leeneia - in the UK you can buy a product called 'Fat Balls'.....

LTS