What qualifies as "flesh meat"?

[Lady Grey, Hot]

For the purposes of abstaining on Fridays, what is considered meat and what is not? I know, for example, that rennet is not vegetarian properly speaking, but (it's my impression, anyway) it also doesn't really have the flavor or appearance of meat. Does that matter? 

[Nunsuch]

Fish isn't vegetarian, either, but it is permitted on Fridays and other days of abstention. And so are eggs. Having never used rennet, I can't reply about that, unfortunately. 

[Credo in Deum]

On 12/15/2022 at 3:51 PM, Lady Grey, Hot said:

For the purposes of abstaining on Fridays, what is considered meat and what is not? I know, for example, that rennet is not vegetarian properly speaking, but (it's my impression, anyway) it also doesn't really have the flavor or appearance of meat. Does that matter? 

 Flesh meat is the flesh, blood, or marrow of any warm blooded animal.  
 

From what I’ve read about rennet is it is an enzyme that can either come from lambs, goats or plants.  Whether the rennet from goats and lambs is prohibited on Friday’s, I can’t say for sure.  Personally, I don’t think it would be an issue since it’s used in making cheese and cheese is permitted on Fridays. 

[truthfinder]

Current canon law states that "meat" is not be eaten on Fridays, and then follows up stating that it is up to the conference of bishops to provide further explanations for application.  So, unless you national conference of bishops has said rennet is not allowed, it is.

(And this sort of definition of what is acceptable or not has been going on for centuries: some dioceses would outright ban all animal products for Lent, where a neighboring diocese would just say no land-animal meat; or then we always get the hilarious rulings on whether muskrats/beavers/alligators/etc are 'meat'.)

[fides' Jack]

Abstinence laws also forbid the consumption of soups and gravies made from meat.  

I have no idea what rennet is, but if it's made from goat or lamb meat, then it counts as meat.

[Lady Grey, Hot]

46 minutes ago, fides' Jack said:

I have no idea what rennet is, but if it's made from goat or lamb meat, then it counts as meat.

It's a set of enzymes produced in their stomachs. It's often used in cheese production, which is the main reason I'm asking.

[fides' Jack]

Oh, well, cheese does not count as meat, so I'm guessing it's fine.

[little2add]

The History of the Feast of the Seven Fishes

. The tradition of eating fish on Christmas Eve comes from the Roman Catholic practice of not eating dairy or meat on the eve of some holidays, including Christmas. And the number seven is a symbol that’s repeated many times throughout the Bible – and in Catholicism, there are seven sacraments and deadly sins.

Around the year 1900, all these ideas came together into the Feast of the Seven Fishes. The name itself, and the number of dishes is completely an Italian American invention.