Fetten

Fetten is a German verb meaning to fatten or to grease. It stems from Fett, fat, and appears in several contexts, most commonly in agriculture and cooking. The related verb forms and the past participle include gefettet and eingefettet, used to describe something that has been greased or coated with fat.

In animal husbandry, fattening refers to the practice of increasing a animal’s weight and fat content, typically before slaughter or for market fat content. This often involves higher-energy rations, controlled housing, and management strategies tailored to species and production goals. Welfare, environmental impact, and economic factors influence fattening practices and regulations in different regions.

In cooking and food processing, the action of applying fat to a surface or food is usually described with einfetten or einfetten von Oberflächen. For example, a pan is often eingefettet before baking to prevent sticking; the food itself can be gefettet in some recipes, though einfetten is more common in contemporary usage.

In industry, fette is used to describe lubrication of machinery. Bearings and other moving parts are eingefettet to reduce friction and wear, a routine maintenance practice in many sectors.

Etymologically, Fetten is tied to the concept of fat and its physical properties, with cognates in other Germanic languages reflecting similar meanings. The term can appear in historical texts as well as modern technical and agricultural writing. See also Fett, fettig, einfetten, and Fettleibigkeit (obesity) for related concepts.