Of the Sheep

The features of a goat’s and that of a sheep’s meat are almost similar and are not readily identifiable.

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Sheep’s meat is considered best when it is young. Lamb meat, to be specific, is referred to as the meat of young sheep. It is also more expensive and has certain taste, which is sometimes not acceptable locally.

A lamb is a sheep that is typically less than one year old. There is little fat on lamb, and the meat can vary in colour from a tender pink to a pale red. Lamb less than three months of age is called spring lamb. Spring lamb is extremely tender but has a milder flavour than lamb.

Mutton is meat from a sheep that is older than one year, ideally three years old. It is an intense red colour and contains a considerable amount of fat. Its flavour is very strong, and you might have to acquire the taste before being able to enjoy a meal of mutton.

The word mutton is used for the meat of a grown-up sheep and goat, usually after they achieve the age of one year or so. “In the Indian context, as far as the independent and small restaurants are concerned, it is considered as ‘understood’ from the customers’ perspective that wherever lamb is mentioned in the menu, it is the goat meat and not the lamb meat. However, it is interesting to see that in restaurants of hotels, goat meat is served wherever lamb is mentioned, with few exceptions,” asserted a Chef.

Meat Specifics

Lamb and mutton are graded by two grading systems: quality grading and yield grading. The purpose of the grading is to facilitate in ranking of the lamb, both as live animal and as meat product. Using the grading systems, products can be more easily priced and marketed according to given values.