Whats in a Name ?

For many families the traditional Sunday roast is lamb, served with potatoes and greens - and lashings of mint sauce.  That definition as " lamb " is something that makes farmers desperate to rush their young sheep to market because somewhere between ten and fourteen months old the state of their teeth sees them defined as " hogget ".  When that happens the price they receive at the abattoirs drops by about forty dollars per animal.

That is a big mystery to most meat lovers, but to the farming and meat industries it all depends on when young lamb lose what are called their " milk teeth " and start entirely depending on cropping grass for their meal.  The time that happens is indeterminate but usually somewhere between ten and fourteen months of age.  As part of the ageing process the incisor teeth push out the milk teeth - and in the twinkling of an eye that animal that was classed as " lamb " becomes far less valued " hogget ".   As many farmers ruefully observe, " It can happen between the farm gate and the trip to the abattoirs " !

All that is about to change from this July.  Australia and New Zealand compete on the overseas export lamb trade and we have had two distinctly different definitions of that word " lamb ".  It has been decided to stick with the New Zealand definition and from July a lamb will be defined as a young sheep that is under twelve months of age or has a permanent  incisor tooth that is bigger than its milk teeth.

Basically, sheep fall into one of three categories when it comes to their definition in the meat trade. It all depends on their age and so they are presented as lamb, hogget - or mutton and their skin is branded accordingly.   The size of the meat offered is usually a fair indication if older sheep defined as " mutton " are involved but it is near impossible for the shopper to determine a difference between lamb and hogget if that skin has been removed.  It is common for hogget to be sold as lamb is high volume supermarkets and few customers notice the difference.

Because of the drought, the prices of lamb has shot up the price scale and when the drought ends farmers will hold back stock from market as they try to rebuilt their flocks.   The fact that the highest price asked is for lamb  should have cost conscious cooks looking at what can be achieved with the cheaper varieties offering.  Many people shun hogget as inferior when the difference between higher priced lamb can usually be a matter of days when milk teeth drop.  Many customers define anything other than lamb as " mutton " and reject it accordingly.

This change in title will not be apparent at the point of sale.  The meat from sheep can deliver a delicious meal if the right cooking method is selected.  The wise cook looks at the meat and decides both the type of dish and the cooking time that will deliver the taste and flavour sought, and that is the skill component that makes some people great cooks.