The majority of sheep production is concentrated in the South West. But it is also found in dry or mountainous areas.

History and characteristics of the sheep

The domestication of sheep dates back 7,000 to 8,000 years. It adapts to the harshest environments and is found almost everywhere. It can be bred in herds of several hundred heads, or as an accompaniment to other breeding.

Sheep has the advantage of providing many important commodities:  meat and milk, but also leather and wool. Although sheep's wool is no longer essential today, it was once very useful, which led breeders to keep sheep until old age. Many traditional recipes (stews, braised dishes, etc.) thus aimed to tenderize flesh that had become hard and to remove its ooze taste.

The leading exporter of sheep in the world is Australia. The UK produces, consumes, and also exports much sheep. It is also the staple meat of the countries of the Maghreb, the Middle East, the Near East, and India. It is consumed much less than in the past. Today, we prefer lamb, considering the meat of the mutton too firm and too strong in taste.

When to eat mutton

Mutton is eaten en primer during the month of March; it is the peak season for tasting mutton in January, February, and November.

Mutton Calories and Nutrition Facts

Mutton is a fairly fatty meat, more than lamb, which is younger and therefore fattened for less time. Mutton contains 18 g of fat per 100 g of meat. Its fats are among the richest in saturated fatty acids. These pose a risk to cardiovascular health, so it is best to remove as much fat as possible before cooking and then onto the plate. It is also recommended to use oil over butter for cooking the mutton and to discard the cooking fat. It is best to serve it with vegetables, which provide antioxidants that protect the arteries.

Mutton provides  225  calories per 100 g of meat. It is, therefore, to be avoided as part of a diet. Its meat, on the other hand, contains interesting amounts of protein but is very low in iron. Sheep brains and kidneys are particularly high in cholesterol.

Sheep have been affected by a disease for a very long time:  sheep scrapie, which resembles "mad cow" disease. However, no case of transmission to humans has been recorded to date. An animal contaminated by this disease is immediately slaughtered and will not be marketed. The same goes for foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks, which can decimate a herd.

How to choose the sheep

Sheep is an animal of the sheep breed, over one-year-old. It is fattened by the breeder to be marketed in butcher's shop. We also call "mutton" the meat of the ram and the ewe (having already had a lamb), which are less good. The term “lamb “designates a beast less than fourteen months old. Certain breeds of sheep are chosen for their rapid growth, such as Berrichon or Suffolk. From these sheep, raised intensively in the sheepfolds, we make the lamb we eat most often.

To choose mutton, you must ensure the firmness and the dark red color of its flesh. For roasts and grills, choose a sheep that is as young as possible, so that its meat is tender.

How to cook and taste mutton

The piece of mutton to choose depends on the preparation you want to make.

• To roast: leg of lamb, saddle, whole rack or shoulder;
• To grill: the chops;
• To prepare kebabs: breast, shoulder or collar;
• To braise, sauté or boil: the collar, the breast, or the shoulder.

Some mutton offal is also in demand, such as tripe, which is cooked in some regions.

Mutton does not have a label, as there are for lamb. The meat of animals raised in the open takes on the taste of what they eat, while those raised in the sheepfold have fatter meat. The quality of the meat depends on the breed of the animal, its age, and its breeding conditions. The best sheep are the salt meadows, which are reared in coastal pastures rich in iodized air.

Now you know how to cook mutton. Let us recommend a delicious and mouth-watering recipe that called Mutton Curry Andhra Style