The term mutton is almost always used to refer to goat meat in the Indian subcontinent. Lamb is the most expensive of the three types, and in recent decades sheep meat is increasingly only retailed as lamb, sometimes stretching the accepted distinctions given above. The stronger tasting mutton is now hard to find in many areas, despite the efforts of the Mutton Renaissance Campaign in the UK. In Australia, the term prime lamb is often used to refer to lambs raised for meat. Other languages, for example French, Italian and Arabic, make similar, or even more detailed, distinctions between sheep meat by age and sometimes by gender and diet, though these languages do not use different words to refer to the animal and its meat. Classifications and nomenclatureeditThe definitions for lamb, hogget and mutton vary considerably between countries. Younger lambs are smaller and more tender. Mutton is meat from a sheep over two years old, and has less tender flesh. In general, the darker the colour, the older the animal. Baby lamb meat will be pale pink, while regular lamb is pinkish red. Oatmeal Banana Cookies there. Commonwealth countrieseditLamb a young sheep under 1. The Australian definition requires 0 permanent incisors, whereas the New Zealand definition allows 0 incisors in wear. Hogget A term for a sheep of either sex having no more than two permanent incisors in wear,5 or its meat. Still common in farming usage, it is now rare as a domestic or retail term for the meat. Much of the lamb sold in the UK is hogget to an Antipodean farmer. Mutton a female ewe or castrated male wether sheep having more than two permanent incisors in wear. United StateseditThe terms mutton and hogget are uncommon in the United States. Federal statutes and regulations dealing with food labeling primarily refer to the meat of sheep as lamb,7 but this may exclude mutton. South AsiaeditThe term mutton is applied to goat meat in most of these countries, and the goat population has been rising. For example, mutton curry is always made from goat meat. It is estimated that over one third of the goat population is slaughtered every year and sold as mutton. The husbanded sheep population in India and South Asian countries has been in decline for over 4. Chuletillas of milk fed lamb in Asturias. Lamb shanks of a young lamb. Other definitionseditMilk fed lamb meat from an unweaned lamb, typically 46 weeks old and weighing 5. United States and the United Kingdom, while it is popular in Iran and Persian Gulf countries. The flavour and texture of milk fed lamb when grilled such as the tiny lamb chops known as chuletillas in Spain or roasted lechazo asado or cordero lechal asado is generally thought to be finer than that of older lamb, and fetches higher prices. The areas in northern Spain where this can be found include Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and Len, and La Rioja. Milk fed lambs are especially prized for Easter in Greece, when they are roasted on a spit. Young lamb a milk fed lamb between six and eight weeks old. Spring lamb a milk fed lamb, usually three to five months old, born in late winter or early spring and sold usually before 1 July in the northern hemisphere. Sucker lambs a term used in Australia1. Carcases from these lambs usually weigh between 1. Older weaned lambs which have not yet matured to become mutton are known as old season lambs. Lamb a young sheep that is less than one year old. Yearling lamb a young sheep between 1. Saltbush mutton a term used in Australia for the meat of mature Merinos which have been allowed to graze on atriplex plants. Salt marsh lamb also known as saltmarsh lamb or by its French name, agneau de pr sal is the meat of sheep which graze on salt marsh in coastal estuaries that are washed by the tides and support a range of salt tolerant grasses and herbs, such as samphire, sparta grass, sorrel and sea lavender. Depending on where the salt marsh is located, the nature of the plants may be subtly different. Salt marsh lamb has long been appreciated in France and is growing in popularity in the United Kingdom. Places where salt marsh lamb are reared in the UK include Harlech and the Gower Peninsula in Wales, the Somerset Levels, Morecambe Bay and the Solway Firth. Saltgrass Lamb A term used to describe a type of lamb exclusive to Flinders Island Tasmania. The pastures on the island have a relatively high salt content, leading to a flavor and texture similar to saltmarsh lamb. Butchery and cookeryeditThe meat of a lamb is taken from the animal between one month and one year old, with a carcase carcass in American English weight of between 5. This meat generally is more tender than that from older sheep and appears more often on tables in some Western countries. Hogget and mutton have a stronger flavour than lamb because they contain a higher concentration of species characteristic fatty acids and are preferred by some. Mutton and hogget also tend to be tougher than lamb because of connective tissue maturation and are therefore better suited to casserole style cooking, as in Lancashire hotpot, for example. Lamb is often sorted into three kinds of meat forequarter, loin, and hindquarter. The forequarter includes the neck, shoulder, front legs, and the ribs up to the shoulder blade. The hindquarter includes the rear legs and hip. The loin includes the ribs between the two. Lamb chops are cut from the rib, loin, and shoulder areas. The rib chops include a rib bone the loin chops include only a chine bone. Shoulder chops are usually considered inferior to loin chops both kinds of chops are usually grilled. Breast of lamb baby chops can be cooked in an oven. Leg of lamb is a whole leg saddle of lamb is the two loins with the hip. Leg and saddle are usually roasted, though the leg is sometimes boiled. Forequarter meat of sheep, as of other mammals, includes more connective tissue than some other cuts, and, if not from a young lamb, is best cooked slowly using either a moist method, such as braising or stewing, or by slow roasting or American barbecuing. It is, in some countries, sold already chopped or diced. Lamb shank definitions vary, but generally include Lamb shank is cut from the arm of shoulder, contains leg bone and part of round shoulder bone, and is covered by a thin layer of fat and fell a thin, paper like covering. Lamb shank is a cut of meat from the upper part of the leg. Thin strips of fatty mutton can be cut into a substitute for bacon called macon. Lamb tongue is popular in Middle Eastern cuisine both as a cold cut and in preparations like stews. Commonwealth countrieseditApproximate zones of the usual UK cuts of lamb 1. US and IrelandeditSquare cut shoulder shoulder roast, shoulder chops and arm chops. Rack rib chops and riblets, rib roast. Loin loin chops or roast. Leg sirloin chops, leg roast leg of lambNeck. Breast. Shanks fore or hindFlank. Production and consumption figureseditSheep meat consumptioneditAccording to the OECD FAO Agricultural Outlook for 2. Sudan 1. 0. 5 kilograms 2. Kazakhstan 8. 1 kilograms 1. Australia 7. 4 kilograms 1. Algeria 7. 1 kilograms 1. Uruguay 5. 7 kilograms 1. Saudi Arabia 5. New Zealand 4. Turkey 4. 1 kilograms 9. Iran 3. 2 kilograms 7. South Africa 3. Sheep meat productioneditThe table below gives a sample of producing nations, but many other significant producers in the 5. KT range are not given. Source Helgi Library,1.