Delicious UK - (03)March 2020

Ifyou’rethinkingofhavinglambforyour

celebrationlunch,youmight wanttothink

again,saysClareFinney unlessyou’renot

botheredaboutseasonality, foodmilesand

messing up the animals’ natural breeding cycles

PHOTOGRAPH: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

I

t’sobviouswhenyoustoptothink

aboutit.Inthesebright,dewymonths,

whenweventurebackoutsidefor

countrywalks, whenwecooatnewborn

lambsstumblingonspindlylegs after

theirmothers...Springis traditionally

thetimewhenlambsareborn,notwhen

they’reslaughtered.Theterm‘spring

lamb’actuallyreferstolambsbornon

springpastures,buttheterm’sbeen

co-optedtoselllambatEaster.Rightnow,

lambsshouldbesuckling, notroasting

withrosemaryandthyme.

Buthangon,Ihearyousay,isn’tlamb

a traditionatEaster,goingbackhundreds

ofyears?Well,sortof.It’sa traditional

partofthefeastforPassover,theJewish

springfestivalthattakesplacearound

the sametime.Butthatoriginatedinthe

MiddleEast,whichhasquitea different

climatetoBritain,thousandsofyears

beforemoderndefinitionsofwhatisor

isn’tlamb. The practiceofeatinglambat

Easterwasadoptedinthiscountrywhen

thedeclineofthewooltradeencouraged

sheepfarmerstocreatea newmarket.

Thenaturalbreedingcycleofsheep in

theUKis fortheewetocomeintoseason

in autumn,andfortheirlambsto appear

fromlateMarchthroughtoearly summer

• thoughtherearesomeexceptions.The
  reasonyou’llfindBritishlambinAprilat
  topbutcherssuchasTheGingerPig

(whichsuppliesdelicious.withmeat)

isbecauseit’sfromDorsetewes.This

rare,hardybreedgivesbirthallyear

round, withoutthe needforartificial

insemination.Their lambswillhavebeen

borninNovemberandraisedbriefly

indoorsuntiloldenough tobeputout

tograze with their mothers.

So,what’sallthatlambonsupermarket

shelvesatEaster if it’snotfromtheDorset

breed?Chancesareit’seitherNew

Zealandlamb– withallthefoodmiles

thatentails – orwasbirthedinthebleak

midwintertoanartificially inseminated

ewe.Thatprocessalsoinvolvesaltering

the sheep’sfertilitythroughhormonal

intervention,thenkeepingherindoors

oncepregnant(Decemberis a hazardous

timetogivebirthoutside).

ThereasonTheGingerPig(andothers

whostockDorsetsheep) avoidmeatfrom

sheepthathaven’tbeenrearedaccording

to naturalbreedingpatternsis to

minimisestress. Artificial insemination

isn’tcruelty as the law woulddefineit,

but it’s hardly ideal animal welfare,

what with the use of hormones, the

inseminationandthefactthelambsare

invariablykeptindoorsformostoftheir

shortlife.They’realsoweanedand

fattenedoncerealpelletsorsilage,with

littlecontactwiththerestoftheflock.

Ifyou’realittle adventurous,thereis

anotherwaytoeatgoodBritishlambin

spring.Somespring-bornlambs willbe

slaughteredinlatesummerandautumn;

the restwillbekeptoverwinterand

slaughteredthefollowingspring.These

year-oldlambs areknownashogget,

whichyou’llfindonthe springtime

countersofmanyqualitybutchers(or

onlinefromplacessuchasFarmdrop).

Slowgrowthandfreshspringgrassbrings

flavour,nutrientsanda richmarbling

offattothestilltender meat. It’salso

amoresustainableuseofresourcesto

cullalargersheepthatfeeds morepeople.

Ifyoureally wantlambthis Easter,

avoidthe small, shrink-wrapped

shouldersandpickupsomehogget

or Dorsetlamb,like yourancestors

wouldhavedone.Orsaveyourlamb

momentforlaterin the year and choose

another roast.

Rightnow,lambsshould

besuckling,notroasting

with rosemary andthyme

Do youagreewithClareordo

youtakea difffferentview?Tellus

[email protected]

andwe’llprintthebestreplies

Lamb at Easter?

I don’t think so

146 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

agood rant.