Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken meat from the domestic sheep, Ovis aries, and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in their second, and mutton, from older sheep.
In South Asian and Caribbean cuisine, "mutton" often means goat meat. At various times and places, "mutton" or "goat mutton" has occasionally been used to mean goat meat.
Sheep (pl.: sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe (/juː/ yoo), an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.
Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget, or mutton), and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. In Commonwealth countries, ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones; in the United States, meat from both older and younger animals is usually called lamb. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and are also occasionally raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science.
A chef's knife, also known as a cook's knife, is a medium to large sized generalist kitchen knife used in food preparation. Longer and wider knives are more frequently called chef's knives, whereas shorter and more slender knives have a tendency to be called cook's knives. In cooking, this knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef and mutton, though now it is the primary general food preparation knife for most Western cooks.
A European chef's knife generally has a blade 20 centimetres (8 inches) in length and a broad 4 cm (1½ in.) width, although individual models range from 15 to 36 centimetres (6 to 14 inches) in length and may be as slender as 2 cm (¾ inch). The shortest and narrowest knives overlap into the general utility kitchen knife category that are too narrow to have a heel and choil to the blade, like the smaller paring knife.
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in French cuisine hachis Parmentier, is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked, formerly also called Sanders or Saunders. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The usual meats are beef or lamb. The terms shepherd's pie and cottage pie have been used interchangeably since they came into use in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although some writers insist that a shepherd's pie should contain lamb or mutton, and a cottage pie, beef.
A Scotch pie is a double-crust meat pie, traditionally filled with minced mutton (whereby also called a mutton pie) but now generally beef, sometimes lamb. It may also be known as a shell pie to differentiate it from other varieties of savoury pie, such as the steak pie, steak and kidney pie, steak-and-tattie (potato) pie, and so forth. The Scotch pie originated in Scotland, but can be found in other parts of the United Kingdom and abroad.
In the context of nutrition, red meat is defined as meat obtained from mammals, including beef, pork, lamb, mutton, veal, venison, and goat. Red meat does not necessarily appear red in color.
Red meat is a good source of protein, iron, zinc, and vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), unprocessed red meat probably causes cancer, particularly colorectal cancer. Studies have also linked red meat with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. If meat is processed, such as by salting, curing, or smoking, health risks further increase. Processed meat is known to cause colorectal cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund recommends minimizing consumption of processed meat and limiting red meat to no more than three servings per week.
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, including its melting point. Commercial tallow commonly contains fat derived from other animals, such as lard from pigs, or even from plant sources.
The cuisine of Kazakhstan, also known as Kazakhstani cuisine, encompasses all traditional and modern cuisines of Kazakhstan. The dominant cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Kazakhs, who make up about 70% of the country's population. It is focused on mutton and horse meat, as well as various milk products. For hundreds of years, Kazakhs were predominantly herders who raised fat-tailed sheep, Bactrian camels, and horses, relying on these animals for transportation, clothing, and food. The cooking techniques and major ingredients have been strongly influenced by the nation's nomadic way of life. For example, most cooking techniques are aimed at long-term preservation of food. There is a large practice of salting and drying meat so that it will last, and there is a preference for sour milk, as it is easier to save in a nomadic lifestyle.
Meat in various forms has always been the primary ingredient of Kazakh cuisine, and traditional Kazakh cooking is based on boiling. Horse and mutton are the most popular forms of meat and are most often served in large uncut pieces which have been boiled. Kazakhs cared especially for horses which they intended to slaughter—keeping them separate from other animals and feeding them so much that they often became so fat they had difficulty moving.