THE FLAVOR OF VARIOUS MUTTONS.

Southland Times, Issue 18059, 31 January 1903, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE FLAVOR OF VARIOUS MUTTONS.

An unfortunate feature in Australia is that all the care is-for the' wool. It is only fair that the meat side of., the question should also be considered. It ir the same in other countries where everything has been subordinated to wool, the condition in the Argentine having lately provoked an article of which the following is an extract —

" Sheep which have been fed on a liberal ration of sound turnips, or even of corn silage, along with full feeding npon such feqds as bran, oats and linseed meal, have a line quality of flesh, and all these kinds of mutton are free from the objectionable sheepy taste when properly dressed. Scrub sheep, fed on scrub food, make an inferior quality of objectionable flavored flesh, and this taste is aggravated when the carcase is badly dressed tind too quickly cooled.; Where the sheep is dressed in very cold weather, with the thermometer at zero or below., and the carcase is quickly frozen solid after dressing, the flesh has a bad tastp. In skinning the animal, use care to keep the^ wool away from the flesh. Take out the intestines as quickly as possible, and wash tho carcass thoroughly with clear writer." The excellence of the New Zealand mntton sent over to Australia to relieve the shortage in local markets due to drought, has been generally recognised. English people' iv particular have compared it to 9ome; of tho mutton of the old country, and evgn the least fastidious have acknowledged that it leaves something to be desired in the average mUtton of Australia. A fault with much Australian mutton is its >' sheep taste," which is sometimes caused by carelessness in dressing and Washing the carca«3,.or by cooling it; too quickly. This taste is undoubtedly stronger in the oily Merinos than in fie mutton breeds of sheep, and it is also undoubtedly induced by scrub care and scnih feeding of poor animals. The presence of a large amount cf yolk in the fleece makes the meat particularly liable to taste sheepy. But with careful feeding, even the oily Merinos may be made into veiy palatable mutton. The best flavor in mutton is due to both breed and feed. It is certain th*t foods do influence the flavor of mutton. Take for example the sheep fed upon the downs of Englaud, where herbage is short and sweet, and where there are great quantities of such plants as wild tyme, etc., and we get a quality, of mutton that is famous the world over., So also with the black-faced sheep of Scotland, where wild grasses and herbs are the principal food the year round. This mutton is particularly delicate in flavor, and widely celebrated among epicures.