Much Ado About Mutton
Mutton is a great — as yet untold — story with its deep impact on the landscape, history and culture of these islands. This is its turning point. With current heightened public interest in traditional and wholesome meats, now is the time for a serious revival in the popularity of mutton.

It once fed the nation and took pride of place on dining tables from peasants to royalty.

With the backing of the Mutton Renaissance campaign, it is poised to make a comeback as its extraordinary health and environmental benefits are recognised.

Bob Kennard addresses all the issues: what's a wether, mutton as a super-meat, mutton candles, mutton farming round the world, how sheep have shaped the landscape, mutton recipes, braxy ham, salt marsh mutton, butchery tips, lists of mutton breeds, directory of suppliers.
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Much Ado About Mutton
Mutton is a great — as yet untold — story with its deep impact on the landscape, history and culture of these islands. This is its turning point. With current heightened public interest in traditional and wholesome meats, now is the time for a serious revival in the popularity of mutton.

It once fed the nation and took pride of place on dining tables from peasants to royalty.

With the backing of the Mutton Renaissance campaign, it is poised to make a comeback as its extraordinary health and environmental benefits are recognised.

Bob Kennard addresses all the issues: what's a wether, mutton as a super-meat, mutton candles, mutton farming round the world, how sheep have shaped the landscape, mutton recipes, braxy ham, salt marsh mutton, butchery tips, lists of mutton breeds, directory of suppliers.
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Much Ado About Mutton

Much Ado About Mutton

Much Ado About Mutton

Much Ado About Mutton

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Overview

Mutton is a great — as yet untold — story with its deep impact on the landscape, history and culture of these islands. This is its turning point. With current heightened public interest in traditional and wholesome meats, now is the time for a serious revival in the popularity of mutton.

It once fed the nation and took pride of place on dining tables from peasants to royalty.

With the backing of the Mutton Renaissance campaign, it is poised to make a comeback as its extraordinary health and environmental benefits are recognised.

Bob Kennard addresses all the issues: what's a wether, mutton as a super-meat, mutton candles, mutton farming round the world, how sheep have shaped the landscape, mutton recipes, braxy ham, salt marsh mutton, butchery tips, lists of mutton breeds, directory of suppliers.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781906122614
Publisher: Merlin Unwin Books
Publication date: 09/01/2014
Pages: 224
Product dimensions: 7.50(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Bob Kennard has been in the food and farming industry for over 30 years, and for the last 20 years has been particularly involved with artisan meat production. His special interest has been mutton, and he was involved with the early stages of the Mutton Renaissance campaign.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Introduction x

Part 1 Mutton Then and Now 1

What is Mutton? 1

Types of Sheep Meat 2

Types of Mutton 3

Why Does Mutton Taste Different? 5

Mutton as a Super-meat? 12

Whatever Happened to Mutton? 15

Wether Mutton Disappears 16

Lambs Reared in a Year 17

Wartime Effect 18

Modem Lifestyles 19

Mutton in British Culture 20

Origin of the Name Mutton 20

Sheep and Plants 20

Sheep and Mutton in Names & Places 22

Mutton in Literature 23

Mutton in the Bible and Islam 24

Mutton in Nursery Rhymes 25

Mutton as Slang 26

Part 2 Managing Mutton 29

What Have Sheep Ever Done For Us? 29

Nothing left but the Baa 30

Mutton Fat 32

Tallow in Soap Manufacture 33

Mutton Candles 34

Sheep Origins 36

The Bronze Age 36

Roman Occupation 37

The Vikings 37

Middle Ages 37

Land Enclosures 39

The Highland Clearances 42

Consequences of the Enclosures 44

Sheep Numbers 45

Demand and Supply for Sheep Meal 46

Mutton and the New World 48

New Zealand 49

South Africa 52

Australia 54

USA 56

Sheep and the Landscape 58

Sheep on the Hills and Mountains 58

Hefts and Hirsels 59

Hills, Ticks, Sheep, People and Grouse 62

Sheep on the Downs 62

Sheep on Lowland Arable Farms 62

Shepherding 65

Counting Sheep 73

Names of Sheep 75

Shepherd's Equipment 77

Crook 77

Shepherd's Smock 78

Shepherd's Gaiters 80

The Sheepdog 81

The Shepherd's Year 84

Autumn Sorting of Ewes 84

Flushing 85

Tupping 85

Summer and Autumn Dipping 86

Feeding 87

Winter Warmth 87

Lambing 88

Tailing, Castrating and Weaning 91

Washing 91

Shearing 91

Good Breeding 96

Robert Bakewell & John Ellman 97

Breeds Today 101

Mountain 101

Hill 102

Downland 102

Lowland 102

Longwool 103

Primitive & Parkland 103

Halfbreds & Mule 103

Breed Numbers 104

Mixing the Breeds 105

The Mountains 105

The Hills 106

The Lowlands 106

Changes in Modern Sheep Farming 110

Wool 110

Silage 110

Chemical Fertiliser 112

Modern Breeds 112

Sustainability of Mutton Production 114

Fertility of the soil 114

Use of 'Permanent pastures' 115

Land Use 116

Maintaining the View 116

Wool Production 117

Future of the family Sheep Farm 117

New Zealand's Drovers 126

Australian Droving 127

American Droving 128

The Arrival of the Railways 128

The End of the Drovers' Road 131

When To Market? 132

Abattoirs 133

Part 3 Mutton in the Kitchen

Choosing your Mutton 135

Which Breed? 137

Opinions on Age 140

Some Effects of Feed 141

Sail Marsh Mutton 142

The Ideal Mutton Carcass 143

Historic Advice on Buying Mutton 143

Reviving "Bad" Mutton 144

How to Revive a Dead Sheep 144

Mutton Ham 145

Shetland Vivda Mutton 147

Reestit Mutton 148

Braxy Ham 150

Cooking Mutton Through the Ages 151

Mutton in the Antipodean Diet 154

Mutton for the Modern Cook 157

What's Available? 157

What to Look For 158

Seasonality 159

What to Buy? 159

Mutton Cuts 159

Mutton Butchery 160

Mutton Recipes 165

Directory of Suppliers 183

Scotland 184

Northern England 186

Midlands 188

Wales 189

South-West England 190

South-Fast England 192

London 193

UK Sheep Breeds 195

National Mutton Organisations 204

Glossary of Sheep Terms 205

References 210

Index 212

Acknowledgements and Credits 214

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