“hothouse” lamb for younger animals, “spring” and “Easter” lamb for the rest (though production is no longer truly seasonal) New Zealand lamb is pasture-fed but slaughtered at four months, younger than most American lamb, and remains mild In France, older lambs (mouton) and young female sheep (brebis) are aged for a week or more after slaughter, and develop an especially rich flavor Pigs Pigs are descendents of the Eurasian wild boar, Sus scrofa If beef has been the most esteemed of meats in Europe and the Americas, pork has fed far more people, both there and in the rest of the world: in China the word for “pork” is also the generic word for “meat.” The pig has the virtues of being a relatively small, voracious omnivore that grows rapidly and bears large litters Its indiscriminate appetite means that it can turn otherwise useless scraps into meat, but that meat can harbor and transmit parasites from infected animals and their remains (see p 126 on trichinosis) Perhaps in part for this reason, and because pigs are difficult to herd and will devour field crops, pork eating has been forbidden among various peoples, notably Middle Eastern Jews and Muslims There are several specialized styles of pigs, including lard breeds, bacon breeds, and meat breeds, some large-boned and massive, some (Iberian and Basque ham pigs) relatively lean, slow-growing, small and darkfleshed, much like their wild south-Europe ancestors Today most of the specialized breeds have been displaced by the fastgrowing descendents of a few European bacon and meat breeds Pork Like modern beef, modern pork comes from much younger and leaner animals than was true a century ago Pigs are typically slaughtered at six months and 220 lb/100 kg, ...meat can harbor and transmit parasites from infected animals and their remains (see p 126 on trichinosis) Perhaps in part for this reason, and because pigs are difficult to herd and will devour... forbidden among various peoples, notably Middle Eastern Jews and Muslims There are several specialized styles of pigs, including lard breeds, bacon breeds, and meat breeds, some large-boned and massive,... some (Iberian and Basque ham pigs) relatively lean, slow-growing, small and darkfleshed, much like their wild south-Europe ancestors Today most of the specialized breeds have been displaced by the fastgrowing descendents of a few European bacon