SC - FROM THE QUEEN OF EALDORMERE

[Micaylah]

Hi all from Anne-Marie

Brighid asks us:
>Actually, there seem to be very few period recipes for lamb, although 
>there are many for mutton, and quite a few for kid and calf.  I would 
>surmise that this is because adult sheep of both genders are productive, 
>in a way that goats and cattle are not.  Anyone who is wise in medieval 
>animal husbandry wish to comment?
>

in my sheep raising experience, most of what comes to your average butchers
counter is "lamb" that is pretty close to a year old, which makes it
suspiciously mutton like in my book. (its cheaper to raise one big sheep
for a longer time than a bunch of little sheeps for a shorter period of
time. Only one worming, only one tail docking, only one ear tagging, only
one dehorning, only one...you get the idea)

as for the usefulness of sheep vs cows and goats...the gestation period for
sheep is the same as goats, as well as the fact that goats and sheeps tend
to have multiple births, while cows do not. Male cattle can be used to pull
plows, wagons, etc. your logic that you eat the useless boy goats and boy
cows while keeping the boy sheeps for wool makes some sense, though why
keep a boy sheep who can only make wool when if you eat him (yum yum!), you
cna keep his sister who not only can make wool but can also make milk for
cheese and more baby sheeps.

Methinks part of it is that most of our cookbooks are English, ie land of
wool. If we look at Spanish sources and others from warmer climes, we see a
larger porportion of goat, I bet.

- --AM

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