SC - Fat tailed sheep

[Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir]

Adamantius wrote:

>ha...I wonder if this is a facet of a different level of hydrogenation,
>or a difference in the tissues themselves.

Charles Perry has an explanation that I´m not quite sure I understand but it
goes like this:

"An animal can only metabolize its fat in liquid form. The inevitable
consequence of this is that fat stored near the surface of the body, where
it is influenced by ambient temperatures which are usually lower than the
body´s own temperature, has a lower melting point than fat stored deep in
the body. ... Unlike hard fat, however, which might be deposited in large,
convenient lumps in the interior of the carcass, most soft fat was scantily
dispersed all over the body subcutaneously. Sheep sometimes deposit larger
lumps of soft fat in other places, such as the neck and throat. These
deposits have limited value, however; there might be cool ambient
temperatures on one side of the lump but warm body temperatures on the
other. Fat deposited on the tail turned out to be the solution. Surrounded
as it is by cool temperatures, the tail can be home to a substantial slab of
fat with a texture somewhat like bacon, though of course with a muttony
aroma." (The same would go for the feet; any fat deposited there would also
be surrounded by lower temperatures on all sides.)

Nanna
(off to London on a culinary pilgrimage in a few hours)

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