Lamb, Mutton

Italian has the convenient term carne ovina, which covers the meat of lamb and sheep of all ages. Most English-speaking countries have the equally convenient term “sheepmeat” or “sheep meat,” its exact equivalent. Unfortunately, the United States does not recognize the term, and so it is not available to this book. The American sheep industry uses “lamb” for animals under one year of age and “mutton” for animals one year or older, and so, to the extent such precision is possible, those are the terms used in this book. Where the Italian states abbacchio or agnello, the translation is “lamb.” Where the Italian is pecora, the ewe is meant, and the translation is “mutton.” When the castrato, a castrated older lamb, is called for, it is usually specified, though its meat could certainly be included under “mutton.” The ram (montone) is not eaten in Italy.