10. Lamb

The average meat-eating person in the United States consumes only a little more than 1 pound of lamb per year, yet it is the most popular meat in Mediterranean countries, which makes it an essential meat for any American who loves to cook. Most people expressing distaste for lamb complain that it has a strong flavor and a musky aroma, which can be said about the meat of mature sheep (mutton) but not the delicate young lamb that is sold today.

Lamb comes from animals that are between 5 and 12 months old, although the majority of the lamb sold in supermarkets is from the young end of that spread. Lamb older than 12 months (called yearling) is rarely seen, and mutton (sheep older than 2 years) is usually available only through halal butchers or in communities with a voracious Anglophilic palate.