Kitchen Dictionary: lamb

Technically this tender meat comes from a sheep less than 1 year old. Baby lamb is 6-8 weeks and Spring lamb is 3-5 months, but both are milk fed. Yearling lamb is between 1-2 years, while anything over 2 years is mutton, which has a much stonger flavor and texture.

plural: lamb

Ingredient

Season: available year-round

How to select: Can be purchased ground or in steaks, chops or roasts. Look for the lightest color to find the youngest, most tender meat. (Older meat is darker.)

How to store: Will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator (roasts as long as 5 days) or frozen for 3 months.

How to prepare: bake, braise, broil, grill, roast

Matches well with: almonds, anchovies, aniseed, apples, apricots, bacon, basil, bay leaves, beans, blueberries, bread crumbs, capers, cardamom, cayenne, cheese, cherries, chiles, chives, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, couscous, cream, cumin, currants, curry, dill, eggplant, endive, fennel, garlic, grapefruit, hazelnuts, honey, lemon, Madeira, mint, mushrooms, mustard, olive oil, olives, onions, oranges, oregano, parsley, pecans, pepper, pineapple, pine nuts, plums, pomegranates, prunes, red peppers, red wine, rhubarb, rice, rosemary, rum, sage, star anise, tamarind, tarragon, thyme, tomatoes, vinegar, walnuts, yogurt, zucchini