Dear Heritage Foods USA Supporter,
It is with great pride that we present you with a powerful, new monthly segment that explores in more depth what we, together, protect. It is through this segment that we'll introduce you to relevant issues in the food world, our farmers, their animals, their lives.
Sincerely yours,
The Heritage Team
Three American Lamb Breeds
Every livestock breed has its own particular flavor characteristics; which is what makes heritage breeds so exciting to work with. These breeds reflect the forage, climate, and soil where they are raised, and especially the breeding expertise of the farmer growing them who may be looking for any number of specific traits: temperament, quality and flavor of meat, quantity of milk, number of kids per cycle, fiber, mothering… that’s how they work.
We are proud to present three distinct breeds of American lamb to you, all with long histories that don’t necessarily originate in the United States, but have come to represent the best of what American farmers and farms can offer.
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The Icelandic
This breed represents 1100 years of ovine history.
This ancient strain offers the trifecta in meat, milk, and fiber. Thanks to their northern origins, they are a spectacularly hardy sheep able to withstand heavy snow and freezing weather. The lambs are vigorous at birth, making the breed very popular for cross breeding.
Among the oldest and purest breeds in the world, this breed represents the American continuation of an outstanding world story.
Taste
Icelandic lamb is mild-flavored, exceptionally tender, lean meat, a truly gourmet experience. Even for those who claim to find lamb too strong, the Icelandic is a palate pleaser. |
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The Tunis
This breed is even older than the Icelandic!
Early references to fat-tailed sheep from Tunis, Egypt and throughout the Middle East are to found in the Bible, and dating back 3000 years. But what makes this story so great is its connection to the founders of the United States.
The father of our country, a knowledgeable and serious farmer, George Washington (!), raised a flock that he crossed with a popular English sheep, the Leicester.
Taste
A delicate flavor and finely textured meat characterize the Tunis breed. Because they tend to concentrate their fat around the tail, the carcass remains lean when it goes into market. This is a great lamb for those who really enjoy the flavor of lamb, and are looking to experience a truly ancient breed.
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The Katahdin
This is the newcomer to the table!
The Katahdin breed was developed in the 1950’s, by a Maine farmer, Michael Piel, who was more interested in the meat of his sheep than in their fiber. He looked for characteristics that would make his flock low maintenance, no shearing, and above all, a swift pattern of growing.
Finding, maintaining, and growing great breed characteristics that will ensure the safety and well-being of the breed as well as the security of our food supply is what great agriculture is about!
Taste
Both tender and mild, the flavor of the Katahdin is well balanced with a delicate texture and slightly nutty taste. It’s a lamb that has all the best qualities of the preceding two and is guaranteed to deliver a delicious meal. |
Farmer's Corner: get to know the Twomeys
Our friends James and Lisa Twomey will be taking a break from the lambing business. Just before Easter, we had a brief chat with James to see what’s next on their agenda!
"The lambs are being born right now, and after this crop of lambs, we will become empty nesters… we are taking the ram out of the equation and just letting our sheep become walking lawnmowers.
We got so big, 80 ewes, 4 rams, and 100 plus babies at a time, I found myself bottle-feeding all the lambs, 4 at a time, morning, noon, and night. That made our day jobs unviable. We realized we had to scale back to regain the blend! My wife is an estate attorney and I restore antique books and maps. We love our day jobs and we were lucky that we could both work from either the farm or in the city. But with so many lambs cycling through every year that stopped being an option.
In a couple of years we might start up again…I wouldn’t rule it out. Right now though, we definitely need a break!
The best thing about this experience is that I appreciate the food on my plate so much more now that I know how much work goes into farming no matter what type. Farming is a labor of love and your plate is subsidized by that labor. If I can carry that message with me for the rest of my life I will have learned something truly worthwhile."
Click here to enjoy the outstainding Tunis lamb and help the Twomeys through their last season.
Heritage Foods USA
The Source for Authentic American Heritage Foods
Heritage Foods USA has been featured as a Company of the Year in Bon Appetit, House & Garden, Newsweek, Saveur Magazine and The New York Times Magazine.
Contact us with questions or ideas, look out for weekly announcements and
read new recipes, by visiting: www.HeritageFoodsUSA.com.
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Brooklyn, NY 11211
Tel: 718-389-0985
Fax: 718-389-0547
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