NSA and AHDB promote diverse taste of native sheep breeds

The National Sheep Association (NSA) and the AHDB have teamed up to champion the unique flavour of British sheep breeds, in an effort to show consumers just how different the tastes can be.

On the cusp of Love Lamb Week, which returns for an eighth year on 1 September, the two organisations have been promoting the British Heritage Sheep (BHS) scheme.

The initiative aims to commercialise historic native breeds by promoting this country’s astonishing diversity.

See also: Love Lamb Week returns to help revitalise red meat sector

With more than 60 breeds, Britain has the largest number of native sheep breeds of any country in the world.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said sheepmeat is one of the last undifferentiated foods in supermarkets and other mainstream shops.

The NSA said wider opinion backs up the idea that consumers would welcome a choice, having commissioned a YouGov survey for the BHS scheme.

“We all know about the many types of cheese, apples, and even beers and gin, but consumers are rarely informed about the breed of sheep, where and how it was reared, or its age,” Mr Stocker said.

“Not all sheepmeat tastes the same, particularly as sheep get older producing hogget and mutton, the main factors affecting the flavour are the age of the animal and its breed.

“To some extent what the animal eats will also affect its flavour – for example, a mountain sheep eats predominantly wild herbs and grasses, giving the meat a distinctive eating experience, highly prized in past generations.”

Taste test

The Herdwick, Portland and Shropshire breeds were put to a taste test at the NSA’s Sheep Event last month, by a delegation of US lamb buyers.

The breeds were chosen by the NSA and AHDB due to their different ancestry, in order to make the best case for the diversity on offer within the British sheep sector.

Having tasted the mutton, the visitors from the US concluded there are significant differences in flavour and texture, particularly in older animals.

Susanna Morris, AHDB senior export manager, said: “The feedback we received was very positive, with our US visitors praising the great taste of sheepmeat from the UK, as well as being rightly impressed with the rich history of farming in the UK.”