Lamb is a popular meat in Europe and Asia but not in America. Why is that? I would have thought it would be more popular given America's history of immigration and sheep can flourish in harsh conditions.
I would say lamb is popular in Asia cause they season it with a certain combination of spices and cook it using a certain type of meat so that it has a pristine, and beautiful flavour to it when it's cooked. I don't like the traditional way lamb is served as a dinner portion in North America, cause they taste nothing like the lamb skewers you find in Asia. I would say it's a non political controversial food in the sense some love it and some can't stand it. Chicken and beef are eaten everywhere so almost everyone has a stomach that can tolerate it due to adaptations made as a child. Most people can't tolerate the taste of lamb cause they did not grow up eating it. Just like most people dislike goat cheese cause they had no exposure with it as a child.
We do have it here, but I think it might be more expensive. And we just don't eat it as much. We usually eat beef, pork, poultry, and sometimes fish/seafood. I've never had lamb myself so I can't say anything on that. But I know in some countries lamb is like their pork (or healthier alternative to pork that is).
While I don't mind lamb, why would I get my food from 10,000 miles away across a continent and an ocean from a country of socialists that hate me and then pay a premium for it? I live in Florida. Cattle were first introduced to North America through Florida in 1521. One of the largest cattle ranches in the country is roughly 30 miles from me... There are several large poultry farms within 50 miles. There is fresh seafood coming in off the boats a couple of miles from me. The food is fresher, it taste better, it is more competitively priced, it supports the local economy, the producers like America, and it's consistent with cultural traditions of what is commonly eaten in my region.
Cowboys carry guns and they saw sheep herders as invaders and blamed the sheep for destroying grazing lands as they ate the grass down to the roots and killed it. The sheep herders lost the Sheep Wars (see the Wikipedia article below).
Hence, we grew a taste for beef as a nation. It’s manly to have steaks and considered a great meal and a treat. Just this week we went to a steak restaurant and I had the Porterhouse. But chicken has come up as its more healthy so its beef or chicken now. I do like lamb however but I have beef a lot more.
I'd never heard of the sheep wars but the wiki article was interesting especially the bit on scab as that's something the government will prosecute you for here if you don't deal with an outbreak and other farmers will very quickly report you.
I suppose in regions with flat grass meadows cows are more profitable that's why 'muricans love beef. This isn't different in flat regions in Europe. I'm living on flat land and we don't have any traditional recipe with lamb or sheep milk, while regions with hills and mountains have a lot of lamb dishes and smoked sheep milk cheese.
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Anonymous
(18-24)
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Those who can afford to try it, enjoy it. Unfortunately food, dinner, is seen as a chore, rather than an experience in America. Chalk this up to rugged individualism and survivalist attitudes stemming from the Old West Era maybe, but most Americans will never in their lives experience anything more than a 4 course meal.
This being the case, most Americans buy what is most affordable and they buy what they know, in both cases, this is not lamb. Growing up the closest thing to steak we ate at home was porkchop (both because of price and my grandpas habit of over cooking meats) and steak was a luxury at a restaurant.
My family is Czech and Finnish. I grew up on lamb. In the USA it's easier to find more readily served in euro-asian restaurants. However, since there are steakhouses, fried chicken and burger joints every few feet, beef and chicken are the dominant meats here.
It’s way more expensive, mostly because farming is just done differently in North America vs Europe. Raising sheep on a large scale is just more difficult and less profitable than cattle or pigs. Predators tend to make a mess of sheep flocks too
Certain cultures do not eat certain animals. I guess most people in the United States think lambs are too pretty for food. But then last week at a local butcher shop. Lamb Chops were $21 per pound! Maybe Shirley Temple with her lamb puppet put a soft spot in people’s hearts for the cute little animals?
I have no idea. I think I tried it about 4 times, including at a free lunch at the Google headquarters as well as at a catered DJ gig, but it was about the same every time. Maybe that's just all that's available here.
I think it’s down to the Sheep wars in the US. Quite a few killings over access to land etc and ex cowboys where not happy being Sheepboys, as the image of a Sheepboy was not the same.
It can be quite expensive here. I don't know why it originally didn't catch on here from the start but I just don't know that many people who eat it here or restaurants that serve it. I actually enjoy lamb.
Another contributing factor than the meat itself is the average climate in America. Most if its landmass is warmer than most peope would want to wear thick wool in.
I absolutely love lamb. Fantastic meat. The main reason why it isn't as common as the dishes one makes with lamb are not common American cuisine. Curry for example is a middle eastern dish that uses lamb
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