Wildlife February 2010

[Paddy Tobin]

Lesley,

Mutton was always prized as a stewing meat when I was a child.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Mutton makes wonderful soup, but I find the smell while it's boiling is pretty awful   Not that we ever see it for sale now.
(That should prompt a phonecall from Alan Newton, master butcher, tomorrow, if he's awake!!)

[mark smyth]

Never buy Bachelors Scotch Broth unless you like the smell of mutton. I was shocked by the smell and thought it was off

[Lesley Cox]

I still make a good Irish stew with mutton and an excellent curry with yoghurt containing apricots, plus onions, the curry paste, salt and pepper and cinnamon and ground cloves, the lot topped up to cover, with water (think I'm in the wrong thread here.) The secret with mutton is to cut off as much fat as possible before cooking.

[Anthony Darby]

Same as N.Z. here in Ireland. Chickens are young ones - or dead ones. Adults are cocks and hens. PC people get upset over very little.

Paddy

Chicken (singular) is the meat; chickens are poultry destined to become meat; chicks are the young; hens generally refer to (the same) birds kept for eggs; cock or cockerel is the male. Rooster is a word invented by people who are bashful and won't say cock (another example is cockroach, shortened to roach) and is not a word I have heard except on American cartoons.

[annew]

We get a hogget from our farm shop when it's in season - they ring me to let me know. It has a very good flavour.

[Anthony Darby]

We get a hogget from our farm shop when it's in season - they ring me to let me know. It has a very good flavour.

I want one too. What is it?

Didn't Prince Charles try to raise the profile of mutton not so long ago?

[Maggi Young]

We get a hogget from our farm shop when it's in season - they ring me to let me know. It has a very good flavour.

A) I want one too. What is it?

 B) Didn't Prince Charles try to raise the profile of mutton not so long ago?

A):

Lamb is just that, less than a year old, then a year to two years is called hogget and is quite expensive and has a better (more developed) flavour than lamb, and after that it becomes mutton which is not sold a lot as such nowadays. Most stock is killed as either lamb or hogget or retained as breeding stock

...from Lesley, previous page

B) I couldn't possibly comment....

[Lesley Cox]

Same as N.Z. here in Ireland. Chickens are young ones - or dead ones. Adults are cocks and hens. PC people get upset over very little.

Paddy

(another example is cockroach, shortened to roach) and is not a word I have heard except on American cartoons.

I prefer roosterroach myself.

[Lesley Cox]

Didn't Prince Charles try to raise the profile of mutton not so long ago?

Well there are some breeds which have quite a bit longer legs Anthony.

[David Nicholson]

 

[Ragged Robin]

More snow arrived today and so did this Hawfinch 

I think it's the male and it flew in from the same area as the female last week!

[Armin]

Robin,
wonderful shots. I like the burly looking Hawfinch

[Maggi Young]

Robin, from this RSPB page, which has shots of male and female, there is also a link to their voice....  

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/h/hawfinch/index.aspx#

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for the link Maggi - have compared and am now    as to male or female - the one you identified as being female in the video seemed so much bluer round the neck and wings as in the winter female on RPBS but it seems the winter male would be more brightly coloured than my photo from what I have seen on the web  The bird song is very useful to listen out for.