- Lamb - taste values
- Lamb - nutritional properties
- Lamb - pro-he alth properties
- How to choose good quality lamb?
Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Lamb has been eaten in Poland for centuries, but today it is a slightly forgotten meat, which is regretted by nutritionists. Lamb meets the criteria for functional food, because it has a number of nutritional values and he alth-promoting properties, and therefore it should be on plates more often than other types of meat. What are the he alth benefits of lamb? What are the benefits of eating it? How do I choose a good quality lamb?
The term " Lamb " refers to the meat of lambs, that is, sheep and rams under the age of one. The best lamb meat is the so-called Dairy lamb, obtained from sheep and rams that are not yet four months old - this is the time when lamb sucks only mother's milk. Its meat is the most delicate and, as connoisseurs say, has an unusual taste.
In Poland, this type of meat is traditionally associated with the Podhale region and other mountainous regions of the country. This is where it's easiest to buy them in stores or directly from the breeder, and lamb dishes are available in many restaurants.
Lamb - taste values
Lamb has a pale pink color. It is tender and juicy meat even after heat treatment, because the fat accumulated in it does not dissolve, but remains in the meat. Lamb tastes and smells like game, most of all roe deer meat - that's why not everyone likes lamb meat.
This taste is justified by the way sheep are farmed, which live mainly in mountain pastures (in Poland, mainly in the Tatras and Beskids), i.e. in the open air, and are not crowded in cages or tight barns. As they can move freely, their muscles are properly developed.
The lamb's taste and smell are also influenced by the lamb's diet, which after 4 months of age consists of vegetation growing on mountain pastures.
Lamb - nutritional properties
Lamb meat is easy to digest, it is also a source of many valuable high-quality nutrients - therefore it is often recommended, among others, for young children, the elderly and convalescents, as well as for athletes.
Lamb is valuablesource of incl. ingredients such as:
- protein
- conjugated linoleic acid
- L-carnitine
- vitamin B1
- vitamin B2
- vitamin PP
- vitamin B6
- vitamin B12
- folic acid
- calcium
- iron
- zinc
- sodium
- alin
- copper
- essential fatty acids
- orotic acid
Lamb - pro-he alth properties
Lamb is considered one of the he althiest meats. This is due to the content of certain substances beneficial to the body in certain proportions.
What are the he alth-promoting properties of lamb?
Lamb food:
- prevents cardiovascular diseases - this is due to the high content of B vitamins, which prevent the accumulation of homocysteine (its high concentration is a risk factor for this system diseases).
- normalizes glucose metabolism - due to the content of significant amounts of linoleic acid
- contributes to the improvement of bone mineralization, reducing body fat, delaying the formation of atherosclerotic lesions, and even reduces the risk of developing type II diabetes - all thanks to the high level of CLA, i.e. conjugated linoleic acid, and the high content of L-carnitine.
- regulates metabolism and reduces the level of LDL-cholesterol in the blood (this is also due to linoleic acid).
- facilitates the metabolism of carbohydrates (thanks to the presence of B vitamins)
- has a positive effect on the nervous system, improves concentration and reflexes (this is how L-carnitine works)
- has potentially anti-cancer properties - this effect is due to the presence of orotic acid, considered to be a compound with the ability to inhibit the development of neoplastic diseases (lamb has 30 times more of it than any other meat, which, according to researchers, is a probable cause of the absence of cancer in sheep).
How to choose good quality lamb?
Since lamb is not as popular as beef, when choosing it, it is worth following a few rules that will allow you to choose the highest quality meat. What's important?
- place of purchase - it is best to buy lamb from proven, local farms
- color - good quality lamb meat is bright red with a white thin layer of fat on top. The lighter the meat and the lighter the shade of fat, the younger the lamb was. Both yellow fat layer and dark red color
- lamb indicate that the meat was obtained from animals older than one year, or isstale.
- smell - the less expressive, the younger the animal was.
- weight and size - lambs are not large, so the larger the piece of meat and the higher its weight, the older the animal from which it was obtained.