Welsh lamb

Appearance & taste

The meat is firm and light, has a good colour and a sweet, succulent taste. Under the EUROP scheme, producers aim for a conformation class of R or better and a fat class of 3H or leaner. According to the specification, heather and fragrant native wild herbs on the pastures contribute to the distinctive taste. The name “Welsh Lamb”, the registered trade mark and the PGI logo appear on all carcasses, carcass parts and cuts.

Production

The lambs come from Welsh sheep breeds, above all Welsh Mountain, Welsh Mules, Welsh Halfbreds, Beulah, Welsh Hill Speckled Face, Lleyn, Llanwennog and Radnor. These may be crossed with rams of the Texel or Suffolk breeds or other meat breeds. The sheep are kept extensively on grassland according to traditional Welsh methods; the lambs suckle from the ewe and graze on the farm’s wide pastures. Supplementary feed comes from Wales where possible. The lambs are slaughtered at less than one year old, at a time the farmer considers suitable; they are sold by deadweight to slaughterhouses or at livestock markets.

Only slaughterhouses and plants approved under the inspection scheme of Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) may slaughter and process the lambs; they do not have to be in Wales. Every year they prove that the meat meets the specification, and HCC carries out random on-site checks. Records are kept of all steps so that the origin is assured.

Origin & history

Wales has a coastline 1,200 km long; inland, mountains, hills, valleys and rivers shape the landscape. According to the specification, the high rainfall makes the country particularly suitable for natural pasture. Welsh pastures differ from those in England in having more rain, a higher altitude and poorer soils. Even in the Middle Ages the sheep were kept outdoors; this gave rise to hardy breeds, above all the Welsh Mountain sheep. The farms have often been owned by one family for generations.

Historical sources document sheep farming: the Hafod manuscripts refer to the production of mutton in the 14th century, writings by Guto’r Glyn from the 15th century show that Welsh lamb was taken to the Midlands, and letters by Morisaid Mon from 1758 highlight its qualities. According to the specification, in the late 19th century the royal chef Tschumi wrote that Queen Victoria considered Welsh lamb the most tender and allowed only this in the royal kitchen.