Regional variation in the hedonic evaluation of lamb meat from diverse production systems by consumers in six European countries.

This paper describes the responses of consumers in six European countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Iceland and United Kingdom) tasting meat from twelve di\ufb00erent local types of lambs produced in those same six countries. Animals represented 10 breeds and crossbreeds, three sexes, several diets composed of either milk, concentrates and various forages as main ingredients and di\ufb00erent slaughter ages, from 1 and 12 months, and carcass weights, from 5.5 to 30.4 kg. Tests were conducted by 36 volunteer families in each of the six countries involved in the study. Families were asked to roast the joints using their own cooking criteria, evaluating (from \u2018\u2018dislike extre- mely\u2019\u2019 to \u2018\u2018like extremely\u2019\u2019) \ufb02avour, tenderness, juiciness and overall liking. Also the cook was asked to rate the odour during cooking. Country and lamb type and their interaction were statistically signi\ufb01cant for all the variables analysed. Results suggest a link between the assessments of a given lamb type and the consumers\u2019 culinary background, showing clear associations between country and lamb type preferences. It was possible to separate, independently of the country, di\ufb00erent groups of families with similar preferences. Five family groups, which included 88 families (40.74%), had a clear Mediterranean origin and preferred types of lamb fed either milk or mainly concentrate diets. Seven family groups, which included 93 families (43.06%) with a clear northern origin, preferred types reared on grass or with grass included in the diet. The rest of the groups (four) that included 35 families (16.20%) had no clear composition (northern or Mediterranean), and they had a wider taste preference. It can clearly be seen that there are two categories of consumers of lamb in the analysed European market: those who prefer \u2018milk or concentrate taste\u2019 and those who prefer \u2018grass taste\u2019