I found a great wiki page deciphering different cuts of French, American and Dutch beef. With this in mind, I'm hoping to be better informed the next time I'm at la boucherie. For further reading you can also consult Posted in Paris. To find out more about the food you are eating read The Omnivore's Dilemma, or check out The Meatrix (which my friend R tuned me into years ago).
As a primer for my future market outings, I compiled this list so I could be a more informed buyer. That gorgeous round of fromage de brebis? It's from an ewe, a female sheep. My friend M's sister is a large animal veterinarian who specializes in cows (but she also knows a thing or two about sheep having participated in the 4H circles). Hoping you can correct me if I got any of the terms wrong. Thanks in advance!
ANIMALS and MEAT DECIPHERED
OVINE - LA VIANDE OVINE (mpl)Interesting facts: Sheep have wool that need to be sheared/shorn on a yearly basis. Sheep come in several colors, naturally. Baa Baa black sheep, as well as reddish, natural, and mottled. Merino wool comes from merino sheep! Also did you know that ewes (usually the oldest female) leads the flock?
Sheep and goats are closely related to one another. It only takes two shakes of a lamb's tail to tell the difference between a sheep and a goat. A goat's tail sticks up, while a sheep's tail hangs down and are often docked (or shortened for sanitary reasons).
- Un enfant, yearling. Young sheep between 1 - 2 years old who may or may not have produced offspring.
- Un agneau, lamb. Meat of a sheep less than 1 years old.
- Un antenais, ou une antenaise, hogget. A young male or female sheep (ewe) having no more than 2 incisor teeth who is between 12 - 30 months old.
- Le mouton, mutton. Meat of a mature sheep that is at least 1 years old.
- Une brebis, ewe. A female sheep older than 1 years old with more than 2 incisor teeth. Usually has already produced offspring.
- Un bélier, ram. A male sheep older than 1 years old with more than 2 incisor teeth. Usually has already produced offspring. A young ram is also called a buck.
- Un doublon, wether. A castrated male sheep.
POULTRY - LES VOLAILLES (fpl)
What tastes like chicken?
- Une poule, hen. A female chicken that is still alive, enjoying plein air.
- Un coq, rooster. An intact male chicken.
- Un capon, a capon. Same name in both languages. A castrated male chicken.
- La poulet, chicken meat. Meat from a chicken. Also slang for the police. Poulet de bresse is a very famous chicken breed that is locally available in Bourg-en-Bresse, about an hour's drive away from me.
- Un poussin, chick.
SWINE - LE PORC
Interesting facts. In France, they're used to sniff out the precious truffle mushroom. The cute pot-bellied pig originates from a domesticated breed originating from Vietnam.Pigs are reported to be domesticated about 13,000 years ago. Curious and intelligent, they often get a bad rap as being dirty animals. "Dirty as a pig pen" and "sweat like a pig" are idioms that aren't really 100% true. Yes, pigs like to roll around in mud, but left to their devices they are quite clean animals. Unlike other animals, pigs lack sweat glands and therefore do not sweat. They probably get rid of their heat by yawning, or rolling around in some cool mud pools. So what is the origin of "Sweat like a pig"? The pig industry of yester years packed thousands of pigs into brick buildings so the "farmers" could save on heat and housing. If you were forced to live like pigs do, you'd get pretty dirty too.
- Un verrat, domestic boar. Uncastrated male pig of breeding age.
- Un châtré, a barrow. Castrated male pig.
- Un cochon, pig. In the US, pigs are swine less than 120lbs (50kg).
- Un porc, hog. In the US, hogs are swine more than 120 lbs (50kg).
- Une truie, sow. A female adult pig of breeding age.
- Une cochette, gilt. A young female pig who hasn't yet had offspring.
- Un porcelet, un goret, un petit cochon, un cochonnet, piglet. Aka as a shoat. Any unweaned young pig.
- Un freluquet, runt. A small, weak piglet. There's always a runt in every litter.
CATTLE - LES BOVINS (mpl)
- Le veau, veal meat. Same word is used for calf. Describes the animal and meat from young (usually male cows) that are less than 5 months old and less than 500 lbs.
- Le boeuf, beef meat. From both cows and bulls.
- Une génisse, heifer. A young female bovine that hasn't yet given birth to calves. She comes a cow when she gives birth at age 2; or when she reaches maturity at age 4.
- Une vache, cow. Female bovine that is at least 4 years old or that has had calves.
- Un taureau, bull. Non-castrated adult male cattle.
- Un boeuf, also means ox. Usually castrated adult male cattle who have been trained to aid in ploughing and transportation.
GOATS - LES CHÈVRES (mpl)
Goats, among the earliest animals domesticated by humans, have been raised for about 10,000 years. Most goats have two horns. Both female and male have beards. Goats are ruminants, meaning they have 4 stomachs..they are naturally curious and independent and will browse and sample just about anything, but they are picky about what they actually eat.
In the book Heidi, young Peter's goats have Swiss-German names of Schwanli (Little Swan) and Baerli (Little Bear).
- Un bouc, male goat. Aka a billy goat (if it is intact), also used for "goatee". Aka wether (if it has been castrated).
- Une bique, female goat. Aka doe, nanny, or a she-goat!
- Un chevreau, young male goat. Also known as a kid.
- Une chevrette, young female goat. Also known as a kid.
WILD GAME - LE GIBIER, LA CHASSE
- Un mouflon d’Amérique, wild bighorn sheep.
- Un bouquetin, ibex, or wild goat.
- Un sanglier, wild boar.
- Un dindon sauvage, wild turkey.
Yesterday at the farmers' market, after purchasing 2 dorade royale (fish) from la poissonerie, I spotted something I've never seen before. It was a huge tray of cow's feet at a halal butcher. I'm familiar with pig's feet (pouteille), chicken feet, even oxtail. Who knew that you could also eat cow's feet? Apparently no part of a cow is wasted either...one of these days, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rocky Mountain Oysters at the market.
Cervelas a l'alsacienne? Yes, but other unmentionables? Non, merci! Broad-minded I am, but not as adventurous as I use to think. I'm utterly enthralled and equally disgusted watching Andy Zimmerman's Bizzare Foods. For those of you in Boston who are adventurous eaters, there's a Jamaican restaurant in Mattapan that serves up cow's feet, oxtail, and even yes, other unmentionables. Apparently, it is delicious. Hmmm...and a restaurant in Brighton serving up goat brains. I'll leave that for the Andy Zimmerman's of the world and stick to my exotic stinky cheeses, raw cow's milk and cream, and wild mushrooms!
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