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The strict definitions for lamb, hogget and mutton vary considerably between countries. In New Zealand for example, they are defined as follows:

Lamb â€" a young sheep under 12 months of age which does not have any permanent incisor teeth in wear
Hogget â€" a young male sheep or maiden ewe having no more than two permanent incisors in wear
Mutton â€" a female (ewe) or castrated male (wether) sheep having more than two permanent incisors in wear.

In Australia the definitions are extended to include ewes and rams, as well as being stricter on the definition for lamb which is:

Lamb â€" 0 permanent incisors; female or castrate entire male ovine 0â€"12 months (note that the Australian definition requires 0 permanent incisors, whereas the New Zealand definition allows 0 incisors 'in wear'.)

The younger the lamb is, the smaller the lamb will be; however, the meat will be more tender. Sheep mutton is meat from a sheep over two years old, and has a less tender flesh. In general, the darker the colour, the older the animal. Baby lamb meat will be pale pink, while regular lamb is pinkish-red. - Wikipedia.org


mutton