The arrival of Easter is a relief after the gloom of winter: it's the first holiday celebration of the year, possibly the first family reunion since Christmas, and the perfect excuse for indulging in a proper Sunday lunch.
The customary meat for Easter, of course, is lamb. Milk-fed lamb, or even goat kid, is the prized, delicate and symbolic centre-piece favoured on the continent; here, it is tempting to be seduced by thoughts of lambs skipping in fields for a tender roast. In reality, the "spring lamb" on sale at this time is autumn-born from sheep deliberately managed for November lambing, out of kilter, in other words, with nature's cycle. Lambing is happening now (visit Fife for proof) and these lambs won't be ready to head to the butchers until May or June. Meat sold now as early-season lamb has been semi-intensively reared – born and raised indoors, then grown fast on concentrated feeds to be ready for spring, hardly the skipping lambs we like to imagine.
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