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Castrated When Young: And now grip your chair and let me tell you of Turkey's greatest restaurant delicacy of all. It is koc yumurtasi, which is to say broiled ram's testicles. This dish is expensive and also rare, for the very good reason that most rams are castrated when young. Koc yumurtasi should be liquefied with raki, but with or without firewater it is an epicure's dream. Once, in Istanbul, I have been lucky enough to have it, in the Misir Carsisi Restaurant
The male sheep is called a ram or buck; the female, a ewe; the castrated male, a wether. Young sheep from birth to the age of 12 months are known as lambs, from 12 to 24 months as yearlings, and older or mature sheep as two-year-olds, three-year-olds, and so on. Sheep meat is called lamb or mutton according to the age of animal at time of slaughter, which is usually determined by the break joint, a temporary cartilage just above the ankle. Carcasses and meat from lambs and some yearlings in which the forefeet are removed at this break joint are called lamb, and those from sheep in which the feet must be taken off at the ankle are called mutton.
Gestation takes 16 days; 7-15 in litter; young born pink, naked, and blind. Do not disturb young or mother for at least a week after birth; if disturbed mother will either kill and eat the young or neglect them and allow them to die. After 3 weeks, remove young from mother; otherwise, mother fights with them and often kills them. Sexes should be separated before young reach maturity at 43 days.
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