(ELI5) Why do animals that live in the same environment and eat the same diet taste different? (For example sheep and cows)
In: Biology
It’s mostly due to the different levels of fat in the meat (and how exactly the animal stores fat / what it is composed of), different density of the muscles, and slightly different diets. For example, grass-fed and grain-fed diets given to the same animal will give different tasting/texture meat, and the activity level of the animal, and how much it eats/how quickly it puts on weight will affect the taste. Also, different “cuts of meat” from the same animal can have remarkably different texture — compare beef ribs with beef steak with beef tenderloin. We often prefer to eat different cuts of different animals, which makes the difference in taste even more noticeable.
This is also why, for example, lamb (young sheep) and mutton (old sheep) taste different. Mutton is more “gamey” and less tender because the animal is more mature, leaner (no sheep equivalent of “baby fat”) and has an entirely grass/vegetation-fed diet rather than milk.
Latest Answers