Pass the Mint Jelly All Year

I have, too. Recently I bought three racks—one from Jamison, one from Niman Ranch (niman ranch.com) and one from my local Whole Foods—and took them over to a friend who has never been a fan. Ordinarily, I marinate them in olive oil, lemon, fresh herbs and maybe a little garlic, but I didn't even put salt and pepper on these. I wanted to detect their differences, and to see if even a nonaficionado could happily tuck into unadulterated meat.

It was a huge success. The Whole Foods sample, which was flown in fresh from New Zealand, was the youngest and had the strongest lamb flavor, but we all agreed the American samples were superior in terms of overall flavor and texture. Even my friend's teenage daughter was won over by them. With the tasting done, we sat down to dinner with the rest of the carved racks, a spinach gratin and slow-roasted tomatoes with garlic and thyme. In honor of the occasion, we had a 1989 Haut-Brion (Bordeaux is the classic choice with lamb), and toasted to two more converts made.

© 2008