Why the Karoo?

The Karoo is a semi-desert area in South Africa, located in the central and western part of the country. It is a very dry area with an annual rainfall between 50 – 250 mm. The name “Karoo” is derived from the Khoisan language, meaning “place of thirst”.
The main vegetation of the Karoo landscape consists of smaller bushes, shrubs, aloes and succulents that survive with low water supply. The vegetation is not very dense and typically you’ll see the shrubs about half a meter apart from one another. The biodiversity is high with around 6000 different types of vegetation counted in the total region, of which more than half are only found in this region.

Now what makes meat from Karoo meat so unique and distinct in flavour?
The Karoo has a harsh climate, cold winters and hot summers with hardly any rainfall. The indigenous shrubs endure this harsh climate and grow year round, while grass only grows in rainy season. The Karoo animals mainly feed on this indigenous flora, which is nutritious as well as palatable to them. These shrubs have a very herby aroma, varying from rosemary, thyme, sage, eucalyptus and lavender. One can say that the animals flavour their own meat while grazing.

Even when walking around in the fields you can smell the herbs of the Karoo bushes and shrubs. It almost feels like walking around in a spice market and gives its distinctive taste to the Karoo meat. The Karoo animals are famous for its unique herby aroma and taste and so only sheep that have been grazing on these bushes will acquire this distinctive Karoo meat flavour.

The flavour is in the fat

There are two other factors that play a role in the flavour of the meat: the fat and the age of the animal.
Fat is an energy source stored in animal muscles, which also contributes to the flavour of meat. Although water is the most prevalent component of meat, most of the aroma molecules which carry flavour are repelled by water but dissolve in fat.
Each animal has a unique fat content. This varies from cut to cut. Muscles that are used most by the animal contain the least amounts of fat. More tender cuts of meat which contain muscles that are less used by the animal will contain more fat and, as a result, more intense flavours.
Age also plays an important role in flavour development. The older the animal gets, the more time it has had to build up fat. As a result of age, more flavour is deposited within the meat.
Our aim is to bring these flavours to right to your doorstep and enable you to experience the best, healthiest free roaming produce in the world.