Choosing the right sheep

Good sheep, bad sheep?

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the annual Eid holiday in Sudan and today the talk about town was all about sheep.

In fact, many local businesses said they were winding down early today ahead of the three-day religious festical to focus on the business at hand of finding a sheep.

According to Islamic tradition, every Muslim male must slaughter a sheep to commemorate when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismail.

In an act of obedience Abraham agreed to cut the boy's throat, but God intervened and sent a ram to sacrifice instead of Ismail after seeing the extent of his father's devotion.

In Sudan family's gather to celebrate together and the meat is shared amongst relatives, neighbours and friends.

This year's event, however, is putting somewhat of a strain on family budgets.

Many locals complained to me that the large numbers of local sheep exported to Gulf countries, had left a shortage and driven up prices.

Apparently it has also become more difficult to source quality sheep.

So, if you're in the market, how do you find a decent sheep?

* Squeeze the end tip of the tail. If it's hard that means the sheep is old and the meat will be tough. If the tail is soft the meat should be tender and tasty.

* Check the inside of the sheep's mouth. If the tongue or gums are discoloured that means the the animal is unhealthy.

* If the sheep's eyes are yellow in colour, this also means the animal is sick and the meat is likely to be bad.

Eid Mubarak!