The best of both worlds

The world's first blamb - coming to a store near your soon. Picture / Beef + Lamb NZ

Kiwi beef and sheep farmers have produced the world's first blamb, a sheep and cattle hybrid that combines the very best of both meats to ensure consumers never have to go through the toughest of all choices, whether to eat beef or lamb.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand CEO Rod Slater said this latest development was just another example of Kiwi ingenuity.

"New Zealand beef and sheep farmers have always been at the forefront of world innovation when it comes to farming. Whether it's the first shipment of lamb to Europe in 1882 or the more recent breeding of low methane-emitting sheep, Kiwi farmers are always staying one step ahead," he said.

Blamb as a product had tested very well so far, consumers remarking that the eating experience, whilst unique, was ground-breaking, combining the rich tenderness of beef with the earthy, gamey flavour of lamb.

Fiona Windle, Head of Nutrition at Beef + Lamb New Zealand, also pointed out that the nutritional credentials of blamb were "right up there" with their more traditional counterparts.

"Beef and lamb are widely recognised as among the most-nutrient dense foods you can consume," she said.

"Lean red meat is high in protein, iron and zinc, with a total of 11 essential nutrients that all boost your family's performance, giving you energy, helping you focus and supporting your immune system. The tests so far suggest blamb will match the more conventional proteins in terms of bang for nutritional buck."

Blamb was still some way off reaching stores, Mr Slater said, "but we wanted to share this great news with Kiwis to give them something to look forward to during these troubling times."

No word yet on how well they milk.