Veal vs. Lamb — What’s the Difference? Nutrition, Health, & More

Macronutrients and Calories

Lamb is notably denser in nutrients, being composed of 54% water, while veal consists of 67% water.

Veal and lamb have the same average serving size of 3oz or 85g.

Vitamins

The chart below shows how much of your daily needs are covered by 300 grams of each product

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Lamb

5

Veal

3

Contains more Vitamin DVitamin D	+∞%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+42.9%
Contains more Vitamin B12Vitamin B12	+100.8%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+283.3%
Contains more FolateFolate	+63.6%

Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3	+20.6%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5	+75.8%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+200%

~equal in Vitamin C ~0mg

~equal in Vitamin A ~0IU

~equal in Vitamin E ~0.15mg

~equal in Vitamin B2 ~0.27mg

~equal in Choline ~95mg

Meat is an excellent source of B complex vitamins. Lamb and veal are no exceptions.

Lamb contains over nine times more vitamin B12, almost four times more vitamin K and nearly 1.5 times more vitamin B1 and folate. Lamb also provides vitamin D, which is entirely absent in veal.

Veal, on the other hand, provides 3 times more vitamin B6, almost 2 times more vitamin B5, and 1.2 times more vitamin B3.

Lamb and veal contain similar levels of vitamin E and vitamin B2.

Overall, lamb seems to be richer in most vitamins.

Veal and lamb both completely lack vitamin A and vitamin C.

Minerals

Now have a look at the mineral coverage chart

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Lamb

5

Veal

2

Contains more IronIron	+89.9%
Contains more CopperCopper	+15.5%
Contains more ZincZinc	+15.2%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-13.3%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium	+92.7%

Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+15.4%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+59.1%

~equal in Magnesium ~24mg

~equal in Calcium ~17mg

~equal in Potassium ~337mg

Lamb and veal are both rich in minerals.

Lamb provides higher levels of iron, copper, zinc, and selenium while being lower in sodium.

At the same time, veal is richer in phosphorus and slightly higher in potassium, magnesium, and manganese.

Lamb and veal contain nearly the same amount of calcium and choline.

Glycemic Index

As veal and lamb contain almost no carbohydrates, their glycemic index values are considered to be 0.

To read more about the glycemic index values of foods with no carbohydrates, you can visit this page.

Acidity

The pH value of veal can change depending on the maturity level of the meat. It ranges between 5.5 to 6.1. This means veal has an acidic pH value (1).

Similarly, lamb meat has pH values ranging from 5.7 to 6.0 (2).

The acidity of foods can also be measured based on their potential renal acid load or their PRAL value. This value shows how much acid or base the given food produces inside the body.

The PRAL values for veal and lamb are 12.1 and 11.6, respectively. This shows that veal is only slightly more acid-producing.

Health Benefits

Anemia

Lamb is richer in vitamin B12 and iron which is heme iron and is highly bioavailable. This reduces the risks of anemias, specifically megaloblastic anemia and iron deficiency anemias (16)(17).

Downsides and Risks

General Differences

Classification

The apparent difference between these two types of meat is the animal they come from. Veal is the meat of calves, which are young and domesticated cows or bulls. Lamb, also known as mutton or hogget, is the meat of sheep.

Veal can come from cattle of either sex; however, most veal comes from young males. Veal and beef have a lot in common, as they come from the same animal but in different stages of life.

The meat from young sheep, usually under 12 months of age, is called lamb. Mutton and hogget are usually named for the meat of fully grown sheep slaughtered at the age of two to three. The terms mutton or goat mutton can, also at times, be used to describe goat meat.

Both veal and lamb are classified as red meat due to their high content of myoglobin and iron.

Appearance

Veal and lamb are very hard to tell apart based on appearance alone. Both are dark red in color when raw, with varying amounts of marbling, depending on the cut. Marbling is the name for the white stripes of intramuscular fat seen on slices of raw meat.

At the same time, lamb can often be darker in color, as it is naturally higher in myoglobin and iron.

Taste and Use

The flavor of lamb is often described as stronger and gamier, while its texture is more tender when compared to veal.

The taste of veal and lamb can be compared to the taste of beef and mutton, respectively. However, veal and lamb have much more delicate flavors.

Varieties

The variety of meat can be decided based on breed, the cut, and the conditions in which the cattle have been raised. Different varieties have relatively different nutritional compositions, textures, and flavors.

Based on the cut of veal, it can be called the chuck or shoulder, the brisket and shank or breast, the rib, the sirloin or hip, the short loin, the short plate, the flake, and the round.

Cuts of lamb are called the square cut shoulder, the rack or rib, the loin, the leg, the neck, the breast, the shanks, and the flank.

Based on the conditions in which the cows have been raised, veal can be formula-fed, also known as milk-fed or white, non-formula fed, also known as red, pasture-raised, or free-raised and bob veal. Bob veal is the meat of the calf that has been slaughtered at less than one month old.