Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...
of
domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured
dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include
feta
Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it ...
(Greece),
ricotta
Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain afte ...
(Italy), and
Roquefort (France).
Sheep breeds
Specialized dairy breeds of sheep yield more milk than other breeds. Common dairy breeds include:
*
East Friesian (Germany)
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Sarda
Sarda may refer to :
Places and jurisdictions
* Sarda (Albanian Sardë), a ruined ancient town, on Shurdhah Island in northern Albania.
* The former Diocese of Sarda, now a Latin Catholic titular see
* Sarda river, a river which forms part of ...
(Italy)
*
Lacaune
Lacaune (; , meaning ''the cave'') is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.
Its inhabitants are called the Lacaunais (los Cauneses in Occitan).
Geography
The river Gijou has its source in the commune.
History
In 1797, the fera ...
(France)
*
British Milk Sheep (UK)
*
Chios
Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...
(Greece)
*
Awassi (Syria)
*
Assaf (Israel)
*
Zwartbles
The Zwartbles is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Friesland region of the north Netherlands. There it was primarily used for the production of sheep milk as well as lamb and mutton. They were often kept alongside dairy cattle herds.
...
(Friesland, Netherlands)
In the U.S., the most common dairy breeds are the East Friesian and the Lacaune.
Meat or wool breeds do not produce as much milk as dairy breeds, but may produce enough for small amounts of cheese and other products.
Milk production period
Female sheep (ewes) do not produce milk constantly. Rather, they produce milk during the 80–100 days after lambing. Sheep naturally breed in the fall, which means that a majority of lambs are born in the winter or early spring. Milk production decreases and eventually stops when lambs are weaned or when the days become shorter.
This means that milk cannot be produced year round. Through the use of
controlled internal drug release (CIDR), ewes can be bred out of season. CIDR drugs contain
progesterone
Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the majo ...
, which is slowly released into the bloodstream, bringing the animal into
estrus. In this way, ewes can be bred at different times throughout the year, providing farms with a year-round supply of milk.
Meat and wool breeds of sheep lactate for 90–150 days, while dairy breeds can lactate for 120–240 days. Dairy sheep are able to produce higher yields of milk per ewe per year. Dairy sheep can produce of milk per year while other sheep produce of milk per year. Crossbred ewes produce of milk per year.
Products made from sheep milk
Sheep milk cheeses include the
feta
Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it ...
of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
,
Roquefort of France,
Manchego of Spain;
Serra da Estrela from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
;
pecorino Romano (the
Italian word for sheep is ''pecora''),
pecorino Sardo, and
ricotta
Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain afte ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
;
Pag cheese of Croatia;
Ġbejna of Malta; and
Gomolya of Hungary; and
Bryndza
Bryndza (from Romanian ''brânză'' cheese) is a sheep milk cheese made across much of East-Central Europe, primarily in or around the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and southern Poland. Bryndza cheese is creamy white in a ...
(''Slovenská bryndza'' from
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
,
brânza de burduf from
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and ''
Bryndza Podhalańska'' from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
).
In Greece,
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
is often made from sheep's milk.
Nutrition by comparison
Milk composition analysis, per 100 grams:
:
Sheep milk is extremely high in fat and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has a high level of solids, as compared to other milks. This makes it very suitable for cheese-making. In particular, sheep's milk produces much more cheese than the same amount of cow's milk.
See also
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Donkey milk
Donkey milk (or ass milk, or jenny milk) is the milk from the domesticated donkey ''(Equus asinus)''. It has been used since antiquity for cosmetic purposes as well as infant nutrition.
History
Donkey milk has been used by humans for aliment ...
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Goat milk
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Mare milk
Mare milk is milk lactated by female horses, known as mares, to feed their foals. It is rich in whey protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin C, and is a key ingredient in kumis. In several European countries, including Germany, it is so ...
*
Moose milk
Moose milk, also known as elk milk, refers to milk produced by moose (''Alces alces''). Though it is most commonly consumed by moose calves, its production has also been commercialised in Russia, Sweden and Canada.
Nutritional content
Moose ...
*
List of dairy products
This is a list of dairy products. A dairy product is food produced from the milk of mammals. A production plant for the processing of milk is called a dairy or a dairy factory. Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, ente ...
*
List of sheep milk cheeses
This is a list of sheep milk cheeses. Sheep milk cheese is prepared from sheep milk (or ewe's milk), the milk of domestic sheep. The milk is commonly used to make cultured dairy products, such as cheese.
Sheep milk cheeses
* Abbaye de Be ...
*
Sheep farming
References
External links
Sheep dairyingat sheep101.com
Sheep dairyingdocumentary by Cooking Up A Story
{{Milk by provenance
Milk by animal
Dairy farming
Sheep's-milk cheeses