Sheep milk is the

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

domestic sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to ...

. It is commonly used to make cultured

dairy products Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

, such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include

feta Feta ( ; ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed into large blocks and aged in brin ...

(Greece), pecorino romano (Italy),

Roquefort Roquefort () is a sheep milk blue cheese from southern France. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European Union law, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the na ...

(France) and

Manchego Manchego (, ) is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the Sheep milk, milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. It is aged between 60 days and 2 years. Manchego has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, often containin ...

(Spain).

Sheep breeds

Specialized dairy breeds of sheep yield more milk than other breeds. Common dairy breeds include: * East Friesian (Germany) * Sarda (Italy) * Lacaune (France) * British Milk Sheep (UK) *

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

(Greece) * Awassi (Syria) * Assaf (Israel) * Zwartbles (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. Instead, 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 the days are shorter. 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 ma ...

, which is slowly released into the bloodstream, bringing the animal into

estrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...

. 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 can 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's milk

Sheep milk cheeses include the

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

of France,

of Spain;

Serra da Estrela Serra da Estrela (, ) is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal. Together with the Serra da Lousã it is the westernmost constituent range of the Sistema Central and also one of the highest in the system. It includes mainland Portuga ...

from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

; pecorino Romano (the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

word for sheep is ''pecora'') and pecorino Sardo of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

; Pag cheese of Croatia;

Ġbejna Ġbejna (; plural ') is a small round cheese made in Malta from sheep milk, salt and rennet. Most sheep's milk produced in Malta is used for the production of these small cheeses. is the diminutive of the Maltese word , which means "cheese"; i ...

of Malta; and Gomolya of Hungary; and Bryndza (''Slovenská bryndza'' from

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, brânza de burduf from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and '' Bryndza Podhalańska'' from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Whey cheeses Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdling, curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types ...

are also made from sheep's milk: various ricottas of Italy (but the best-known are made from buffalo milk);

anthotyros Anthotyros () (Anthotyro in modern Greek, "flowery cheese") is a traditional fresh cheese. There are dry Anthotyros and fresh Anthotyros. Dry Anthotyros is a matured cheese similar to Mizithra. Anthotyros is made with milk and whey from sheep ...

mizithra Mizithra or myzithra ( ) is a Greek cuisine, Greek whey cheese or mixed cheese, milk-whey cheese from sheep milk, sheep or goats, or both.Rosemary Barron, Barron, Rosemary (1991). ''Flavors of Greece.'' William Morrow, It is sold both as a fresh ...

, manouri, and xynomizithra of Greece (often with goat milk mixed in); various requeijão in Portugal. In Greece,

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

is often made from sheep's milk.

Nutrition by comparison

Sheep's milk is exceptionally high in fat and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has a high level of solids, as compared to other kinds of milk, making it very suitable for cheese-making. In particular, sheep's milk produces much more cheese than the same amount of cow's milk.

References

External links