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, such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), pecorino romano (Italy), Roquefort (France) and Manchego (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 (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, 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 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 feta of

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 ...

, Roquefort of France, Manchego of Spain; Serra da Estrela 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 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 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 are also made from sheep's milk: various ricottas of Italy (but the best-known are made from buffalo milk); anthotyros, mizithra, manouri, and xynomizithra of Greece (often with goat milk mixed in); various requeijão in Portugal. In Greece, yogurt 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