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-modula ...

domestic sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated ...

. It is commonly used to make cultured

dairy products Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in ...

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 after th ...

(Italy), and

Roquefort Roquefort is a sheep milk cheese from Southern France, and is one of the world's best known blue cheeses. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur ...

(France).

Sheep breeds

Specialized dairy breeds of sheep yield more milk than other breeds. Common dairy breeds include: * East Friesian (Germany) * Sarda (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 fer ...

(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 masti ...

(Greece) *

Awassi The Awassi ( ar, عواسي) is a local sheep breed in South-West Asia originated in the Syro-Arabian desert. Other local names can also be Arab (not to be confused with Arabi sheep), Baladi, Deiri, Syrian, Ausi, Nuami, Gezirieh (or Qezirieh), or ...

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

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

. 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 cheese Sheep milk cheese is a cheese prepared from sheep milk. Well-known cheeses made from sheep milk include the Feta of Greece, Roquefort of France, Manchego from Spain, the Pecorino Romano and Ricotta of Italy. Yogurts, especially some forms of s ...

s include the

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 ...

of France,

Manchego Manchego (officially es, queso manchego, ) is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the 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 tex ...

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 Portugal's ...

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 ...

;

pecorino Romano Pecorino Romano () is a hard, salty Italian cheese, often used for grating, made with sheep's milk. The name "pecorino" simply means "ovine" or "of sheep" in Italian; the name of the cheese, although protected, is a simple description rather t ...

(the

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

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

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 Pag cheese or Pag Island cheese ( hr, Paški sir, ) is a Croatian variety of hard, distinctively flavored sheep milk cheese originating from the Adriatic island of Pag. It is generally regarded as the most famous of all artisan cheeses made in th ...

of Croatia;

Ġbejna Ġbejna (, plural ''ġbejniet'') is the diminutive of the Maltese word ġobna, which means "cheese"; it is synonymous with the Maltese English word "cheeselet", i.e. "little cheese". The rest of the article describes 'Ġbejna tan-nagħaġ', a t ...

of Malta; and Gomolya of Hungary; and Bryndza (''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 s ...

, brânza de burduf from

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

and ''

Bryndza Podhalańska Bryndza Podhalańska is a Polish variety of the soft cheese ''Bryndza'', from the Podhale region, it is made from sheep's milk. It has a geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds ...

'' 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.

References

External links