← Animal Milks Guide ← Back to Collection

Sheep Milk

Common

Mediterranean, Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia

Milk produced by domestic sheep. Its relatively high fat, protein, and total-solids content makes it especially well suited to cultured dairy products and cheesemaking.

About Sheep Milk

Sheep milk is produced by domestic ewes (Ovis aries) and is one of the oldest animal milks consumed by humans. Sheep were among the first animals domesticated in the ancient Near East, approximately 10,000–11,000 years ago, and sheep milk has been consumed and used to make cheese and yogurt for millennia across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), global sheep milk production exceeds 10 million tonnes annually, with Turkey, China, Greece, Romania, and Syria among the leading producers.

Sheep milk is significantly richer than cow or goat milk — it typically contains 5.5–7.5% fat and 5.5–6.5% protein, compared to approximately 3.5% fat and 3.3% protein in standard Holstein cow milk. This richness makes sheep milk exceptionally well suited for cheesemaking: its higher solids content means more cheese is produced per litre of milk than with cow or goat milk. Sheep milk fat globules are smaller than in cow milk, and the milk naturally lacks the agglutinin protein that causes fat to cream in cow milk, giving it a naturally homogenised appearance similar to goat milk.

Sheep milk has a higher lactose content than cow milk (approximately 4.8%), but its higher protein and fat content means that dairy products made from it (particularly aged cheeses like Pecorino and Manchego) are very low in lactose. Its casein protein composition differs from cow milk, though it still contains many of the same proteins and is not suitable for people with general dairy protein allergies. Sheep dairy is especially prominent in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food cultures, where traditional cheeses made from sheep milk have been produced for thousands of years.

Sources & Further Reading

USDA FoodData Central — Sheep Milk (SR Legacy) (current search) — Current USDA database search for the named food; select the matching product/data type because formulations and database records can change.
PMC — Comparative Composition of Sheep, Goat, and Buffalo Milk (2020) — Peer-reviewed review supporting sheep milk's higher fat/protein content relative to cow and goat milk, and its suitability for cheesemaking

Nutrition

Sheep whole milk (per 240ml / 1 cup) typically contains:

Calories~265 kcal

Fat~17 g

Protein~15 g

Calcium~474 mg

Lactose~11 g

RiboflavinHigh

Sheep milk is considerably richer than cow or goat milk. It provides substantially more calcium, protein, and fat per cup than cow milk, making dairy products made from it very nutritionally dense. It contains lactose and is not suitable for people with lactose intolerance or dairy allergy. Sheep milk is an excellent source of calcium, riboflavin (B2), and vitamin B12.

Common Uses

◌ Cheese (Pecorino, Manchego, Roquefort, Feta)◌ Yogurt◌ Drinking fresh◌ Butter◌ Ice cream

Sheep milk is most famous as the raw material for some of the world's most celebrated cheeses. Roquefort (France), Pecorino Romano and Pecorino Sardo (Italy), Manchego (Spain), and Feta (Greece/Cyprus) are all traditionally made from sheep milk or sheep-goat blends. Sheep milk yogurt is richer and creamier than cow milk yogurt. Fresh sheep milk is consumed in rural areas of Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Sheep milk ice cream is produced by specialty dairies in Europe and North America for its exceptional richness.

Interesting Facts

Sheep milk produces more cheese per litre than cow milk — due to its higher protein and fat content, approximately 1 litre of sheep milk produces up to 250g of cheese, compared to approximately 100g from a litre of cow milk.
Roquefort, one of France's most celebrated cheeses, is made exclusively from the milk of Lacaune sheep in the Roquefort-sur-Soulzon area of southern France — it holds both EU PDO protection and was the first French cheese to receive AOC (controlled designation of origin) status in 1925.
Sheep are milked only during the period following lambing — typically 4–7 months per year, depending on breed and management — making sheep dairy a more seasonal industry than cow dairy.
The Lacaune sheep breed, used to produce Roquefort, can yield up to 300–400 litres of milk per lactation — unusually high for sheep, which typically yield far less than dairy cows.
Sheep milk yogurt, consumed across the Middle East, Greece, and the Balkans, has a naturally thick, creamy texture due to the high protein and fat content, without requiring the straining used to make Greek-style yogurt from cow milk.