🐑 Sheep

Sheep is a domestic ruminant kept for meat, wool and milk. Sheep’s milk is richer in fat and protein than cow’s milk: it usually contains about 6–7% fat, which makes it especially good for cheesemaking. According to the FAO, sheep provide about 1% of the world’s milk, and about 9% in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The largest producers are China, Turkey and Greece.

A ewe gives little milk and is milked seasonally: her lactation is shorter than a cow’s, and breeding has not raised yields as much as in cattle. On the other hand, each litre makes more cheese. Famous cheeses rely on sheep’s milk: Roquefort in France, Pecorino in Italy, feta (together with goat’s milk) in Greece, bryndza in the Carpathians and the Balkans.

Sheep farming is linked to transhumance — the seasonal moving of flocks up into the mountains and back. In a number of European countries UNESCO has inscribed this tradition on the list of intangible cultural heritage.