Dairy
Sheep
Sheep’s-milk cheese concentrates the rich, high-fat, high-protein milk of dairy ewes—Manchega, Lacaune, Sarda, and other breeds—into cheeses that taste fuller, sweeter, and often oilier than cow counterparts. The milk’s solids make excellent aged wheels, blues, and brined cheeses; whey becomes ricotta-style by-products. Iconic names include Manchego, Pecorino, Roquefort, and sheep Feta. Serve room-temperature for aroma; grate hard pecorini over pasta; crumble brined sheep cheeses into salads. Sheep cheeses often carry stronger animalic or lanolin notes when young and deep nuttiness when aged.
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Anari
Anthotyros
Azeitão
Berger de Rocastin
Brocciu
Bryndza
Canestrato
Castelmagno Sheep
Castelo Branco
Feta
Fiore Sardo
Halloumi
Idiazábal
Kashkaval Sheep
Kasseri
Kefalotyri
Liqvan
Manchego
Myzithra
Nisa
Ossau-Iraty
Pecorino Romano
Pecorino Sardo
Pecorino Siciliano
Pecorino Toscano
Pichtogalo Chanion
Ricotta Salata
Roncal
Roncal Sheep
Roquefort
Serra da Estrela
Sirene
Tulum
Wensleydale Sheep
Zamorano
Évora
Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Nutrition and pairings
Nutrition
Typical values per 100 g edible portion. Nutrient names open the reference page.
Nutrition Facts
Per 100 g edible portion
Amount per 100 g
- Total Fat 10.5 g
- Saturated Fat 5.93 g
- Trans Fat 0.3 g
- Monounsaturated Fat 3.11 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 0.29 g
- Cholesterol 28.9 mg
- Sodium 81.8 mg
- Salt 0.19 g
- Total Carbohydrate 5.02 g
- Dietary Fibre 0 g
- Total Sugars 4.84 g
- Complex / starch 0 g
- Protein 7.99 g
- Water 66.8 g
- Energy 146 kcal
- Water 66.8 g
- Carbohydrates 5.02 g
- Sugars 4.84 g
- Protein 7.99 g
- Fat 10.5 g
- Saturated Fat 5.93 g
- Monounsaturated Fat 3.11 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 0.29 g
- Omega-3 0.03 g
- Trans Fat 0.3 g
- Vitamins 28.3 mg
- Vitamin A 15 µg
- Vitamin B1 — Thiamine 0.04 mg
- Vitamin B2 — Riboflavin 0.18 mg
- Vitamin B3 — Niacin 0.09 mg
- Vitamin B5 — Pantothenic Acid 0.35 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.04 mg
- Vitamin B7 — Biotin 1.7 µg
- Vitamin B9 — Folate 6.8 µg
- Vitamin B12 — Cobalamin 1.2 µg
- Vitamin C 2 mg
- Vitamin D 0.4 µg
- Vitamin E 0.08 mg
- Vitamin K 0.4 µg
- Minerals 365 mg
- Major Minerals 364 mg
- Trace Minerals 1.5 mg
- Iron 1.5 mg
- Salt 0.19 g
- Cholesterol 28.9 mg
Vitamins
vitamin-c: 2 · vitamin-b12-cobalamin: 1.2 · vitamin-a: 15 · vitamin-b1-thiamine: 0.04 · vitamin-b2-riboflavin: 0.18 · vitamin-b3-niacin: 0.09 · vitamin-b5-pantothenic-acid: 0.35 · vitamin-b6: 0.04 · vitamin-b7-biotin: 1.7 · vitamin-b9-folate: 6.8 · vitamin-d: 0.4 · vitamin-e: 0.08 · vitamin-k: 0.4 ·
Minerals
Sheep of Cheese: composition reflects this culinary part relative to the whole ingredient.
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Mediterranean and Near Eastern pastoralists turned surplus ewe milk into durable cheese.
Classical sources mention sheep cheeses central to Greek and Anatolian diets.
Italian and Iberian sheep dairying fixed pecorino and manchego-type wheels as trade goods.
Roquefort’s protected status reinforced sheep-milk blue cheese as a prestige product.