While cow milk is considerably more popular, sheep milking started before cow milking in Asia and Europe. People who love sheep milk’s taste also value its nutritional value and appreciate its versatility, but the question is, what does sheep milk taste like?
Sheep milk is creamy and mild with a moderately sweet taste. It is creamier than cow’s milk and does not have a gamey, salty flavor or an intense smell like goat’s milk. Therefore, sheep’s milk tastes different than goat’s and cow’s milk.
You may be hesitant to try sheep milk, but don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea of drinking it. Many people have been enjoying it for thousands of years.
Does Sheep Milk Taste Good?
Sheep milk has an exceptionally clean flavor and does not leave an aftertaste, unlike goat milk, which has a gamey earthy flavor.
You will enjoy a subtle, nearly sweet flavor without fatty residue from sheep milk. In addition, when it comes to texture, sheep’s milk is silky.
Regarding cheese, sheep milk produces considerably less dense cheese than bovine dairy but is unexpectedly creamier.
The butterfat amounts in sheep milk are approximately twice that in cow and goat milk, so sheep milk has more solids. This means that you do not need much sheep milk to produce cheese.
Moreover, the fat globules’ low density and small size make sheep cheese creamier and richer.
Although goat and sheep milk comes from animals that are generally similar in size, the milk does not taste the same.
One of the distinctive differences is the sheep milk’s clean flavor and the lack of aftertaste.
READ ALSO: Do Sheep Jump Fences? Reasons And Best Fence Ideas
Sheep Milk Vs. Goat Milk Vs. Cow Milk: A Detailed Comparison
Cow’s milk typically crosses most people’s minds when they think about milk.
However, other animals produce milk, and the different types of dairy humans drink include sheep and goat milk.
While milk from cows, sheep, and goats is nutritious, they are not the same, and here is a detailed comparison of them.
An Overview
Milk from sheep, cows, and goats are nutritious products that are naturally produced. We have been told to drink milk from a tender age because it will help make us strong.
The big question is, what type of milk is best? The truth is cow, sheep, and goat milk are highly nutritious, but the nutritional content varies.
Moreover, they taste differently, and their popularity also differs, with cow milk being more widely used than goat and sheep.
Cow milk is readily available in stores; hence they cost less than goat and sheep milk.
Nonetheless, the popularity of sheep and goat milk is on the rise. You can buy it online and in physical stores.
Flavor
As mentioned, sheep milk is creamy and moderately sweet, while cheese is rich and buttery.
On the other hand, goat milk is sweet, creamy, and delicious, but some people say it has a goaty taste, while cow milk is buttery yellow, sweet, and luscious.
The hormone levels of the nanny goat also affect the goat milk taste. For instance, keeping nanny goats close to male bucks increases their hormones, giving the milk a barnyard taste.
Sheep milk has a high content of butterfat, making the cheese rich and buttery, but it can also be nutty, and younger cheese is gamy.
Goat milk has acrid flavors because of the plants goats eat, such as thorny grasses and brambles; the flavors are also transferred to the cheeses.
Goat milk has small fat molecules, softer and smaller curds than what you get from sheep and cow milk. This makes cheese from their milk the easiest to digest. Goat cheese has a bright and somehow acidic taste and a signature tang.
Cow cheese can have an earthy flavor because these animals eat grass and occasionally consume soil they pick up with the grass.
Cow milk also has larger fat molecules; hence the cheese is harder than sheep and goat cheese.
However, there are different cheese types from cow milk since this milk is versatile.
Nutritional Value
Below is the nutritional content comparison of cow, goat, and sheep milk.
Calcium
Cow milk receives the most accolades regarding nutritional value because of its calcium content.
However, sheep and goat milk contain more calcium. Sheep milk offers 254% of the daily calcium requirement of 800mg, while milk from cows provides only 170%.
In addition, sheep milk has an almost perfect phosphorus-calcium ratio because one of these minerals cannot be digested without the other.
Fats
Sheep milk has double the butterfat you get from cow and goat milk. In comparison, the butterfat in sheep milk is 7.4 percent, 3.7% percent in cow milk, and 3.6 percent in goat milk.
In addition, milk produced by sheep is more homogenous because it has smaller fat globules and is thus easier to digest and their chances of causing high cholesterol are low.
More short and medium-chain saturated fatty acids are also present in sheep milk which is believed to cause better lactose absorption. This is beneficial to lactose-intolerant people.
Lactose
Lactose-intolerant individuals keep off milk products, but dairy products from sheep can be a worthy alternative to cow milk products.
For instance, lactose becomes lactic acid when you make yogurt from sheep milk. Also, evidence shows that people are more receptive to lactose in milk produced by sheep compared to the other milk types.
Protein
The casein protein in milk produced by sheep is linked with cheese and is acceptable for people intolerant to cow and goat milk.
Additionally, whey proteins are highly digestible, and sheep milk has three times the amounts found in cow and goat milk, thus contributing to the easier digestibility of sheep milk.
Due to the high protein content in sheep milk, you should not give this milk to kids below 12 months old. However, it is popular among athletes in Europe for the same reason.
Vitamins
Generally, milk is a good source of vitamins fundamental to good health. For example, when it comes to sheep milk, it offers high amounts of vitamin B12 and folic acid.
Recommended Use
Cow milk is good for making ice cream, sauces, baking, hot drinks, and cereal. Still, you can drink it directly.
On the other hand, goat milk is suitable for hot chocolate, coffee, and tea, and even recipes you would make using cow milk if you do not mind the flavor and taste difference.
Sheep milk is too rich to drink on its own but excellent for making yogurt, homemade cheeses, and desserts like ice cream and panna cotta.
What Does Sheep Yogurt Taste Like?
Sheep yogurt has a sour taste with a lumpy texture. It is refreshing and tart, perhaps too tart for some people, but people who enjoy Greek yogurt will love the extra tartness sheep yogurt offers.
Also, it is worth knowing that sheep yogurt contains twice Vitamin C and triple or double the other vitamins when compared to cow or goat milk. In addition, it has more folate (folic acid).
Final Remarks
You can differentiate sheep milk from cow and goat milk because of its taste. On the one hand, it is creamier than cow milk. In addition, it lacks the gamey or salty flavor and intense aroma of goat milk. Therefore, aside from sheep milk’s high nutritional value, it would be best to try it for its taste.
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