Sheep's milk cheeses
Rich and nutty: Roquefort, Manchego, Pecorino, Feta, Idiazabal and oscypek.
Sheep's milk is the richest of the common dairy milks, with close to twice the fat and much more protein than cow's milk, so it gives more cheese per litre and a full, nutty, slightly sweet flavour. Sheep are milked across the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East and the Carpathians, and many of the oldest cheeses are theirs: Roquefort, Pecorino, Manchego, Feta, Idiazabal, oscypek and bryndza.
Pecorino and the south
Pecora is Italian for sheep, and pecorino means any sheep's milk cheese. Pecorino Romano, Pecorino Sardo, Pecorino Toscano and Pecorino Siciliano are protected, each with its own size and age, and Sardinia, with its great flocks, makes most Pecorino Romano. Greek feta and kefalotyri, Spanish Manchego, Roncal and Zamorano, and Portugal's Serra da Estrela, set with the flowers of a wild thistle, are all sheep's milk cheeses. Roquefort, the great blue, is made only from the milk of Lacaune ewes.
Shepherd cheeses of the north and east
In the Carpathians and the Tatras, shepherds still make cheese in summer huts: Polish oscypek and bryndza, Slovak bryndza for bryndzové halušky, and Romanian telemea and caș. Ewes are seasonal, milked mainly from late winter to summer after lambing, so production rises and falls with the year. Sheep's milk freezes better than cow's milk, which lets small dairies save it for making cheese later in the season. Turkey's tulum is packed into a goatskin or sheepskin bag to ripen.
In South and Central Asia
In South Asia, sheep are kept mostly for wool and meat, and their milk is seldom made into cheese, though herders in the high mountains make small amounts for their own use. In Central Asia and Iran, sheep's milk becomes kurt, qurut and kashk, dried and kept for winter, and in Jordan, jameed of sheep's or goat's milk is the soul of mansaf. Iran's lighvan, a brined sheep's milk cheese from near Tabriz, is a favourite with bread and herbs.
Worth knowing
- Roquefort: Blue of Lacaune ewes' milk
- Pecorino Romano: Salty grating cheese of Lazio and Sardinia
- Manchego: Pressed cheese of La Mancha
- Feta: Greek brined cheese with up to 30 per cent goat's milk
- Idiazabal: Basque cheese of Latxa sheep
- Oscypek: Smoked cheese of the Tatras
- Serra da Estrela: Portuguese cheese set with thistle
- Bryndza: Soft sheep's cheese of the Carpathians
Good to know
- Sheep's milk cheeses are rich, so cut thinner slices for a board.
- Aged Manchego and pecorino go well with quince paste, honey or pears.
- In Rome, young pecorino with raw broad beans is a spring custom, especially on the first of May.
Sources and further reading
About this page
Original text by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Sheep on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreFetaφέτα
A crumbly Greek brined cheese made from sheep and goat milk.Sheep · Brined · Tangy and lactic
🇺🇸 United StatesMorcella
A Minnesota sheep-milk cheese coated with morel mushrooms and aged in autumn.Sheep · Semi-soft · Earthy and cellar
🇷🇴 RomaniaBrânză de coșuleț
A lightly smoked sheep's milk cheese from Transylvania, cured in fir bark.Sheep · Smoked · Salty
🇬🇪 GeorgiaGuda cheeseგუდის ყველი
A salted sheep's-milk cheese ripened inside a leather wineskin in the Georgian mountains.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇦🇱 AlbaniaMishavin
A soft, crumbly Albanian cheese aged in skins and wood from sheep or cow milk.Sheep · Buttery and creamy
🇪🇸 SpainPata de mulo cheese
A tubular, hard ewe's-milk cheese from Spain, shaped like a mule's leg.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna
A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇹🇷 TurkeyVan herbed cheeseVan otlu peyniri
A semi-hard sheep's-milk cheese from eastern Turkey, infused with wild herbs and brined.Sheep · Semi-soft · Salty
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRicotta
A fresh Italian whey cheese made by reheating leftover proteins from other cheesemaking batches.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United StatesBig Woods Blue
A firm, creamy sheep's-milk blue cheese aged six to eight months in Minnesota.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 1 moreKadchgall
A hard, sweet and salty cylindrical cheese made from sheep or camel milk by Pashtun communities.Sheep · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreBasket cheesesepet peyniri
A fresh, unsalted or lightly salted whey and curd cheese shaped in reed baskets from the Aegean coast.Goat · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇾🇪 YemenYemeni cheeseجبنة تعز
A smoked semi-hard sheep or goat milk cheese from Taiz Governorate in Yemen.Sheep · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 FranceRoquefortRòcafòrt
A raw sheep's milk blue cheese aged in the Combalou caves of southern France.Sheep · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreBlue cheese
A family of cheeses defined by blue-green mold veins created through deliberate inoculation and piercing.Cow · Semi-soft · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino
A family of Italian hard sheep's-milk cheeses with protected status.Sheep · Hard · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreCasu MarzuCasu martzu
A Sardinian fermented sheep cheese containing live fly larvae.Sheep · Savoury and brothy
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 5 moreBryndza
A tangy, crumbly sheep's milk cheese from Central and Eastern Europe.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKashkavalkaşkaval
A semi-hard yellow cheese from cow, sheep, or goat milk, popular across the Balkans and Turkey.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreCaciocavallo
A stretched-curd cheese from southern Italy shaped like a teardrop and aged to develop a hard rind.Cow · Stretched curd · Nutty
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePecorino Romano
A hard, salty sheep's-milk cheese from Italy, aged at least five months and protected by EU law.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceBrocciu
A fresh Corsican cheese made from sheep milk and whey, drained in rush baskets.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇵🇱 PolandOscypek
A smoked, spindle-shaped sheep's milk cheese from Poland's Tatra Mountains.Sheep · Smoked · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKefalotyriκεφαλοτύρι
A hard, salty Greek cheese made from sheep or goat milk, aged for grating or frying.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreKasseriκασέρι
A pasta filata sheep's milk cheese aged for at least three months in Greece and Turkey.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇪🇸 SpainIdiazabalIdiazabal gazta
A hard, pressed sheep's milk cheese from the Basque Country with a dark rind and optional smoke.Sheep · Hard · Nutty
🇵🇹 PortugalSerra da EstrelaQueijo Serra da Estrela
A soft Portuguese sheep's milk cheese coagulated with thistle and aged for at least a month.Sheep · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy
🇬🇷 GreeceGravieraγραβιέρα
A hard Greek cheese made from sheep or cow milk, aged for months and marked with a crisscross rind.Sheep · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇪🇸 SpainTorta del CasarTorta del Casal
A creamy sheep's milk cheese from Extremadura, coagulated with cardoon and aged for at least two months.Sheep · Semi-soft · Salty
🇸🇰 SlovakiaParenica
A semi-firm Slovak cheese made from steamed curds, often smoked and woven into spirals.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreNabulsi cheeseجبنة نابلسية
A white brined semi-hard cheese from Nablus, flavored with mahleb and mastic.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Sardoberveghinu sardu
A hard, pressed sheep's milk cheese from Sardinia with two distinct age profiles.Sheep · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMizithraμυζήθρα
A fresh Greek whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk, eaten soft or dried for grating.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇭🇷 CroatiaPag cheesePaški sir
A hard sheep's-milk cheese from Croatia's Pag island, aged up to eighteen months.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 1 moreKorbáčikkorbáčik (Slovak), korbacz (Polish)
A braided string cheese from the Orava region of Slovakia and Poland.Cow · Stretched curd · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyBra
A Piedmontese cow's-milk cheese made soft or hard depending on age.Cow · Hard
🇨🇾 CyprusAnariαναρή
A fresh whey cheese from Cyprus made from sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Salty
🇬🇧 United KingdomWensleydale
A medium, crumbly British cheese originally from sheep's milk in North Yorkshire.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇪🇸 SpainMató
A fresh, unsalted Catalan cheese from sheep or goat milk, served with honey.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreTomme
A low-fat alpine cheese from France and Switzerland, often made from skimmed milk.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 SpainZamoranoQueso zamorano
A hard, dark-rinded sheep's milk cheese from the province of Zamora in Spain.Sheep · Hard · Nutty
🇵🇹 PortugalQueijo de Nisa
A semi-hard sheep's milk cheese from Alto Alentejo, Portugal, set with thistle.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreBundz
A mild, fresh sheep's-milk cheese from the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathians.Sheep · Fresh
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreCircassian cheeseадыгейский сыр
A fresh, basket-molded cow's milk cheese from the North Caucasus that holds its shape when heated.Cow · Fresh
🇫🇷 FranceFaisselle
A fresh, very soft French cheese strained in a faisselle mold, made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Sicilianopicurinu sicilianu
A semi-hard sheep's milk cheese from Sicily with DOC and PDO protection.Sheep · Semi-hard
🇫🇷 FranceTomme des PyrénéesToma de Pirenèus
A rustic pressed cheese from the French Pyrenees, made from cow, sheep or goat milk.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇵🇹 PortugalSerpa cheeseQueijo Serpa
A semi-soft, washed-rind sheep's milk cheese from Portugal's Alentejo region.Sheep · Semi-soft
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Brocciu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bra: F. D. Richards, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Guda cheese: Jonathan Cardy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino Romano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Akkawi: Paul Joseph, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mizithra: grongar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ricotta: 8w9d, CC0, source
- Zamorano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Circassian cheese: Tetk200, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino Sardo: The original uploader was Frankie816 at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Pecorino: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pag cheese: Silverije, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tomme: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Faisselle: Véronique PAGNIER, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anari: Zlerman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mató: Eabayar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pecorino Siciliano: Marco Varisco, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Serra da Estrela: Adriao, Public domain, source
- Tomme des Pyrénées: Julie333411, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Korbáčik: Mariuszjbie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Casu Marzu: Shardan, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Nabulsi cheese: رائد عزمي حموده, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Basket cheese: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ġbejna: Chattacha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pata de mulo cheese: Triplecaña, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mishavin: Tizilohja25, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Brânză de coșuleț: Vlad.saileanu at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Van herbed cheese: Tanyel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Torta del Casar: MollySVH, CC BY 2.0, source
- Roquefort: Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Parenica: Stanislav Doronenko, Public domain, source
- Idiazabal: Xavigivax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blue cheese: No machine-readable author provided. Brookie assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bryndza: Kagor, GFDL, source
- Oscypek: Pawel Swiegoda ( Paberu ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Graviera: Catlemur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caciocavallo: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kasseri: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kashkaval: Nnikolce, Public domain, source
- Kefalotyri: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wensleydale: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Bundz: Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Queijo de Nisa: Adriao, CC BY-SA 3.0, source