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
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
🇬🇪 GeorgiaGuda cheeseგუდის ყველი
A salted sheep's-milk cheese ripened inside a leather wineskin in the Georgian mountains.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇹🇷 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
🇵🇰 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
🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna
A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 SpainPata de mulo cheese
A tubular, hard ewe's-milk cheese from Spain, shaped like a mule's leg.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇷🇴 RomaniaBrânză de coșuleț
A lightly smoked sheep's milk cheese from Transylvania, cured in fir bark.Sheep · Smoked · Salty
🇹🇷 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
🇫🇷 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
🇸🇰 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 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
🇵🇱 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
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Sardoberveghinu sardu
A hard, pressed sheep's milk cheese from Sardinia with two distinct age profiles.Sheep · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇪🇸 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
🇵🇸 Palestine and 1 moreNabulsi cheeseجبنة نابلسية
A white brined semi-hard cheese from Nablus, flavored with mahleb and mastic.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇬🇷 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
🇨🇾 CyprusAnariαναρή
A fresh whey cheese from Cyprus made from sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Salty
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino Toscano
A firm Tuscan sheep's milk cheese with PDO status since 1996.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceTomme des PyrénéesToma de Pirenèus
A rustic pressed cheese from the French Pyrenees, made from cow, sheep or goat milk.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇵🇱 PolandRedykołka
A smoked, salted sheep's milk cheese from Poland's Podhale region, shaped like animals or hearts.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇷 IranLighvan cheeseپنیر لیقوان
A sour brined sheep's milk curd cheese from the village of Liqvan in Iran.Sheep · Brined · Salty
🇦🇲 ArmeniaMotalմոթալ
A soft, brined Armenian cheese aged in leather bags with wild thyme.Sheep · Brined · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRomano cheese
A hard, salty American grating cheese made from cow, goat, or sheep milk.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇬🇷 GreeceAnthotyrosΑνθότυρος
A traditional Greek whey cheese made from sheep or goat milk, available in fresh and dry forms.Sheep · Fresh · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇹 ItalyPecorino di Filiano
A firm sheep's milk cheese from Basilicata with PDO status since 2007.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇳🇱 NetherlandsBoerenkaas
A Dutch semi-hard raw milk cheese with TSG protection, often spiced and farm-made.Cow · Semi-hard · Salty
🇮🇱 IsraelTzfat Cheeseגבינה צפתית
A semi-hard salty cheese from Safed, originally made with sheep's milk and molded in baskets.Sheep · Semi-hard · Salty
🇬🇷 GreeceXynomizithraΞινομυζήθρα
A soft, sour Greek whey cheese from Crete made with sheep or goat milk.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇪🇸 SpainMallorcaformatge mallorquí
A semi-hard cow, goat or sheep milk cheese from the Balearic Islands with an olive-oiled rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Milky and fresh
🇽🇰 Kosovo and 2 moreSharr cheeseDjathë i Sharrit / Шарски сир
A hard, salty cow and sheep milk cheese from the Šar Mountains of Kosovo.Cow · Hard · Salty
🇧🇬 BulgariaCherni VitЧерни Вит
A soft sheep's milk cheese from Bulgaria with a naturally green mold crust.Sheep · Salty
🇺🇦 UkraineHutsul sheep bryndzyaгуцульська овеча бриндзя
A soft, crumbly sheep's-milk cheese from the Ukrainian Carpathians, ripened and salted by hand.Sheep · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceCazelle de Saint AffriqueCazelle de Sant Afric
A soft, pungent sheep's milk cheese from the Aveyron department of France.Sheep · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian cheeseجبنة (gebna)
A broad category of cheeses central to Egyptian cuisine, ranging from fresh white types to aged blue varieties.Cow · Fresh · Salty
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Guda cheese: Jonathan Cardy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino Romano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Friesian Clove: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lighvan cheese: farsnews.ir, CC BY 4.0, source
- Anthotyros: Giorgos ab1234, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mizithra: grongar, CC BY 2.0, 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
- Anari: Zlerman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Romano cheese: Brian Boucheron, CC BY 2.0, source
- Redykołka: MOs810, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pecorino Toscano: Dan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sharr cheese: ThinkTank123, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- Motal: Barseghian Lilia, CC0, 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
- 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
- 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
- Kashkaval: Nnikolce, Public domain, source
- Kefalotyri: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pecorino di Filiano: Rlucia, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tzfat Cheese: Myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mallorca: Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hutsul sheep bryndzya: Ukrinform TV, CC BY 3.0, source
- Egyptian cheese: Tour d'Afrique, CC BY 2.0, source