Sheep's milk: useful properties and calorie content. Sheep milk products

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Sheep have been bred for milk for thousands of years. Perhaps even before people began to milk cows. In the modern world, dairy sheep breeding is concentrated in Europe and countries near the Mediterranean Sea.

Sheep's milk is very nutritious and richer in vitamins A, B and E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium than cow's milk. It also contains a higher proportion of small and medium chain fatty acids, which are considered beneficial for he alth. For example, some of them have little effect on cholesterol levels in humans. They also make milk easier to digest.

How is it used?

Sheep's milk can be frozen and stored until the required amount is collected for sale or cheese production. Freezing does not affect the cheese-making quality of the product.

Sheep's milk has a higher solids content than goat's or cow's milk. As a result, more cheese can be obtained from its liter, compared to the product obtained from the same unit of goat or cow product. Sheep milk gives 18 to 25percent cheese, while goat and cow have a yield of 9 to 10 percent.

While sheep tend to produce less product than goats and much less than cows, sheep's milk sells for a significantly higher price per litre. In farm stores, it is almost four times more expensive than cow's.

Sheep milk cheese

The main product made from sheep's milk is cheese. The most famous types of such a product are as follows: feta (Greece, Italy and France), ricotta and pecorino romano (Italy), Roquefort (France). Brynza cheese is also an international well-known product. Sheep milk is also used to make yogurt and ice cream.

How is it mined?

Although any breed of sheep can be milked during lactation (like other types of livestock), there are specialized breeds of dairy animals. Worldwide, there are more than a dozen dairy breeds that are capable of producing 200 to 600 liters per lactation, while the production from normal sheep species is only 50 to 100 liters during the same period. Calorie content is approximately the same - at the level of 108 kcal per 100 grams of product.

Worldwide, most sheep are milked by hand. This is due to the fact that many dairy breeds are grown on small farms in remote areas where the technical equipment remains very modest. Modern farms where sheep are bred use complex mechanisms for milking: machines,pipelines, bulk tanks, etc. Do this once or twice a day.

Maximum milk yield will be obtained if lambs are removed from their pens within 24 hours of birth and subsequently raised on artificial milk replacer.

Sheep milk: benefits and harms

This milk is rich in calcium and the mineral zinc. Their content is very high compared to the dairy products of other animals. It is always worth remembering that lacto-calcium is much easier to digest than calcium carbonate (which is marble). In conjunction with lactose and vitamin D, calcium is vital in the fight against osteoporosis. This trace element in sheep's milk is almost twice as much as in cow's milk.

Calcium is also essential after any debilitating illness. Zinc, in turn, is needed to maintain he althy skin, and is also recommended for various long-term diseases, including anorexia.

However, sheep's milk has a very high fat content. This may have a negative effect. Unsaturated fats can increase the level of cholesterol in the body, so it is better not to abuse the product.

Vitamins

Vitamins, mainly the B-complex, as well as A, D and E, are essential for maintaining he alth and are most often recommended as a dietary supplement. Why worry about it when they are all present in sheep's milk? Especially it contains a lot of folicacids and B12, which are most often offered in the form of synthetic vitamin complexes.

Fats

Many people are put off by the high levels of fat in sheep's milk. However, it must be remembered that the so-called "fats" contain three fat-soluble vitamins, without which the body begins to suffer from serious illnesses. These are vitamins A, D and E - sheep's milk contains them much more than cow's or goat's. The vitamin D content is 0.18 g/100 grams, compared to summer cow's milk at 0.04 g/100 g. Sheep's milk also contains a higher percentage of saturated fatty acids, and this is thought to result in higher lactose absorption. in cases of poor portability.

Another important point is that 45% of the fatty acids contained in the product are mono- or polyunsaturated. This means that when drinking such milk, it is stored in the body for a very long time. Doctors even recommend drinking sheep's milk yogurt three hours before the planned feast. This method works better than the well-known olive oil. No one will argue with the fact that it is better to prevent the consequences of a feast than to deal with it later.

But remember that unsaturated fats can increase your body's cholesterol levels, so everything should be done in moderation!

Protein

Protein that is found in milk and does not end up in cheese remains in whey. The content of this element in sheep's milk is three times higher than in cow or goat milk. Therebythe whole product is easier to digest, and whey, in turn, is also recommended.

Lactose

Even if people are severely lactose intolerant, they can safely consume sheep milk products. During the production of yoghurts from it, milk sugar is oxidized. In addition, most of the lactose comes out with whey when making cheeses. There is also evidence that the lactose in sheep's milk is more tolerable than other types of this product, so it's always worth trying it for yourself and seeing for yourself.

Remember that any illness and use of antibiotics is bad for your immune system. Also, even the best medicines usually kill the good bacteria along with the bad ones. Sheep's milk yogurt and feta cheese help correct this and restore intestinal flora.

Be he althy!