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What is sheep's milk?
Sheep's milk is a liquid food of animal origin produced by female mammals belonging to the Bovidae Family, Genus Ovis and aries species.
It has nutritional characteristics quite similar to those of "traditional" milk, the whole cow's milk, with some differences that are limited mainly to the profile of energy macronutrients, therefore to caloric intake, and to a few vitamins and minerals. The result is an almost identical dietary application, with few differences that are emphasized only in a decisive manner when the level of skimming changes.
Did you know that ...
In Italy, from the legislative point of view, milk means the product of the mammary glandular secretion of cows; if the milk sold comes from other productions, the specific wording is absolutely mandatory.
In fact, in addition to that of sheep and cow, on the national market - in a more or less diffused way - it is possible to find different types of milk; the main ones are:
- Donkey's milk
- Goat milk
- Buffalo milk
- Mare's milk.
On the national territory sheep's milk is, after the vaccine, the most sold and consumed by the general population - even if with a certain difference between the considerable quantity destined for the food industry and the moderate one instead aimed at retail.
Due to its limited importance in private consumption, nutritional information on the nutritional composition of sheep's milk is less well known and widespread. The dairy products that derive from it, on the other hand, have a very developed distribution even at retail level, with greater interest in the Apennine regions.
In the kitchen, sheep's milk is mainly used in a similar way to cow's milk; those who prefer it choose exclusively based on taste or commercial availability.
Nutritional Properties
| Values per 100 g of edible portion | ||
| Whole Pasteurized Cow's Milk | Sheep's milk | |
| Power | 64.0 kcal | 103.0 kcal |
| TOT Carbohydrates | 4.9 g | 5.2 g |
| of which soluble sugars | 4.9 g | 5.2 g |
| fibers | 0.0 g | 0.0 g |
| TOT fats | 3.6 g | 6.9 g |
| of which saturated fatty acids | 2.11 g | 4.82 g |
| of which monounsaturated fatty acids | 1.10 g | 1.45 g |
| of which polyunsaturated fatty acids | 0.12 g | 0.26 g |
| B.C. Linoleic | 0.07 g | 0.26 g |
| B.C. Alpha Linolenic | 0.05 g | 0.13 g |
| Cholesterol | 11.0 mg | 11.0 mg |
| Protein | 3.3 g | 5.3 g |
| Vitamins | ||
| Thiamine (vit B1) | - mg | - mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.18 mg | 0.25 mg |
| Niacin (vit PP) | 0.1 mg | 0.09 mg |
| Pantothenic acid (vit B5) | - mg | - mg |
| Pyridoxine (vit B6) | - mg | - mg |
| Folati, DFE | - mcg | - mcg |
| Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | - mg | - mg |
| Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) | - mg | - mg |
| Vitamin A - RAE | 37.0 mcg | 53.0 mcg |
| Minerals | ||
| Football | 119.0 mg | 180.0 mg |
| Iron | - mg | - mg |
| Magnesium | - mg | - mg |
| Manganese | - mg | - mg |
| Phosphorus | 93.0 mg | 96.0 mg |
| Potassium | 150.0 mg | 182.0 mg |
| Zinc | 8.8 mg | mg |
| Sodium | 50.0 mg | 30.0 mg |
| water | 87.0 g | 82.7 g |
Nutritional properties: sheep's milk VS cow's milk
For general information on cow's milk see also: "Milk".
Comparing the nutritional profile of sheep's milk with that of "whole pasteurized" cow's milk, we can immediately notice two quite significant differences:
- The calorie intake
- The percentage distribution of energy macronutrients: lipids, proteins and carbohydrates.
Sheep's milk, with its 39 kcal per 100 ml more, is much more caloric than cow's milk, due to the greater presence of fats (+3.3 g per 100 ml), protein (+2.0 g per 100 ml) and glucidic acid (+0.3 g per 100 ml); the amount of water is proportionally lower. The breakdown of fatty acids does not differ substantially; saturates are higher and the ratio with polyunsaturated fats is 0.1.
The fibers are absent and the cholesterol is present in modest quantities. Sheep milk contains almost the same amount of lactose and, like cow's milk, is gluten-free. The amount of histamine should be little irrelevant, as well as the level of purines. The amino acid phenylalanine however, is far from negligible.
With regard to vitamins, it is noted that, thanks to the greater lipid portion, sheep's milk provides higher quantities of retinol or vit A (+26 μg per 100 ml); despite being water-soluble, riboflavin or vit B2 (+0.07 mg per 100 ml) and calcium (+61 mg per 100 ml) are also greater.
Considering that sheep's milk is mainly used in the dairy production of hard cheeses, then seasoned, in which the percentage of water drops from 82% to 30-35%, the compositional difference is emphasized considerably.
Diet
Sheep milk in the diet
Sheep's milk lends itself to most dietary regimens even though, due to the fairly high percentage of lipids - prevalently saturated - it may be advisable to review the average portion and frequency of consumption in the event of overweight and hypercholesterolemia; alternatively, the use of skimmed cow's milk may be more appropriate.
Nothing to report in relation to diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, histamine intolerance, celiac disease and hyperuricemia. On the contrary, it should be avoided in lactose intolerance and in the most severe cases of phenylketonuria.
Like cow's milk, sheep's milk is an excellent source of calcium, retinol (vitamin A) and riboflavin (vitamin B2). In the body, calcium structures a large part of the "mineral" fraction of bone - called hydroxyapatite - and the individual requirement is greater during growth, gestation, lactation and the third age. Riboflavin is a cellular coenzyme factor of great importance (FAD and FMN) while retinol is essential for visual function, for maintaining reproductive function and for cell differentiation.
The average portion of sheep's milk is 125 ml (about 130 kcal).
Kitchen
Use of sheep's milk in the kitchen
Sheep's milk is used above all in the food industry as a material for cheese-making and for the production of ricotta, while, to date, direct consumption is limited to a more limited catchment area.
However, sheep's milk is able to replace the cow's milk in all preparations. It has a much stronger flavor, but this could be considered a characteristic aspect.
Some examples of recipes with sheep's milk are: béchamel, custard, vegetable cream, mashed potatoes, creme caramel, etc.
