Although Friesian sheep are found the world over, the breed originally hails from the coastal region of Friesland (Ostfriesland<\/i>) in the Netherlands and northwest Germany. With the area\u2019s pastoral mix of moorland, sandy heath, and lush meadows, the Friesland countryside is ideally suited for grazing, rather than for growing crops.<\/p>\nHistory<\/h3>\n
Sheep have been used for milking since the dawn of agriculture\u2014possibly even before cows\u2014and cheeses made from sheep\u2019s milk are products born of the most ancient methods used for preserving dairy. Despite this long historical presence, the popularity of using sheep for dairying declined significantly when the bubonic plague swept through Europe in the mid-14th century, leaving too few farmhands to milk the relatively low-producing herds of ewes. Cows, with their higher milking capacity, quickly surpassed sheep as the dairy livestock of choice.<\/p>\n
However, when Friesians were imported to Britain in the 1960s to improve the yields of commercial meat breeds, a small group of enterprising farmers turned to the age-old practice of milking sheep, with excellent results. Friesians have a relatively calm disposition and produce more lambs and more milk than other breeds. By the early 1990s, the sheep-dairying industry in both the United Kingdom and America was experiencing a full-fledged revival and the market for sheep\u2019s milk cheeses began to grow.<\/p>\n
Friesian sheep are polled (hornless) in both sexes, though they can have scurs\u2014underdeveloped horns that are generally loose and movable beneath the skin and unattached to the skull. Friesians have snowy white wool, though German Friesians can be black or gray. The breed has an elegant head with a long Roman nose; its ears, legs, underbelly, and udder are all clear of dense wool. Because of the breed\u2019s distinctive, short \u201crattail,\u201d the animals don\u2019t require docking (partial amputation of the tail\u2014a common, though controversial, practice in cow dairying that is thought to improve cleanliness and ease of milking the animals). Friesians are a relatively large breed, with mature ewes weighing in at 160 to 180 pounds\u2014rams have been known to tip the scales past 200 pounds.<\/p>\n
Sheep\u2019s milk is pure white in color with a creamy, slightly nutty flavor. It is also significantly higher in total solids (18 percent) and protein (5.6 percent) than either cow\u2019s or goat\u2019s milk, and it is exceptionally rich\u2014milk from Friesian sheep averages six to seven percent fat. Thanks to these high percentages, it generally takes only about five pounds of sheep\u2019s milk (with some seasonal variations) to make one pound of cheese\u2014compared to the ten pounds of cow\u2019s milk necessary to make the same amount.<\/p>\n
Many of the world\u2019s most famous cheeses\u2014including France\u2019s Roquefort, Italy\u2019s Pecorino, and Spanish Manchego\u2014are classic sheep\u2019s milk cheeses. Another unique quality of sheep\u2019s milk is its smaller fat gobules, which naturally renders the milk more homogenized since the cream isn\u2019t as quick to rise to the top. With its delicious, fresh taste and ultra-creamy texture, sheep\u2019s milk is also an ideal base for yogurts and ice creams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Friesian ewe boasts great milk and good behavior<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[106],"coauthors":[113,130],"class_list":["post-1425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-animal","tag-sheep"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n