CheeseCheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep). During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese.
CaseinCasein (ˈkeɪsiːn , from Latin caseus "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (αS1, aS2, β, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of the proteins in human milk. Sheep and Cow milk have a higher casein content than other types of milk with human milk having a particularly low casein content. Casein has a wide variety of uses, from being a major component of cheese, to use as a food additive. The most common form of casein is sodium caseinate.
Sheep milkSheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France). Specialized dairy breeds of sheep yield more milk than other breeds. Common dairy breeds include: East Friesian (Germany) Sarda (Italy) Lacaune (France) British Milk Sheep (UK) Chios (Greece) Awassi (Syria) Assaf (Israel) Zwartbles (Friesland, Netherlands) In the U.S.