The growing availability of sheep's milk and American-made sheep's milk cheese is one of the most exciting trends in the domestic cheese world. Until recent times, America's sheep ranchers raised primarily breeds prized for their wool or their meat. Dairy breeds like East Friesian and Lacaune hardly existed here.
But that's changing. Slowly but steadily, small farms in Wisconsin, California, Minnesota and elsewhere are building up flocks of dairy breeds, so more sheep cheese is certainly in America's future.
One of the pioneers on this front is the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative, established in the mid-1990s and now counting 14 member farms. The cooperative sells some of its milk to cheese makers and produces cheese of its own, including the critically acclaimed Dante, an aged sheep's milk wheel that I have written about in the past.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: San Francisco Chronicle