Local Source for Sheep's Milk

Does anyone know of a local source for sheep's milk.

I've recently taken up the hobby of making my own ricotta and have run across a couple of recipes that endorse the virtues of a soft sheep's milk ricotta with pasta and greens.

While I haven't partaken of any of the local purveyors of dairy, I was hoping that some of my friends here may have a source.

Great topic-- I look forward to hearing responses. If you do know of a source for sheep's milk, could you please mention the pasteurization state (if known)-- ie raw, pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized. I'm not sure if this is true for ricotta, but for most cheesemaking ultrapasteurized milk will not work.

I'm also interested in non-ultra goat's milk if anyone has a source.

Cheers, Jen

Hi,

I was at Zingerman's cheese production facility in Ann Arbor, MI on Sunday for a tour. Sheeps milk was mentioned as being pretty rare, especially in this region. If I recall correctly, it is more likely available in Vermont or in that general vicinity.

You may want to visit a county fair to see if you can hook up with someone there who may be milking sheep's milk.

It will be interesting if someone here does know of a source.

Regards,

YourPalWill wrote:Does anyone know of a local source for sheep's milk.

I've recently taken up the hobby of making my own ricotta and have run across a couple of recipes that endorse the virtues of a soft sheep's milk ricotta with pasta and greens.

While I haven't partaken of any of the local purveyors of dairy, I was hoping that some of my friends here may have a source.

Sheeps milk ricotta is the norm in much of Italy, including the area in south-central Italy where my family is from. It's wonderful.

For the same reasons as you I looked a bit into this last year but came up with nothing around here. I hope some turns up...

Antonius

Check with the local border collie club. There's a sheep farm nearby, somewhere, and they let the dogs work the sheep (trained dogs, not your random dog). I am pretty sure they use the sheep for wool, not primarily meat, not sure about the milk status. And of course, I can't remember if it is in IL, IA or WI...

How different would goat's milk be in making a ricotta cheese? It would probably be a little less sharp, based on my experience with goat cheeses, but certainly zingier than moo juice.

You might try:

Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Co-op

http://www.sheepmilk.biz/


I know there are some serious sheep farms near Troy--I've bought a couple of lambs from them when I lived in Whitewater.

Geo

It might be worth calling these guys: http://www.hiddenspringscreamery.com

They have wonderful, fresh sheeps milk cheese and they might be able to point you in the right direction. Also, if you can get your hands on some raw cows milk, you would be delighted with your fresh ricotta results. Good luck.

I saw goat's milk on the shelf at Produce World, Lawrence and Cumberland (Norridge) yesterday. They do not stock things consistently, so please call ahead. It was packaged in Detroit.

-ramon

Hi,

Last night at Bobak's, I found a locally produced Sheep's Milk cheese with the name Bryndza. According to Wikipedia this is a cheese similar to Quark that is spread over bread. While salty, I could envision this being used as a ricotta substitute by the OP. The dairy who produced it is:

Ludwig Dairy (Plant 17-66)
1309 W 7th St
Dixon, IL 61021
(815) 284-7791

The phone number is out of order, though I learned they are owned by Dominicks with their mailing address via Dominick's regional offices:

505 RAILROAD AVENUE
NORTHLAKE, IL 60164
708 562-1000

I also found another Ludwig product called Cultured Milk with the Polish name Zsiadle Mleko. This was like a loose yogurt, no texture like kefir or buttermilk. I located information suggesting a direct translation is soured milk. For a milk product at 120 calories per cup, it was low fat.



Ludwig Dairy is making some very specialized products for a small niche market. Yet owned by Dominick's puts it outside of the artisinal milk production range I would assume. Interesting set of circumstances, does anyone know anything more about Ludwig Dairy?

Regards,

Hi,

I sure hope someday to be in Dixon during a work day. I just have to visit the people at Ludwig Dairy. When I was at Smilga, a Lithuanian restaurant and deli, I found sour cream of the quality I enjoyed in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

In the time I was there in the 1980's, fresh cream was impossible to find in Moscow or anywhere else. I had a photocopy from the International Women's Club in Moscow promising a culinary shop on Arbat Street was a reliable place for fresh cream. I went multiple times without success. I can be quite persistent when it is cream.

What you could find in abundance was very rich, high fat content sour cream. Unlike the cultured sour creams here when you could upend a carton and the shape would be retained. Sour cream there poured like a very thick cream.

Over the years, I have surprised people both here and there with my love for their sour cream. There were all these slogans, "Friendship and Peace = Druzhba i Mira," which I had my own take, "Friendship and sour cream = Druzhba i Smetana." A close friend long thought I was being somewhat snide, she could never believe I liked their sour cream that much.

About ten years ago, this friend visited me. Almost the first thing I did was pull out a carton of sour cream, upend into a bowl. I saw her expression of disbelief when the sour cream retained the carton's shape. She finally understood what I loved about her country's sour cream.

It was old home week, when I saw sour cream - smetana in an eight-ounce carton. Ludwig Dairy offered sour cream of 20% and 30% butterfat. I bought a carton of 30% to try out. The price was not too expensive at just under a dollar. The sour cream poured and tasted just like I remembered.

Everything I have had to date from Ludwig Dairy has direct or darn close equivalents to dairy products from Russia and its neighbors. Can't wait to meet those people someday.

Smilga
2819 83rd Street
Darien, IL
630-427-0929

M-Sat 8 am--10 pm
Sun 10 am--9 pm

Regards,

Thanks for posting about Ludwig dairy. I recently picked up some homemade bryndza at a local market that I can only describe it as transcendent. The suggestion I found here on lth of pasta, greens, and some bryndza was just wonderful(had it last night). The taste is wonderful, sharp, and salty. Does anyone know if the Elk Grove location(http://www.ludwigfoods.com/)has a retail outlet. That would be much more convenient than going to Dixon. Please post back if anyone knows. Thanks.

Hi,

I see many Ludwig products at Jerry's Fruit Market in on Milwaukee Ave at Oakton in Niles. I don't specially recall seeing the bryndza.

There are also many vendors of the Russian farmer's cheese tvork at this market.

Regards,

JoelF wrote:How different would goat's milk be in making a ricotta cheese? It would probably be a little less sharp, based on my experience with goat cheeses, but certainly zingier than moo juice.

I recently had some raw sheep milk in Canada, and I found it tasted very sweet and not at all like goat's milk which, in my opinion, has a much sharper taste.

Jyoti

I bought some wonderful sheep's milk yogurt at the Union Square Farmer's Market in New York last week. I strained it through cheese cloth to make a simple labneh, and it was absolutely fabulous. The best labneh I've ever had in the States. Used it to dip with Arabic bread and olive oil, and had some for breakfast topped with maple syrup (I would have preferred Iraqi date syrup, but that stuff - which is pure black gold - is hard to come by in NYC, though you can get it in Chicago under the Ziyad brand).

Any updates on where to get sheep's milk yogurt in Chicago? I'm heading home soon and want to make some labneh for my dad. He'd love it.

Thanks,

Habibi

Whole Foods has carried sheep milk yogurt in the past, though I haven't bought any lately. IIRC, they had product from Old Chatham Sheepherding Company. A quick search sez you can buy from the pecorai themselves online in a pinch.

Has anyone seen any in local farmer's markets in the city?

Besides Old Chatham, I've never seen other sheep's milk yogurt. Montchevre is a goat dairy in Wisconsin that makes some very good products, and if you can track down their yogurt, I've seen in at Restaurant Depot but no place else, it won't be the same but it's different enough from cow's milk yogurt and very good too.

I'm a huge fan of Nordic Creamery products and their sheep's milk feta really has that barnyard aroma that one associates with the best in sheep's milk. Excellent cheese.

And speaking of feta, another fun sheep's milk feta is the Mr Milka stuff available at Fresh Farms--feta being one of my biggest "cheats".

BTW, not sure why I did not notice this thread before. Yes, there are some VERY good sheep's milk's cheeses produced in the midwest, including Hidden Springs and Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Coop mentioned above. Prairie Fruit Farms also makes sheep's cheeses, and I love their mouton frais, very fresh sheep's milk cheese that's creamy and delicious; a perfect match for peak season tomatoes. I'm also a big fan of the Ludwig products mentioned above by Cathy2.