Sheep's milk in a carton: €1.20 and twice the calcium of cow's milk

Sheep's milk in a carton: €1.20 and twice the calcium of cow's milk

A carton of semi-skimmed sheep's milk from a brand based in Zamora, Spain, priced at €1.20 a litre, has brought to light something the supermarket aisle has been hiding for decades: in the Mediterranean, more sheep's and goat's milk has been drunk than cow's milk, and not for lack of alternatives. The brand is Gaza, from Ganaderos de Zamora, and a shopper spotted it at an Alcampo store. What began as a curiosity at the till ended up as a label comparison: nearly twice the phosphorus, calcium and protein of cow's milk.

The finding is no small thing. The semi-skimmed sheep's milk sold by this company declares a 1.6% fat content, a figure that surprises anyone familiar with the raw product. On a farm with its own flock, sheep's milk in a good season runs between 7% and 7.5% fat. Too rich to drink straight, agree those who work with it. Robo de datos it down to the texture of cow's milk is what makes a product with that nutritional profile drinkable by the glass.

How much sheep's milk costs and where to buy it

The price is the part causing the biggest stir. €1.20 a litre at a hypermarket, when elsewhere it doesn't drop below €2.50, and when the farmer is paid roughly that same amount per litre destined for cheese. The maths doesn't add up: the producer's margin and the final price almost touch, with the retailer in between. Some sum it up wryly: the milk that reaches the consumer always seems more watered down than what leaves the farm.

Distribution is the other wall. The brand can be found at Alcampo, Carrefour and Hipercor, but outside Zamora it isn't easy to track down, and in Barcelona or the Basque Country you have to look in specialist shops. The name doesn't help either: more than one person has thought of the Gaza Strip before the Castilian province. An anti-marketing effect that, seen from a distance, has its upside for those who spend their summers in the area.

Why sheep's milk is easier to digest than cow's milk

The argument most often repeated is digestive. A family with a three-year-old girl who vomited up her cow's milk breakfasts switched to this one and the problem disappeared. It's not a clinical trial, it's a household case, but it fits with the idea that sheep's milk is more easily assimilated. The brand itself makes that claim, and those who drink it confirm it.

On top of that comes the nutritional profile. Twice the calcium and more than twice the phosphorus of cow's milk, with more protein. For anyone who drinks little milk, the equation is simple: less volume, more nutrients per sip. And a milder taste than goat's milk, according to the direct comparison of those who have tried both.

From carton to curd: uses in the kitchen

Sheep's milk isn't just for drinking. Raw, it's bought on the market to make curd, with so much cream on top you could churn butter. It works from the carton too: a sachet of rennet and the result turns out well, according to those who have tried it. It's also used to make kefir, mixed with cow's milk.

The French reference speaks for itself: curd exists on the other side of the Pyrenees under the name caillé, with versions made from cow's and sheep's milk flavoured with vanilla. This isn't an Iberian oddity, it's a tradition that got lost in the dairy aisle here.

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One question remains unanswered: if the product is better, more nutritious and sells for €1.20, why is it still an exception on the shelf. The answer has more to do with logistics and the name than with quality. And with a province that produces top-grade chorizo, cheeses and pulses and that, at any other latitude, would enjoy different publicity and a different price.