Food - Drink
Is There A Nutritional Difference Between Goat Cheese And Sheep Cheese?
By JENNIFER SWEENIE
There are countless kinds of cheese on the market, from cow, sheep, and goat cheese to non-dairy alternatives like cashew, zucchini, and soy cheese. In the world of animal-based cheeses, sheep and goat cheese stand out for being easier to digest than cow's cheese, but there are differences between these two subcategories.
Goat cheese can be creamy or crumbly, and the cheese's age and manufacturing can significantly impact its nutritional profile. Generally speaking, goat cheeses contain healthy fats — including fatty acids, the source of goat cheeses' distinct tang — as well as protein, vitamin A, vitamin B2, calcium, and phosphorus.
Sheep cheese has a rich and nutty flavor that indicates a higher protein and fat content than goat cheese. The fats in sheep cheese are healthy fats of the mono- and polyunsaturated kind, and are present in smaller, easy-to-digest globules; sheep cheese is also higher in calcium, zinc, and B vitamins than other cheeses.
Sheep’s milk cheese beats out goat cheese in levels of protein, fat, zinc, riboflavin, folic acid, calcium, and B vitamins. When choosing between the two purely in terms of nutrition density, sheep’s cheese is the winner, but the choice really comes down to a matter of taste, and goat cheese won't do you wrong.