Sheep’s and goat’s dairy products in Italy: technological, chemical, microbiological, and sensory aspects - A review

Dairy sheep and goat breeding in Europe is most common around the Mediterranean basin,
particularly in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. The milk of sheep and goat is mainly reserved
for cheese making that is usually conducted at farm level or in small local dairies. A large
part of the production, principally for sheep milk cheese, is protected by the European
Community (EC) regulations: the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and the Protected
Geographic Indication (PGI). These designations constitute an element for the protection of
the biodiversity, i.e. territory, animals, microbes, practices, and production systems. Microbiological
features and diversity of sheep and goats milk compared to the cow’s milk, give
peculiar attributes to the cheeses. In several cases, rennet paste, produced from the abomasa
of the suckling lambs or kids is used, strongly influencing chemical and sensory characteristics
of the cheeses. In this review the technological, microbiological, chemical, and sensory
aspects of the PDO and PGI Italian sheep and goat dairy products are reported.