Sheep’s-Milk Cheeses

Sheep’s-milk cheeses are usually grouped with chèvres for they both have a fuller flavor and saltier taste than cow’s-milk cheese. One of the most famous sheep’s-milk cheeses—Roquefort—we have grouped with the blues. Others come to us packed in brine or aged in a hard grating cheese.

If you have a sheep’s-milk cheese packed in brine, you can slow down the aging process by replacing the brine with a solution of equal parts of milk and water that have been brought to a boil and cooled. Place the cheese in a clean jar and pour over the liquid. The liquid should completely cover the cheese. Cover the jar and keep it in the refrigerator. Dry cheese should be wrapped in foil or plastic and refrigerated as well. Before serving, let the cheeses sit at room temperature four to six hours. Serve with pita bread and olives and accompany with a fruity, dry white wine.