# What other mammals give us commercial cheese? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066 "2005-10-13T14:42:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/1 "2005-10-13T14:42:27Z")
Inspired by the cheese thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=339401](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=339401) OK, ya gotcher cow and goat and sheep and buffalo cheese. What other mammals have their milk turned into cheese, then have it sold commercially on the open market? I have heard of Mare’s milk being used, along with Yak butter, but are there cheeses derived from those critters? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/2 "2005-10-13T14:54:39Z")
[Rat’s Milk Cheese](http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Rat_27s_20Milk_20Cheese) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/3 "2005-10-13T14:59:29Z")
No, really. I’m looking for actual cheeses, not lampoons. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/4 "2005-10-13T15:06:04Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > No, really. I’m looking for actual cheeses, not lampoons. Not real? Sorry - posted to quick - I was pooned by the lampoon. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/5 "2005-10-13T15:06:20Z")
I would think that Ox milk might be used in some places for dairy products, or maybe a llama relative? Camel milk is certainly used for cheese according to [this](http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/cheese2.html) site, as is reindeer milk. It confirms that llama milk is used to make cheese. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/6 "2005-10-13T15:10:32Z")
By “buffalo,” do you mean the [water buffalo](http://www.vtcheese.com/vtcheese/woodstock/woodstock.html)? That is, as opposed to the bison? ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/7 "2005-10-13T15:16:24Z")
I’ve actually had camel-milk cheese, though I doubt whether it’s commercialized in this country, given that it’s produced in the Sahara by Tuaregs. As to whether it was good or bad, memory has kindly drawn a curtain over the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/8 "2005-10-13T15:17:11Z")
I found another[site](http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/cheese/sectionc.htm) that mentions zebras as being used to make cheese too. (Basicaly the milks from ruminants are used for cheese.) [This](http://www.workman.com/catalog/seeexcerpt.cgi?1580174647) site adds zebu, caribou, and ass to the list. **JThunder** I would think both, wouldn’t you? (Maybe not widely on the bison, but certainly it’s been tried at some point.) I think they differentiate by calling one “water buffalo” and the other “buffalo” but I might be mistaken in that. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/9 "2005-10-13T15:23:34Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > I’ve actually had camel-milk cheese, though I doubt whether it’s commercialized in this country, given that it’s produced in the Sahara by Tuaregs. What’s Volkswagen doing making cheese in the Sahara? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/10 "2005-10-13T15:25:59Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > By “buffalo,” do you mean the [water buffalo](http://www.vtcheese.com/vtcheese/woodstock/woodstock.html)? That is, as opposed to the bison? Well, when I typed that I was thinking of genuine mozzarella cheese, so that would be Water Buffalo. Anybody got a line on some bison cheese? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/11 "2005-10-13T15:26:03Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > **JThunder** I would think both, wouldn’t you? (Maybe not widely on the bison, but certainly it’s been tried at some point.) I think they differentiate by calling one “water buffalo” and the other “buffalo” but I might be mistaken in that. Terminology is inconsistent in that regard. Properly speaking, the term “buffalo” only refers to the water buffalo, but Americans have a way of applying it to the bison as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/12 "2005-10-13T15:27:11Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > What other mammals give us commercial cheese? Canadians? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/13 "2005-10-13T15:29:20Z")
[About buffalo cheese.](http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/mar05/311424.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/14 "2005-10-13T15:43:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > [About buffalo cheese.](http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/mar05/311424.asp) thanks for the link. Just for clarity’s sake, the link is to Water Buffalo cheese, not bison cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/15 "2005-10-13T15:43:48Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > I would think that Ox milk might be used in some places for dairy products Ox milk would be quite a feat. Sardo and Testouri are made from Sheep’s milk. Feta is made from Goats’ milk. Unfortunately, Venezuelan Beaver Cheese is entirely fictional. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/16 "2005-10-13T15:43:54Z")
But it also states that bison milk is unsuitable for cheese-making. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/17 "2005-10-13T15:57:10Z")
Mozzarella originally came from Yak milk. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/18 "2005-10-13T16:02:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But it also states that bison milk is unsuitable for cheese-making. Actually, it only says that bison milk is unsuitable for making mozzarella. This doesn’t necessarily preclude using it for other types of cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/19 "2005-10-13T16:10:44Z")
Hey hey! [Moose Cheese!](http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/news/2004/0624/1827441.html) Anybody ever try it?? $500 a pound! ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066/20 "2005-10-13T16:11:51Z")
> [@Maus Magill](#): > > Ox milk would be quite a feat. No more so than Yak or Water buffalo milk. 😉 (Much less camel milk, given their viciousness.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-mammals-give-us-commercial-cheese/326066.md?page=2)