On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 26

woody scrub. Its omnivorous nature, small
size, and good yield of distinctively flavored
milk—thehighestofanydairyanimalforits
bodyweight—havemadeitaversatilemilk
and meat animal in marginal agricultural
areas.
The Sheep The sheep,Ovis aries, was
domesticatedinthesameregionandperiodas
its close cousin the goat, and came to be
valuedandbredformeat,milk,wool,andfat.
Sheep were originally grazers on grassy
foothills and are somewhat more fastidious
than goats, but less so than cattle. Sheep’s
milkisasrichasthebuffalo’sinfat,andeven
richer in protein; it has long been valued in
the Eastern Mediterranean for making yogurt
and feta cheese, and elsewhere in Europe for
suchcheesesasRoquefortandpecorino.
The Camel The camel family is fairly far
removedfromboththebovidsandovicaprids,
and may have developed the habit of


rumination independently during its early
evolution in NorthAmerica. Camels are well
adapted to arid climates, and were
domesticatedaround2500BCEincentralAsia,
primarily as pack animals. Their milk, which
is roughly comparable to cow’s milk, is
collected in many countries, and in northeast
Africaisastaplefood.

TheOriginsofDairying

Whenandwhydidhumansextendour
biologicalheritageasmilkdrinkerstothe
culturalpracticeofdrinkingthemilkofother
animals?Archaeologicalevidencesuggests
thatsheepandgoatsweredomesticatedinthe
grasslandsandopenforestofpresent-dayIran
andIraqbetween8000and9000BCE,a
thousandyearsbeforethefarlarger,fiercer
cattle.Atfirsttheseanimalswouldhavebeen
keptformeatandskins,butthediscoveryof
milkingwasasignificantadvance.Dairy