Frequently asked questions
What people ask us most, at the counter and on the phone: sheep's milk, the cheeses, ordering, and the two addresses.
Sheep's milk
- What is the difference between sheep cheese and cow cheese?
Sheep cheese from La Moutonnière holds about twice the protein and four times less lactose than cow cheese, per 100 grams. The taste stays mild and close to cow's milk, with more fat and slightly more calories.
- Does sheep cheese taste like goat cheese?
No. Sheep's milk tastes mild, far closer to cow's milk than to goat's milk, whose character is much sharper. La Moutonnière hears the mix-up often, because the two animals look alike.
- Does sheep cheese contain lactose?
Yes, but far less. Cheeses from La Moutonnière carry roughly 1 % lactose per 100 grams, against roughly 4 % for a cow cheese. Sheep's milk is never a lactose-free product.
- Why do lactose-intolerant people buy sheep cheese?
La Moutonnière regularly serves customers who digest cow's milk lactose poorly. Sheep cheese carries about four times less of it and goes down more easily, without ever being a lactose-free product.
- Which is better, sheep cheese or goat cheese?
Taste decides. Goat cheese has a sharp, pronounced character, while sheep cheese from La Moutonnière stays mild, rich and close to cow's milk.
- Are all La Moutonnière cheeses made from sheep's milk?
Almost all. Sein d'Hélène is the single exception in the La Moutonnière catalogue: half sheep's milk, half cow's milk. Every other product is made from sheep's milk.
- What is the difference between a ewe and a sheep?
A ewe is the adult female, the one that gives milk. « Sheep » names the species at large. La Moutonnière therefore makes ewe's milk cheese, and separately sells sheepskins and lambskins.
The cheeses
- Which cheeses does La Moutonnière make?
La Moutonnière makes firm, semi-firm, soft and blue-veined cheeses, plus a feta, a ricotta and a sheep's milk yogurt. Fleurs des Monts, Bercail, Bleu, Cabanon, Foin d'odeur, Le Will Fumé, Sein d'Hélène and Royogourt are among them.
- Which sheep cheese should a first-timer choose?
Fleurs des Monts is the entry cheese at La Moutonnière: a firm uncooked pressed paste, aged three to six months, with notes of flowers and almonds. For something milder and creamier, Foin d'odeur suits better.
- How long are La Moutonnière cheeses aged?
Fleurs des Monts is aged three to six months, the only figure La Moutonnière publishes to date. For the other cheeses, the surest route is a call to the creamery at (819) 382-2300.
- Is Sein d'Hélène a sheep cheese?
No, not entirely. Sein d'Hélène from La Moutonnière is made half from sheep's milk and half from cow's milk. Its mountain shape recalls the hills of Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester.
- What is the difference between plain feta and marinated feta?
Plain feta from La Moutonnière is brined: salty, mild and crumbly. The marinated feta is that same feta, steeped in olive oil with fine herbs.
- Does La Moutonnière make anything besides cheese?
Yes. La Moutonnière also makes Royogourt, a sheep's milk yogurt, and sells wool socks, sheepskins and lambskins, plus a lanolin cream — lanolin being the oil drawn from wool.
- What is Royogourt?
Royogourt is the sheep's milk yogurt made by La Moutonnière, creamy in texture with a lightly sweet taste. It comes in 500 ml and 1 litre formats.
- How should sheep cheese be stored?
Cheeses from La Moutonnière are sold and shipped vacuum-sealed. The creamery has not yet published storage instructions for each individual cheese; (819) 382-2300 remains the surest way to confirm.
- Are La Moutonnière cheeses made from raw or pasteurized milk?
La Moutonnière has not yet published that information on its site. Calling (819) 382-2300 confirms it product by product, rather than leaving it to assumption.
Ordering, delivery, pickup
- Can La Moutonnière cheeses be ordered online?
Yes. The La Moutonnière online shop takes cheeses, boards and wool products, with free pickup at either address or home delivery.
- How much does delivery cost?
Home delivery from La Moutonnière costs $25, on orders of $100 and up, and arrives within two business days. Cheeses travel vacuum-sealed.
- Is it better to have an order delivered or to pick it up?
Pickup is free and carries no minimum, at either La Moutonnière address. Home delivery, by contrast, carries a fee and a minimum order — it serves when the trip is not possible.
- Where are orders picked up?
Two addresses handle La Moutonnière pickups: the shop at 1134, rue Principale in Saint-Ferdinand, and the creamery at 3456, rue Principale in Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester.
- How does one order a cheese board?
Boards from La Moutonnière are ordered 48 hours ahead and picked up only at the Saint-Ferdinand shop. A deposit is taken on the wooden board and returned when the board comes back.
- Can cheese boards be delivered?
No. Boards from La Moutonnière are picked up only at the Saint-Ferdinand shop; home delivery does not cover them. The cheeses themselves do ship.
The creamery
- How long has La Moutonnière been in business?
La Moutonnière has been transforming sheep's milk since 1992, in Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester. It was the first creamery in Québec to do so.
- Where is La Moutonnière located?
La Moutonnière sits in the Centre-du-Québec region: the creamery in Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester and the shop in Saint-Ferdinand. Both addresses welcome the public, on different days.
- Are both addresses open on the same days?
No. The Saint-Ferdinand shop opens Thursday through Sunday, and the Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester creamery Monday through Thursday. The two La Moutonnière locations overlap only on Thursday.
- Can the creamery be visited?
No, not for the moment. La Moutonnière does not yet offer tours of the creamery. The Saint-Ferdinand shop and the Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester creamery do welcome the public during opening hours.
- Have La Moutonnière cheeses won awards?
Yes. La Moutonnière has gathered diplomas and trophies across thirteen years of competition, including several first places at the American Cheese Society. The pieces are photographed and shown on the home page.
- Are the products available year-round?
Yes. Products from La Moutonnière are available at all times, with no season, at the Saint-Ferdinand shop as well as at the Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester creamery.
- How does one reach La Moutonnière?
La Moutonnière answers at (819) 382-2300, the same number for the Saint-Ferdinand shop and for the Sainte-Hélène-de-Chester creamery. By email: info@fromagerielamoutonniere.com.