{{Short description|Arab white brine cheese}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox cheese | name = Akkawi cheese | image = Akawi Cheese.jpg | country = Palestine (region) | othernames = Akawi, Akawieh and Ackawi | region = Levant | town = Akka | source = Cow | pasteurised = | texture = Semi-hard<ref name="Tamimep209" /> | aging = | certification = |regiontown=|namedafter=City of Akka}} {{Arab cuisine}}
'''Akkawi cheese''' ({{langx|ar|جبنة عكاوي|jubna ʿakkāwī}}, also '''Akawi''', '''Akawieh''' and '''Ackawi''') is a white brine cheese named after the Palestinian city of Akka (Acre, present-day Israel).<ref name=Tamimep209>{{Cite book|last=Tamime|first=A. Y.|editor=R. K. Robinson and A. Y. Tamime|title=Feta and Related Cheeses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dU6W5mXq13MC&q=nablus+cheese&pg=PA209|publisher=Woodhead Publishing|year=1991|isbn=978-1-85573-278-0|pages=209–216}}</ref>
==Etymology== Akkawi cheese is named after the port city of Akka ({{langx|ar|عكّا}}). Akkawi in Arabic means "from Akka".<ref name=Tamimep209 /><ref name=cheese>{{cite web|access-date=24 March 2015|title=Ackawi|url=http://www.cheese.com/ackawi/}}</ref>
==History==
Muslim scholar Ahmed Aref El-Zein's 1913 book ''The History of Sidon'' ({{lang|ar|تاريخ صيدا}}) contained a list of imported goods into Sidon, Lebanon from 1907, the list contains mentions of 1200 containers of "Akkawi cheese" ({{langx|ar|جبن عكاوي|jubn ʻakkāwī}}) being imported from the cities of Haifa and Akka.<ref> {{cite book |last1=ʻĀrif Zayn |first1=Aḥmad |title=تاريخ صيدا |date=1913 |publisher=مطبعة العرفان |page=131 |url=https://ar.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81%3A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D8%B5%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7.pdf&page=131 |access-date=5 January 2026 |language=ar |quote=جبن عكاوي, 1200, سحارة من عكا وحيفا |trans-title=History of Sidon |trans-quote=Akawi cheese, 1200, containers from Acre and Haifa}} </ref>
==Production and storage== Akkawi is commonly made with pasteurized cow's milk, but can also be made with goat or sheepmilk. This cheese is largely produced in the Middle East, notably in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Cyprus.<ref name=Tamimep209 /><ref name=cheese /> In these regions, people usually eat it with a soft flatbread during lunch and dinner. Akkawi is hand-packed into square draining hoops and then cured in a salted whey brine for two days.<ref name=losangelestimes />
Akkawi is produced by heating milk to 35-40 Celsius, adding rennet, then leaving it to curdle for around an hour, after which the whey is squeezed out through a cheesecloth to drain the cheese.<ref name="Tamimep209" /><ref name="aljazeera">{{cite news |last1=Bolongaro |first1=Kait |title=The Syrian cheese-maker of Bavaria |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/2/2/the-syrian-cheese-maker-of-bavaria |access-date=11 November 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |date=2 Feb 2016 |language=en}}</ref>
==Texture and taste== The color is white and it has a smooth texture and a mild salty taste. It is commonly used as a table cheese eaten by itself or paired with fruit.<ref name=Tamimep209 />
The texture can be compared to mozzarella, feta or a mizithra, since it does not melt easily. Akkawi can be stored up to a year.<ref name=cheese /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Burge |first1=Natasha |title=It's Never Too Hot to Appreciate Fresh, Hot Bread |url=https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2018/latif-pastry-in-saudi-arabia/ |website=Roads & Kingdoms |access-date=11 November 2025 |date=3 July 2018}}</ref> The texture and flavor is a result of its specific culturing from its curds that are kept together for a prolonged period longer than simpler tasting curd cheese such as Syrian cheese when akkawi is transformed into cheese.<ref name=Tamimep209 /><ref name=cheese />
==Supply chain problems== The supply of akkawi has often been a problem in the Middle East. During the Lebanese Civil War, dairy animals were slaughtered and the country had to import akkawi from Eastern Europe. In Los Angeles, people used to make a substitute for akkawi by soaking feta cheese in several changes of water to desalinate it.<ref name=losangelestimes>{{cite news|last1=Burm|first1=Linda|title=MARKETS : Pulling Strings: Cheese From the East|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-28-fo-2444-story.html|access-date=24 March 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=28 January 1993}}</ref>
==See also== {{portal|Food}} * {{annotated link|Brined cheese}} * {{annotated link|List of cheeses}} * {{annotated link|List of stretch-curd cheeses}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Levantine cuisine}}
Category:Brined white cheeses Category:Cow's-milk cheeses Category:Stretched-curd cheeses Category:Arab cuisine Category:Middle Eastern cheeses Category:Jordanian cuisine Category:Lebanese cuisine Category:Palestinian cheeses Category:Syrian cuisine