Knafeh

{{Short description|Middle Eastern dessert}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox food | name = Knafeh | image = Künefe.jpg | caption = Künefe from Hatay, Turkey | image_size = 250 | alternate_name = {{plainlist| * ''Kunafeh'' * ''Kunafa'' * ''Kanafeh'' * ''Konafi'' * ''Kunaftah'' * ''Künefe'' * ''Kinafa'' }} | country = | region = Arab world | year = | creator = | course = | type = Dessert | served = Warm, room temperature, or cold (qishta variety)<ref name="MEMO2020">{{cite news |title=Othmaliye |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200703-othmaliye/ |access-date=28 October 2025 |work=Middle East Monitor |date=3 July 2020}}</ref> | main_ingredient = {{plainlist| * Dough * Sugar * Cheese * Almonds * Pistachios * Rose water * Kaymak }} | variations = Multiple | other = | calories = }} '''Knafeh'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=knafeh|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/knafeh|access-date=2021-08-14|website=dictionary.cambridge.org}}</ref> ({{langx|ar|كنافة}}) is a traditional Arab dessert made with ''kadayif'' (spun pastry dough)<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Nissenbaum |first=Dion |date=2023-01-04 |title=A Trendy Dessert Stirs Up a Sticky Debate |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/middle-east-west-bank-knafeh-dessert-debate-11672847029 |access-date=2024-12-12 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The World Religions Cookbook |year=2007 |page=158 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780313342639|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORy2aVD7cEgC&dq=tel+kaday%C4%B1f+shredded&pg=PA158}}</ref> layered with cheese and soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar.<ref name="Oxford">{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA661 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199677337 |pages=33, 661–662 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Knafeh is popular throughout the Arab world, especially in Egypt,<ref>{{citation|title=Will Egypt’s years-long kunafa trend survive the economic dip?|url=https://www.goethe.de/prj/ruy/en/kuq/25545738.html|website=Goethe-Institut|access-date=21 September 2025}}</ref> and the Levant.<ref name="Edelstein 2010">{{cite book |last1=Edelstein |first1=Sari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQoWQTVcpVIC&pg=PA575 |title=Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals |date=2010 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers |isbn=9780763759650|quote="The topping is made of orange-dyed vermicelli in Palestine and Jordan, and named knafeh nabilsiyeh due to its origin, Nablus (West Bank)."}}</ref> Knafeh is often served on special occasions, holidays and celebrating the month of Ramadan.<ref name="Oxford" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Knafeh |url=https://www.timeout.com/sydney/restaurants/knafeh |website=Time Out Sydney}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Nasser |first1=Christiane Dabdoub |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HT8hBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 |title=Classic Palestinian Cuisine |date=2013 |publisher=Saqi |isbn=9780863568794|quote="Knafeh, a traditional cheese dessert from the Nablus area."}}</ref> The most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine, ''Knafeh Nabulseyeh'', originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last1=Tamimi |first1=Sami |last2=Wigley |first2=Tara |date=2024-10-08 |title=Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley's knafeh nabulseyeh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/mar/29/20-best-cheese-recipes-sami-tamimi-and-tara-wigley-knafeh-nabulseyeh |access-date=2024-12-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="Edelstein 2010" /><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Abu Shihab |first1=Sana Nimer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kgVTx41NbYC&q=Kunafa+Nablus&pg=PA74 |title=Mediterranean Cuisine |date=2012 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=9781477283097 |page=74|quote=}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

==Etymology== English borrowed the word ''knafeh'' from Levantine and Egyptian Arabic, and transliterates it as {{transliteration|ar|kanafeh, kenafeh, knafeh, kunafah, kunafeh, konafa, knéfé, kunafa}}, and similar variations.<ref name="Polyglotta">{{cite web |title=Etymological Dictionary of Arabic |url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=record&view=record&vid=1146&mid=1969765&level=3 |url-status= |access-date=11 October 2020 |website=Bibliotheca Polyglotta |publisher=University of Oslo}} ''Deep link is dead; should include s.v. (the exact query word) that works in cite.''</ref><ref name="Marks 2010">{{cite book|first1=Gil|last1=Marks |author-link=Gil Marks|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT892|section=Kanafeh/Kadayif |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|date=17 November 2010|isbn=9780544186316|via=Google Books}}</ref>

The ultimate origin of the word is debated. It may come from the Coptic Egyptian {{transliteration|cop|kenephiten}}, a bread or cake.<ref name="Perry 1999">{{cite news|first1=Charles|last1=Perry|access-date=2018-07-12|title=The Dribble With Pastry|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-26-fo-41011-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207223510/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/may/26/food/fo-41011 |archive-date=7 December 2015 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=26 May 1999|issn=0458-3035|url-status=live|via=LA Times}}</ref><ref name="Youssef 2003">{{Cite book |title=From Pharaoh's Lips : Ancient Egyptian Language in the Arabic of Today |last=Youssef |first=Aḥmad Abdel-Hamid |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |year=2003 |isbn=9781617974762 |location=Cairo |pages=46–47 |oclc=897473661}}</ref><ref name="Polyglotta"/><ref name="Goldstein">{{cite book|editor-first1=Darra|editor-last1=Goldstein|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|pages=447|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbi6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA447|publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 2015 |isbn=9780199313396|via=Google Books}}</ref> Or it may come from a Semitic root meaning "side" or "wing", and from the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|kanafa}}, "to flank or enclose".<ref name="Semitic Roots">{{cite web |author=((The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries)) |title=Appendix II - Semitic Roots |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/semitic.html#knp |access-date=July 12, 2018 |website=American Heritage Dictionary |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Team |first1=Almaany |title=Definition and meaning of Kanafeh in Arabic in the dictionary of the meanings of the whole, the lexicon of the mediator, the contemporary Arabic language - Arabic Arabic dictionary - Page 1 |url=https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%83%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/ |website=www.almaany.com |language=en}}</ref> Early uses appear in ''One Thousand and One Nights,''<ref name="Polyglotta" /> a collection of Middle Eastern folk Tales.

==History== A common story is that the knafeh was created to satisfy the hunger of caliphs during Ramadan. The story, which dates in writing as early as the 10th century, is variously said to have occurred in Fatimid Egypt<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roufs |first1=Timothy G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_eCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA464 |title=Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture |last2=Roufs |first2=Kathleen Smyth |date=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781610692212 |page=464}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Wright, Clifford A. |url=https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanfea00wrig |title=A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean from the Merchants of Venice to the Barbary Corsairs, with More than 500 Recipes |publisher=William Morrow Cookbooks |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-688-15305-2 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Al-awsat |first1=Asharq |date=4 October 2007 |title=The Ramadan Experience in Egypt - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive |url=https://eng-archive.aawsat.com/theaawsat/lifestyle-culture/the-ramadan-experience-in-egypt |access-date=2018-06-18 |newspaper=ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive}}</ref> or in the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus, Syria, where Levantine dessert makers preparing it for Mu'awiya I.<ref name=youm7>{{cite news|access-date=2018-07-12|title=Kunafa, Qatayef: Ramadan's most favorite desserts|url=http://thecairopost.youm7.com/news/158613/inside_egypt/kunafa-qatayef-ramadans-most-favorite-desserts|newspaper=Cairo Post|date=6 July 2015|archive-date=2018-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712192802/http://thecairopost.youm7.com/news/158613/inside_egypt/kunafa-qatayef-ramadans-most-favorite-desserts|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-14 |title=20 places to get amazing kunafa and Arabic sweets in the UAE |url=https://gulfnews.com/going-out/20-places-to-get-amazing-kunafa-and-arabic-sweets-in-the-uae-1.2034447 |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=gulfnews.com |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Knafeh from.png|thumb|right|200px|Homemade Knafeh from ''Feast: Food of the Islamic World by Anissa Helou, page 444'']]

Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's tenth century Arabic cookbook, {{transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Tabikh}} (''Book of Dishes''), which documented many recipes from Abbasid courts, does not mention or describe knafeh. However, it does feature a chapter on qatayif, an Arabic pancake dumpling dessert that originated in the Fatamid Empire.<ref name="Nasrallah 2007">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQCwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |title=Annals of the caliphs' kitchens : Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq's tenth-century Baghdadi cookbook |last=Nasrallah |first=Nawal |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |isbn=9789047423058 |pages=39, 43, 420}}</ref><ref name="Oxford"/> The 13th century cookbook, {{transliteration|ar|Kitab al tabikh fi-l-Maghrib wa-l-Andalus}} (''Book of Dishes from Maghreb and Al-Andalus''), of unknown author, gives a number of recipes for knafeh, which it describes as a pancake dumpling thinner than qatayif prepared on a flat pan. Some of the knafeh recipes in the cookbook call for layering the thin pancake with fresh cheese, baking it, and topping it with honey and rose syrup.<ref name="Andalus">{{cite web |title=An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century |url=http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian9.htm |access-date=2018-07-12 |website=www.daviddfriedman.com}} See also [http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian_contents.htm contents] and [http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian_footnotes.htm footnotes.]</ref><ref name="Oxford" />

Ibn al-Jazari gives an account of a 13th-century Mamluk period market inspector who rode through Damascus at night ensuring the quality of knafeh, qatayif, and other foods associated with Ramadan.<ref name="Sato 2014">{{cite book |last1=Sato |first1=Tsugitaka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0eBTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |title=Sugar in the Social Life of Medieval Islam |date=31 October 2014 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004281561 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Over time, new knafeh preparation methods were developed, including a technique of dripping thin batter onto a metal sheet from a perforated container, creating hair-like strings. A mid-15th century Ottoman Turkish translation of Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi's {{transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Tabikh}} added several new contemporary knafeh recipes, though it does not specify where they originated from.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Isin |first1=Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YHj-Mdv432UC&pg=PA193 |title=Sherbet and Spice: The Complete Story of Turkish Sweets and Desserts |date=8 January 2013 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=9781848858985 |pages=193–194 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== Modern era ===

According to historian {{ill|Mary Isin|tr|Priscilla Mary Işın}}, cheese-filled knafeh does not appear in any historical records prior to the 19th century, Turkish and Arabic Damascene recipes from the 18th century always used different nuts as filling.<ref name="fryingpanadventures">{{Cite interview |title=Kunafa: Who Made it First? |last=Isin |first=Mary |interviewer=Arva Ahmad |url=https://www.fryingpanadventures.com/the-deep-fried-podcast/kunafa/ |date=2020-10-31 |last2=Sharif |first2=Dima |access-date=2025-11-12 |work=fryingpanadventures}} </ref> An 1844 dictionary for Syrian and Egyptian Arabic by Swedish Orientalist {{ill|Jacob Berggren|sv|Jacob Berggren}} mentions a knafeh made of string dough and ''qaymaq'', a sort of cooked cream.<ref name="berggren"> {{cite book |last1=Berggren |first1=Jakob |title=Guide français-arabe vulgaire des voyageurs dt des francs en Syrie et en Égypte: avec carte physique et géographique de la Ssyrie et plan géométrique de Jérusalem ancien et moderne, comme supplément aux voyages en orient |date=1844 |publisher=Leffler et Sebell |page=269 |trans-title=A French-Arabic guide for travelers and Franks in Syria and Egypt: with a physical and geographical map of Syria and a geometric plan of ancient and modern Jerusalem, as a supplement to travels in the Orient |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Guide_fran%C3%A7ais_arabe_vulgaire_des_voyag/9AdHAAAAcAAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PA269&printsec=frontcover |access-date=26 December 2025 |language=ar,fr}}</ref> Food historian Daniel Newman cites an 1885 cookbook published in Beirut as the earliest documented example of a cheese-filled variant.<ref name="smothsonian2025">{{cite news |last1=Turrell |first1=Claire |title=The TikTok-Famous Dubai Chocolate Traces Its Origins to the 13th-Century Middle East |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-tiktok-famous-dubai-chocolate-traces-its-origins-to-the-13th-century-middle-east-180986367/ |access-date=4 December 2025 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=4 Apr 2025 |language=en}}</ref> The 1885 Beirut cookbook ''Ustadh al-Tabbakhin'' by author {{ill|Khalil Khattar Sarkis|ar|خليل خطار سركيس}} provided 4 recipes for knafeh: cheese filled knafeh, ''burma'' (rolled) knafeh, ''mafroukeh'', where knafeh pastry is rubbed by hand to be softened, and ''knafeh basma'', which is made with 2 layers of pastry.<ref name="sarkis1885">{{cite book |last1=Sarkis |first1=Khalil |title=كتاب تذكرة الخواتين واستاذ الطباخين |date=1885 |publisher=المطبعة الادبية |url=https://archive.org/details/AAlexandrina-155685/page/n493/mode/2up |access-date=25 December 2025 |language=Arabic}}</ref><ref name="InternationalCongress">{{cite book |author1=International Congress of Orientalists |author1-link=International Congress of Orientalists |title=Actes du huitième congrès international des orientalistes tenu en 1889 à Stockholm et à Christiania |date=1891 |publisher=Brill |pages=366,403-404 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Actes_du_huiti%C3%A8me_congr%C3%A8s_internationa/SdIesB_ZiT4C?gbpv=1&pg=PA403&printsec=frontcover |access-date=25 December 2025 |language=de}}</ref> Gustaf Dalman described in 1935 ''knafeh basma'' made with sweetened cheese between 2 layers of pastry being made in Sidon and Jerusalem.<ref name="dalman1935"> {{cite book |last1=Dalman |first1=Gustaf |author1-link=Gustaf Dalman |title=Brot, Ol und Wein |date=1935 |publisher=G. Olms |page=144 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brot_Ol_und_Wein/a0sJAQAAIAAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=Jerusalem%20und%20Sidon |access-date=27 March 2026 |language=de |quote=Für knäfe ba$ma wird in Jerusalem und Sidon auf eine Lage zerriebener knäfe angefeuchteter Käse (gibne) gebreitet und darüber eine zweite Lage knäfe gelegt, worauf man das Ganze röstet. Nach Graf v. Landberg 1) wird in Sidon, wenn die Unterseite sich löst und fertig gebacken ist, ein zweites mit Kochbutter bestrichenes Blech darauf gedeckt, mit dem Gebäck umgekehrt und dies nun von der anderen Seite gebacken, worauf klarer Zucker darübergegossen wird. |trans-title=Bread, Oil and Wine}} </ref>

The book "Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo" by Syrian author Khayr al-Din al-Asadi, completed in 1971 and published posthumously in 1981, described 10 different kinds of ''knafeh'', including ''Nabulsi'' knafeh.<ref name="aleppoEnc1981" /><ref name="enab2025">{{cite news |title="موسوعة حلب المقارنة".. الأسدي يرسم هوية المدينة بسبعة مجلدات |url=https://www.enabbaladi.net/777035/%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85-%D9%87%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9/ |access-date=20 December 2025 |work=Enab Baladi |date=5 October 2025 |language=ar |trans-title="The Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo": Al-Asadi outlines the city's identity in seven volumes}}</ref>

==Common variants== [[File:Nablus souq kanafeh 131 - Aug 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Knafeh Nabulseyeh served in a Nablus ''souk'', or street market]]

=== Knafeh Nabulseyeh (Nablus, Palestine) === Knafeh has been described as a "Palestinian Institution."<ref name=":2" /> ''Knafeh Nabulseyeh'' is a popular version of knafeh originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus,<ref name="Edelstein 2010" /><ref name=":0" /> hence the name ''Nabulseyeh'' (also spelled as ''Nabilsiyeh'').<ref name="Edelstein 2010" /> Nablus is still renowned in for its knafeh, which "is filled with the city’s trademark firm, white, salty nabulsi cheese" and covered with a sweet syrup called qatir,<ref name="aljazeera2018"/><ref name=":2" /><ref>[http://imeu.net/news/article00258.shtml Cuisine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804160904/http://imeu.net/news/article00258.shtml|date=2007-08-04}} Institute for Middle East Understanding</ref> it has 1 layer of either rough (kadayif) or soft (semolina) knafeh pastry atop the cheese,<ref name="haaretz2019">{{cite news |last1=Gilad |first1=Moshe |title=This sweet Palestinian food finally taught Israelis how to wait in line |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-10-02/ty-article-magazine/.premium/this-sweet-palestinian-food-finally-taught-israelis-how-to-to-wait-in-line/0000017f-ef78-df98-a5ff-effdb4d40000 |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=Haaretz |date=2 Oct 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808173853/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-10-02/ty-article-magazine/.premium/this-sweet-palestinian-food-finally-taught-israelis-how-to-to-wait-in-line/0000017f-ef78-df98-a5ff-effdb4d40000 |archive-date=8 Aug 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="newarab2017">{{cite news |last1=Alghoul |first1=Diana |title=The Palestinian pride behind the sweet journey of knafeh |url=https://www.newarab.com/opinion/palestinian-pride-behind-sweet-journey-knafeh |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=The New Arab |date=29 May 2017 |language=en-EN}}</ref> typically prepared upside down then flipped,<ref name=":2" /><ref name="aljazeera2018">{{cite news |title=بالفيديو: الكنافة النابلسية.. أصل الحكاية |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/misc/2018/11/24/%D9%83%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3 |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |date=24 Nov 2018 |language=ar |trans-title=Video: Nablus Kunafa... The Origin of the Story}}</ref> with soft dough being more popular than kadayif for Nabulsi knafeh.<ref name="aljazeera2018" /><ref name="haaretz2019" />

Today, ''knafeh Nabulseyeh'' is the most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine.<ref name="Edelstein 2010" /> As a result, academics have described Nablus as the modern-day knafeh capital.<ref name=":4" />

Associations between Nablus and knafeh date back to at least 1923 when {{ill|Khalil Totah|ar|خليل طوطح}} described ''knafeh'' as "a part of a Nabulsi's life",<ref>{{cite book |last1=Totah |first1=Khalil |author1-link=:ar:خليل طوطح |title=Jughrāfiyat Filasṭīn |date=1923 |publisher=Mu'assasat Ibn Rushd |page=139 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jughr%C4%81fiyat_Filas%E1%B9%AD%C4%ABn/vMAbAAAAMAAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=%D9%83%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9%20%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3 |access-date=5 April 2026 |language=ar |quote=وقد اشتهرت نابلس وبنت المدن الفلسطينية في عمل الحلوى ولا سيما الكنافة ( ام النور ) التي أصبحت جزءاً من حياة النابلسي}}</ref> {{Transliteration|ar|ʻAbd al-Wahhāb ʻAzzām}}'s 1950 book ''{{Transliteration|ar|Riḥlāt}}'' noted that "Nablus is famous for its knafeh".<ref>{{cite book |last1=ʻAzzām |first1=ʻAbd al-Wahhāb |title=Riḥlāt ʻAbd al-Wahhāb ʻAzzām |date=1950 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ri%E1%B8%A5l%C4%81t_%CA%BBAbd_al_Wahh%C4%81b_%CA%BBAzz%C4%81m/3gJju5H3XmMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%D9%83%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9&dq=%D9%83%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9%20%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3&printsec=frontcover |access-date=21 December 2025 |language=ar |trans-title=Journeys}}</ref>

=== Knafeh Ghazawiya (Gaza Strip, Palestine) === ''Knafeh'' ''Ghazawiya'' is a Palestinian variant of ''knafeh'' unique to the Gaza Strip. It is made with a variety of Gazan nuts and spices, with "nutmeg and cinnamon replacing the cheese.", the pastry used is made from semolina and bulgur.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berger |first=Miriam |title=The Palestinian dessert few can enjoy |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170802-the-dessert-thats-blocked-at-borders |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=www.bbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=In Ramadan, Gazans sweeten the nights with kunafa |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2280151/middle-east |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=Arab News |date=2 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

===Osmalieh=== thumb|knafeh osmalieh '''Osmalieh''' ({{lang|ar|عصملية}}, also spelled '''Othmaliye''', {{langx|ar|عثملية}}) is a variety of knafeh found in Syria and Lebanon, it is made from 2 layers of kadayif with a layer of qishta sandwiched between them.<ref>{{cite news |title="الشعيبيات" و"الهريسة".. حلويات حلبية تقاوم مرارة النزوح |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%AD-%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1/1286271 |access-date=25 February 2026 |work=Anadolu Agency |date=2018 |language=ar |trans-title="Shuaibiyat" and "Hareesa"... Aleppo sweets that resist the bitterness of displacement}}</ref><ref name="alarabyOsmalieh">{{cite news |title=العثملية تغزو المائدة العربية |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AB%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B2%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9 |access-date=27 May 2025 |work=Al-Araby Al-Jadeed |date=12 June 2016 |language=ar}}</ref><ref name="MEMO2020" /><ref>{{cite news |title=حلوى المولد: راحة «عثملية» في صيدا القديمة |url=https://www.al-akhbar.com/Last_Page/261965 |access-date=27 May 2025 |work=الأخبار |language=ar}}</ref><ref name="dekmak">{{cite web |last1=Dekmak |first1=Hussien |title=Osmalieh Vermicelli Dessert Recipe {{!}} Bakepedia |url=https://www.bakepedia.com/osmalieh-vermicelli-dessert/ |website=Bakepedia |access-date=24 July 2025}}</ref> To prepare it traditionally, the dough is pressed into a cake pan, and then fried in ghee or cooking oil, this is done for 2 layers, and then qishta is placed upon one layer, with the second layer placed over the qishta, forming a "sandwich" like confection.<ref name="alarabyOsmalieh"/><ref name="MEMO2020"/> It is garnished with ground pistachio, qatir, lemon or orange blossom, and flower petals. It can be served cold or hot.<ref name="alarabyOsmalieh"/><ref name="MEMO2020"/> The dessert spread from the Levant region to the broader Arab world.<ref name="alarabyOsmalieh"/> It is commonly eaten in the month of Ramadan.<ref name="arabnews">{{cite news |title=Amid soaring inflation, Lebanese look for cheaper alternatives to traditional Ramadan desserts |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2288446/amp |access-date=24 July 2025 |work=Arab News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="alarabyOsmalieh"/><ref name="MEMO2020"/> Contemporary variations of osmalieh use alternate fillings like ice cream or cream cheese.<ref name="EAY2019">{{cite news |title=«العصملية» |url=https://www.emaratalyoum.com/ramadan/food-recipies/2019-05-27-1.1217539 |access-date=14 December 2025 |work=Emarat Al Youm |date=26 May 2019 |language=ar |trans-title=Osmalieh}}</ref>

The name is derived from the name ''Ottoman'' or ''Othman''.<ref name="alarabyOsmalieh"/><ref name="MEMO2020"/>

=== Künefe (Hatay, Turkey) === Künefe is a variant of knafeh believed to have originated in Hatay Province, Turkey.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Tokyol |first=Gonca |title=Künefe: The beloved dessert rebuilding Turkey |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230417-knefe-the-beloved-dessert-rebuilding-turkey |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=BBC |date=18 April 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> It is filled with a mozzarella-like local Hatay cheese and coated in "a syrup made of water, sugar and lemon juice."<ref name=":5" /> In 2012, the EU Commission approved ''Antakya Künefesi'', a variant of both kadayif and künefe, as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).<ref name=":6">{{CELEX|52022XC1115(02)|text=Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs 2022/C 433/24}}</ref> It also received a geographic indication by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office,<ref name="hurriyet2008">{{cite news |last1=EZER/ANTAKYA (Hatay), (DHA) |first1=Mehmet |title=Hatay künefesi patent aldı |url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/hatay-kunefesi-patent-aldi-9968080 |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=Hurriyet |date=23 September 2008 |language=tr |trans-title=Hatay kunefe received a patent}}</ref> both geographic indications specify that Hatay kunefe is made with 2 separately heated layers of pastry around the cheese.<ref name=":5" /><ref name="turkpatent">{{cite web |title=ANTAKYA KÜNEFESİ |url=https://ci.turkpatent.gov.tr/Files/GeographicalSigns/6f9b78f0-2e94-44e1-b95c-bac2b611a3a3.pdf |website=Turkish Patent and Trademark Office |access-date=12 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Antakya’s künefe receives protected status - Türkiye News |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/antakyas-kunefe-receives-protected-status-181591 |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=Hürriyet Daily News |date=15 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Dubai chocolate ===

Dubai chocolate is a chocolate bar with a kadayif and pistachio filling, It was first produced by Fix Dessert in Dubai, but versions are now sold worldwide.<ref name=nyt>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/dining/dubai-chocolate-cant-get-knafeh-it.html | title=How Dubai Chocolate Took over the World | work=The New York Times | date=23 January 2025 | last1=Wilson | first1=Korsha }}</ref> While originally inspired by knafeh and first sold under the name "Can't Get Knafeh Of It", the bar does not contain any cheese.<ref name=nyt/>

===''Knafeh basma''=== thumb|Ballorieh, made with qadaif (knafeh dough) and pistachio filling. ''Knafeh basma'' ({{langx|ar|كنافة بصمة}}, derived from the Turkish word for "pressed"<ref name="aleppoEnc1981" />{{rp|480,2550-2551}}) is a "baklava-like cake" made by pressing a layer of filling between 2 layers of kadayif pastry.<ref name="awsat2015">{{cite news |title=الكنافة النابلسية سفيرة الحلوى الفلسطينية في دمشق |url=https://aawsat.com/home/article/333571/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%82 |access-date=24 February 2026 |work=Asharq Al-Awsat |date=2015 |language=ar |trans-title=Nablus knafeh, the ambassador of Palestinian sweets in Damascus}}</ref><ref name="Oxford" /><ref name="aleppoEnc1981" /> This variety is attested as early as 1885.<ref name="sarkis1885" /><ref name="InternationalCongress" />

''Balluriyeh'' ({{langx|ar|بلورية||crystaline}}, called so because of its light colored pastry) is a variety of ''knafeh basma'' that is dense and made with white strands of kadayif and filled with pistachios, sometimes flavored with rose water of milk.<ref name="aleppoEnc1981" /><ref name="latimes1995">{{cite news |last1=Burum |first1=Linda |title=MARKETS : The House That Baklava Built |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-09-fo-29733-story.html |access-date=24 February 2026 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 February 1995}}</ref><ref name="awsat2015"/> It is sometimes considered a variety of baklava,<ref name="helou2015">{{cite book |last1=Helou |first1=Anissa |author1-link=Anissa Helou |title=Sweet Middle East: Classic Recipes, from Baklava to Fig Ice Cream |date=3 November 2015 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-1-4521-3062-0 |page=74 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sweet_Middle_East/GF5oCgAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PA74 |access-date=24 February 2026 |language=en}}</ref> and sometimes considered a variety of knafeh.<ref>{{cite news |title=أسعار حلويات رمضان 2022.. «اعرف الكنافة والقطايف بكام؟» |url=https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/6028288 |access-date=24 February 2026 |work=El Watan News |date=5 April 2022 |language=ar |trans-title=Prices of Ramadan sweets 2022.. "How much do Kunafa and Qatayef cost?"}}</ref>

=== Sandwiched knafeh === thumb|Lebanese ka'ak with knafeh In Lebanon, ''kaak'' knafeh is a popular street food, its made of a knafeh sandwiched in sesame-coated bread.<ref name="haaretzNatalie">{{cite news |last1=Alz |first1=Natalie |title=The Sticky and Sweet Lebanese Dessert in Pretzel Has Made It to Israel |url=https://www.haaretz.com/food/2021-12-15/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-sticky-and-sweet-lebanese-dessert-in-pretzel-has-made-it-to-israel/0000017f-e189-d38f-a57f-e7dbe62f0000 |access-date=12 August 2025 |work=Haaretz |date=Dec 15, 2021}}</ref>

In Nablus, knafeh is sandwiched in pita bread and eaten for breakfast.<ref name="alarabyObeid">{{cite news |last1=Obeid |first1=Lama |title=An odyssey of Palestinian dishes in the West Bank |url=https://www.newarab.com/features/odyssey-palestinian-dishes-west-bank |access-date=12 August 2025 |work=Al-Araby Al-Jadeed |date=22 Feb 2023}}</ref><ref name="viceBenZion">{{cite news |last1=Ben Zion |first1=Ilan |title=A Trip to the West Bank's Cheesy Dessert Capital |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-trip-to-the-west-banks-cheesy-dessert-capital/ |access-date=12 August 2025 |work=VICE |date=24 August 2015}}</ref>

===Knafeh madlouqa=== thumb|Levantine madlouqa ''Knafeh madlouqa'' ({{langx|ar|كنافة مدلوقة}}) is a Levantine dessert made of a layer of finely-shredded knafeh dough that is cooked in ''samneh'' and topped with qishta or kaymak.<ref name="MEMO2021" /><ref name="aleppoEnc1981">{{cite book |author1=Khayr al-Din al-Asadi |author1-link=Khayr al-Din al-Asadi |title=موسوعة حلب المقارنة |date=1981 |pages=2551-2552 |url=https://archive.org/details/20191220_20191220_1403/page/n2551/mode/2up?q=%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%84%D9%88%D9%82%D8%A9 |access-date=20 December 2025 |language=Arabic |trans-title=Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=معجم فصاح العامية |date=1997 |publisher=Librairie Du Liban Publishers |location=Beirut |page=306 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%AC%D9%85_%D9%81%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AD_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9/vvJECwAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PT306&printsec=frontcover |access-date=20 December 2025 |language=ar |trans-title=Dictionary of colloquial Arabic}}</ref> The knafeh pastry in the bottom layer is sometimes replaced with semolina.<ref name="MEMO2021">{{cite news |title=Madlouqa |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210508-madlouqa/ |access-date=20 December 2025 |work=Middle East Monitor |date=8 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=طريقة عمل المدلوقة بالسميد والقشطة الطازة |url=https://www.elbalad.news/5250743 |access-date=20 December 2025 |work=Sada El-Balad |date=23 April 2022 |language=ar-eg |trans-title=How to make Madlouka with semolina and fresh cream}}</ref>

It is attested as early as 1936 in the journal of ''The Palestine Oriental Society'', which stated "''Madlüqah'' is knafeh with cream (''qashtah'') and ground pistachios (fustuq)."<ref name="POS1936"> {{cite book |title=The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 1936: Vol 16 |date=1936 |page=58 |url=https://archive.org/details/journal-of-the-palestine-oriental-society_1936_16/page/58/mode/2up |access-date=27 March 2026 |language=English |volume=16}} </ref>

==Preparation== right|thumb|Mabruma (''twined'') knafeh There are several types of knafeh pastry:<ref>{{cite web |date=9 October 2013 |title=Kunafa |url=http://www.sampateek.com/en/recipe/kunafa-0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109023752/http://www.sampateek.com/en/recipe/kunafa-0 |archive-date=9 November 2017 |access-date=8 November 2017 |website=Sampateek |language=en}}</ref><ref name="aljazeera2018" /><ref name="almasryalyoum2025">{{cite news |title=خيوط عجين بالسمن والسكر.. «الكنافة» أشهر الحلويات في شهر رمضان |url=https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/3392420 |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=Al-Masry Al-Youm |date=4 Mar 2025 |language=ar |trans-title=Threads of dough with ghee and sugar... "Knafeh" is the most famous dessert during Ramadan}}</ref>

* ''khishnah'' ({{langx|ar|خشنة}}, rough): a crust made from long thin noodle threads. * ''nāʿimah'' ({{langx|ar|ناعمة}}, fine): a semolina dough. * ''muhayara'' ({{langx|ar|محيرة}}, mixed): a mixture of ''khishnah'' and ''na'ama''. * ''mabruma'' ({{langx|ar|مبرومة}}, twined): a noodle pastry

The knafeh pastry is heated in butter, margarine, palm oil, or traditional semneh, spread with soft sweet cheese, such as Nabulsi cheese, and topped with additional pastry. In ''khishnah knafeh'' the cheese is rolled in the pastry. During the final minutes of cooking, thick sweet sugar syrup, water, and a few drops of rose water or orange blossom water are poured on the pastry. The top layer of pastry is sometimes tinted red or orange, and crushed pistachios are often sprinkled as a garnish.<ref name=":2" />

Besides cheese, common fillings include nuts or cream,<ref name="roden2018">{{cite book |last1=Roden |first1=Claudia |author1-link=Claudia Roden |title=A New Book of Middle Eastern Food: The Essential Guide to Middle Eastern Cooking. As Heard on BBC Radio 4 |date=22 March 2018 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-1-4059-3778-8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_New_Book_of_Middle_Eastern_Food/FN5MDwAAQBAJ |access-date=28 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref> such as qishta which is used in osmalieh.<ref name="MEMO2020" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Chandra |first1=Fiona |title=Sweet And Cheesy Knafeh Is An Ancient Dessert Going Big In Modern LA |url=https://laist.com/news/food/knafeh-middle-easter-dessert-where-to-find-it-los-angeles-orang-county |access-date=28 October 2025 |work=LAist |date=25 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

== Politics ==

===Israel-Palestine=== {{Main|Politics of food in the Arab–Israeli conflict}}

Today, knafeh is served throughout the Middle East, although it is "particularly associated with Nablus"<ref name=":2" /> and considered to be a "cultural touchstone for Palestinian identity".<ref name=":4" />

Knafeh is popular in Israel, and it is prepared by many Israeli eateries and chefs.<ref name="haaretz2014" /><ref name="newarab2020"/><ref name="tablet2014"/><ref name="haaretz2019" /> Some Palestinians have criticized the presentation of knafeh as an Israeli food without reference to its Arab origins, describing this as cultural appropriation.<ref name="newarab2020">{{cite news |title=Cultural appropriation fail: Palestinians mock Israeli chef’s ’beef knafeh’ |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/cultural-appropriation-fail-palestinians-mock-israeli-chefs-beef-knafeh |access-date=21 December 2025 |work=The New Arab |date=4 March 2020 |language=en-EN}}</ref><ref name="haaretz2014">{{cite news |title=Is knafeh Israeli or Palestinian? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/food/2014-06-04/ty-article/is-knafeh-israeli-or-palestinian/0000017f-e626-df5f-a17f-fffe3d6b0000 |access-date=21 December 2025 |work=Haaretz |date=4 June 2014 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="tablet2014">{{cite news |title=Can a Classic Dessert Bring World Peace, Uniting Arabs and Jews? |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles/knafeh-classic-arabic-dessert |access-date=21 December 2025 |work=Tablet Magazine |date=19 August 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

== Culture ==

=== World record ===

The Guinness world record for largest knafeh was set in 2009 in Nablus, it contained 600kg of Nabulsi cheese, 300kg of sugar, and 35kg of pistachios. The measured 74 meters long, and 1,765kg in mass.<ref name="NGT2010">{{cite news |title=The World’s Best Knafeh |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the_worlds_best_knafeh |access-date=15 May 2026 |work=National Geographic Travel |date=24 March 2010 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="AP2009">{{cite news |title=Nablus Bakers Seek to Set Record for World's Largest Knafeh |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2009-01-01/ty-article/nablus-bakers-seek-to-set-record-for-worlds-largest-knafeh/0000017f-f416-d223-a97f-fddfa16f0000 |access-date=15 May 2026 |work=Haaretz |agency=Associated Press |date=January 1, 2009}}</ref>

== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" heights="150"> File:Jerusalem Kanafeh (3783936961).jpg|Knafeh served in Jerusalem File:Kanafeh.jpg|Knafeh shop, old city of Jerusalem File:Cheese Soft Konafah.jpg|Soft Knafeh filled with Nabulsi cheese File:Pistachio Kadayif (Unsplash).jpg|Knafeh coated with pistachio and cream File:Turkish künefe and tea.jpg|Turkish ''künefe'' File:Knafeh.jpg|Knafeh served with ice cream File:The Kunafa Maker.jpg|A traditional knafeh maker in Cairo File:Dubai chocolate on a plate 02.jpg|A bar of Dubai chocolate, filled with knafeh and ground pistachios </gallery>

==See also== * List of pastries * Palestinian cuisine * Filo * Qatayef, a dumpling-like confection involving some of the same ingredients * Kadayif (pastry) * Outline of kadayif

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{commons-inline}}

{{Middle East topic |title=Middle Eastern cuisine |prefix=Cuisine of}} {{Levantine cuisine}} {{pastries}}

Category:Arab desserts Category:Arab pastries Category:Ottoman cuisine Category:Egyptian desserts Category:Jordanian cuisine Category:Lebanese desserts Category:Palestinian desserts Category:Syrian desserts Category:Turkish desserts Category:Stuffed desserts Category:Cheese desserts Category:Palestinian pastries Category:Easter food