Nabulsi cheese

{{Short description|Palestinian sheep and goat cheese}} {{Other uses|Nabulsi (disambiguation){{!}}Nabulsi}}

{{Infobox cheese | name = Nabulsi cheese | image = جبنة نابلسية.jpg | othernames = | country = | caption = A block of Nabulsi cheese; nigella sativa seeds are mixed into the cheese | alt = A solid block of white cheese with a smooth surface, with a few nigella sativa seeds embedded into it | region = West Bank | town = Nablus | source = Cow, sheep, goat<ref name="ajabs"/> | pasteurised = | namedafter = City of Nablus | texture = Semi-hard, elastic when heated, brittle when dry{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=216-217}} | aging = | certification = }}

'''Nabulsi''' is a Palestinian white brined cheese made in the Middle East. Its name refers to its place of origin, Nablus,{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=209}} and it is known throughout the West Bank and surrounding regions. Nabulsi, along with Akkawi cheese, is one of the principal cheeses consumed in Jordan.{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=210}} It is produced primarily from sheep's milk; alternatively, goat's milk may be used. Nabulsi cheese is white and rectangular in shape. It is semi-hard with no gas holes.{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=210}} It becomes soft and elastic when heated. It is a typical ewe's or goat's milk cheese, but is traditionally flavored with mahleb (''Prunus mahaleb'') and mastic (''Pistacia lentiscus'') added to the boiling brine. It is a major ingredient of the Middle Eastern dessert ''knafeh''.{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=216}}

==Production==

The cheese can be prepared using cow, sheep or goat milk, or a mixture of cow and sheep milk to create ''mashmouleh'' ({{langx|ar|مشمولة}}) cheese.<ref name="ajabs">{{cite journal |title=Effect of Proteases on Meltability and Stretchability of Nabulsi Cheese |journal=American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences |date=1 March 2009 |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=173–178 |doi=10.3844/ajabssp.2009.173.178}}</ref>{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=216}}

The cheese is first prepared by heating the milk and then adding rennet, after the milk coagulates, the curds are pressed, cooled, cut, then boiled, and finally stored in brine.{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=216}}<ref name="falastin2020" /><ref name="brinedCheeses"> {{cite book |last1=Tamime |first1=Adnan Y. |title=Brined Cheeses |date=15 April 2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-7164-9 |pages=313-314 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lM-mtPn9WwoC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA313#v=onepage |access-date=5 January 2026 |language=en}} </ref>

The cheese is traditionally flavored by adding mastic gum and mahaleb to the brine.<ref name="falastin2020"> {{cite book |last1=Tamimi |first1=Sami |last2=Wigley |first2=Tara |author1-link=Sami Tamimi |title=Falastin: A Cookbook |date=16 June 2020 |publisher=Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed |isbn=978-0-399-58174-8 |page=536 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Falastin/PACmDwAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&dq=meze&pg=PT536&printsec=frontcover |access-date=9 December 2025 |language=en}} </ref><ref name="brinedCheeses" /> It is typically made during spring, when pastures are green.<ref name="nasser2014">{{cite book |last1=Nasser |first1=Christiane Dabdoub |title=Classic Palestinian Cuisine |date=30 June 2014 |publisher=Saqi |isbn=978-0-86356-879-4 |page=152 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Classic_Palestinian_Cuisine/HT8hBQAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PT152 |access-date=11 April 2026 |language=en}}</ref>

==Consumption==

[[File:Cheese Soft Konafah.jpg|thumb|Soft Knafeh with Nabulsi cheese filling]]

The cheese is widely used in the middle east and Southeast Europe.<ref name="ajabs"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Basson |first1=Priscilla |title=Women and traditional food technologies: Changes in rural Jordan† |journal=Ecology of Food and Nutrition |date=October 1981 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=17–23 |doi=10.1080/03670244.1981.9990652}}</ref>

After the cheese is prepared, it is stored in brine, it may be later desalted for use in the production of bakery goods and desserts such as knafeh, where the stretchability of the cheese is desired, additionally, it may be eaten fresh, or after its fried in oil.<ref name="ajabs"/>{{sfn|Tamime|Robinson|1991|p=217}}

To desalt the cheese, it is soaked in fresh water—often refrigerated—for several hours or overnight, which helps reduce its saltiness before consumption.<ref>{{Cite web |title=From Cow to Culinary Delight: Exploring the Rich Tradition of Baqariah Nabulsi Boiled Cheese |url=https://watanypalestinianproducts.com/blogs/watany-palestinian-products-blogs/from-cow-to-culinary-delight-exploring-the-rich-tradition-of-baqariah-nabulsi-boiled-cheese |website=Watany Palestinian Products |date=2025-06-05 |access-date=2025-07-13}}</ref>

In regions where Nabulsi cheese is not readily available, some recipes will substitute it for Mozzarella and/or Ricotta, sometimes combined with other softer cheeses, this aims to replicate the texture of heated Nabulsi cheese.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Halfin |first1=Jessica |title=In Israel, it's knafeh that takes the cake |url=https://www.israel21c.org/in-israel-its-knafeh-that-takes-the-cake/ |access-date=30 June 2025 |work=ISRAEL21c |date=17 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tamimi |first1=Sami |last2=Wigley |first2=Tara |author1-link=Sami Tamimi |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=30 June 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=8 October 2024}}</ref>

===Health Concerns===

The high salt content of brined Nabulsi cheese may lead people with issues like hypertension or kidney stone disease to avoid it, the salt content is intentionally increased by sellers to help preserve the cheese in storage, hence its recommended by the WHO to reduce the saltiness prior to consumption.<ref name="ayyashAndShah">{{cite journal |last1=Ayyash |first1=M. M. |last2=Shah |first2=N. P. |title=The effect of substituting NaCl with KCl on Nabulsi cheese: Chemical composition, total viable count, and texture profile |journal=Journal of Dairy Science |date=1 June 2011 |volume=94 |issue=6 |pages=2741–2751 |doi=10.3168/jds.2010-3976 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002203021100261X |access-date=28 July 2025 |issn=0022-0302|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==See also== {{portal|Food}} * {{annotated link|Brined cheese}} * {{annotated link|List of cheeses}} * {{annotated link|Palestinian cuisine}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

===Works cited=== {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book|last1=Tamime |first1=A. Y. |last2=Robinson |first2=R. K. |year=1991 |title=Feta and Related Cheeses |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |pages=209, 216 |isbn=1-85573-278-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dU6W5mXq13MC&q=nablus+cheese&pg=PA209}} * {{cite book|last1=Tamime |first1=Adnan Y. |title=Brined Cheeses |date=15 April 2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-7164-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lM-mtPn9WwoC&dq=Nabulsi+cheese&pg=PA192}} {{Refend}}

Category:Levantine cuisine Category:Palestinian cheeses Category:Jordanian cuisine Category:Syrian cheeses Category:Cow's-milk cheeses Category:Goat's-milk cheeses Category:Sheep's-milk cheeses Category:Nablus Category:Brined white cheeses Category:Palestinian inventions