Kanafeh
Knafeh is an Arab dessert of spun kadayif pastry layered with soft white cheese and soaked in sugar syrup. Nablus in Palestine is known for its version, made with the city's firm, salty Nabulsi cheese and served hot under crushed pistachios.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Azerbaijan, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey |
| Specific Origin | Levant |
| Texture | Soft |
| Flavor | Sweet |
| Colors | White cheese, pastry sometimes tinted red or orange |
| Forms | Pan-baked trays, sandwiched in sesame-coated bread or pita |
| Alternative Spellings | kunafah, knafeh, Kunafeh, knafeh, Kenafa, kunefe |
| Also Known As | Riştə Xətayi, kadaif |
What is Kanafeh Cheese?
Knafeh is a traditional Arab dessert built from kadayif pastry, cheese and a sugar syrup called attar. Its origin is disputed. One account written down as early as the 10th century puts its creation in Fatimid Egypt, another in Umayyad Damascus. Cheese-filled knafeh is much younger: the earliest documented recipe comes from an 1885 Beirut cookbook.
The pastry takes several forms. Khishnah is made of long thin noodle threads, na'imah is a semolina dough, muhayara mixes the two, and mabruma is a twined noodle pastry. The pastry is heated in butter, margarine, palm oil or semneh, spread with soft sweet cheese such as Nabulsi, then topped with more pastry. In the last minutes of cooking, sugar syrup with a few drops of rose water or orange blossom water goes over the top.
The top layer is sometimes tinted red or orange, and crushed pistachios are scattered on as garnish. The Nablus version uses the city's firm, white, salty Nabulsi cheese, desalted and spread over one layer of dough. The pan cooks on a stovetop until the bottom crust sets, then the whole thing is flipped onto a platter, syruped, and served hot.
People eat knafeh at holidays, special occasions and during Ramadan. In Lebanon, kaak knafeh is street food, tucked into sesame-coated bread. In Nablus it goes into pita and gets eaten for breakfast. The largest knafeh on record was made there in 2009: 74 meters long, 1,765 kg, with 600 kg of Nabulsi cheese.
How Does Kanafeh Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Kanafeh against.
