Naboulsi

What is Naboulsi Cheese?

Nabulsi is a Palestinian white brined cheese made in the Middle East. Its name points to Nablus, where it comes from, and it is known across the West Bank and the surrounding regions. In Jordan it is one of the two main cheeses eaten, along with Akkawi.

Production starts by heating the milk and adding rennet. Once the milk coagulates, the curds are pressed, cooled, cut, boiled, and then stored in brine. Mastic gum and mahaleb go into the boiling brine for flavor. Sheep's milk is the usual base, with goat's milk as an alternative; cow's milk also works, and a mix of cow and sheep milk gives a version called mashmouleh. The cheese is typically made in spring, when the pastures are green.

The blocks are white and rectangular. The paste is semi-hard with no gas holes, and heat turns it soft and elastic. Sitting in brine makes it salty, and sellers often raise the salt level further to keep the cheese in storage.

Nabulsi goes into both sweet and savory dishes. It is a major ingredient in knafeh, where bakers want the stretch it gets when hot. For baked goods and desserts it is usually desalted first, soaked in fresh water, often refrigerated, for several hours or overnight. It is also eaten fresh or fried in olive oil. Where it is hard to find, recipes fall back on mozzarella, ricotta, or a mix with other soft cheeses to copy the texture of heated Nabulsi. The salt is a concern for people with hypertension or kidney stone disease, and the WHO recommends cutting the saltiness before eating it.