List of Middle Eastern cheeses
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of cheeses of the Middle East. Cheesemaking in the region dates to antiquity, and many Middle Eastern cheeses are white brined cheeses made from cow's, sheep's, or goat's milk, eaten fresh or preserved in brine.[1][2] Several, such as halloumi and akkawi, are produced and consumed across many countries of the region rather than in a single national tradition; such cheeses are listed once, under the area with which they are most associated.[2] The list covers cheeses of Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan), Turkey, and the Arabian Peninsula. Cheeses shared with neighbouring culinary traditions outside the region, such as Greek and Balkan cheeses, are included where they are also established in Middle Eastern production.
Cyprus
| Name | Image | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anari |  |
A fresh whey cheese, a by-product of halloumi making. | |
| Halloumi |  |
Cyprus; also the Levant | A semi-hard brined cheese of sheep's and goat's milk that can be grilled or fried without melting.[2] |
| Kefalotyri |  |
A hard, salty cheese shared with Greek tradition. |
Egypt
| Name | Image | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Areesh | A fresh curd cheese made from laban rayeb. | ||
| Domiati |  |
Damietta | A soft white cheese of cow's or buffalo's milk, salted before curdling; the most widely eaten cheese in Egypt.[2] |
| Fried cheese (gibna maqliya) | White cheese fried in oil or butter. | ||
| Mish |  |
Cheese fermented in a spiced brine, often for months or years. | |
| Rumi |  |
A hard yellow cheese, also called gibna rumi. | |
| Testouri | A fresh cheese shaped by hand into balls. |
Iran
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Iraq
| Name | Image | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aushari | Kurdistan Region (Sulaymaniyah, Erbil) | A semi-hard sheep's- and goat's-milk cheese of the Kurdish highlands, flavoured with wild thyme (jaje), packed in sheep-stomach bags, and matured in mountain caves for six to eight months.[3] |
Israel
| Name | Image | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gvina levana | A soft white cheese. | ||
| Kashkaval |  |
Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans | A pressed yellow stretch-curd cheese. |
| Sirene |  |
Balkans | A brined white cheese of Balkan origin, common in Israel. |
| Tzfatit |  |
Safed | A brined semi-hard cheese first made in Safed in the 19th century. |
Levant
| Name | Image | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akkawi |  |
Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan | A white brined cheese named after Acre (Akka).[2] |
| Baladi |  |
Lebanon, Syria, Palestine | A soft, fresh white cheese. |
| Basket cheese |  |
A fresh cheese drained and shaped in baskets. | |
| Braided cheese | .JPG) |
Levant, Armenia | A plaited string cheese. |
| Darfiyeh | Northern Lebanon | A raw goat's-milk cheese matured in a goatskin (darf); listed in the Slow Food Ark of Taste.[4] | |
| Jibneh Arabieh |  |
Levant, Persian Gulf | A general term for white table cheese in the Arab world. |
| Nabulsi |  |
Nablus, Palestine | A boiled white brined cheese flavoured with mahleb and mastic; used in knafeh.[2] |
| Shanklish |  |
Syria, Lebanon | Fermented, dried, and spiced cheese formed into balls and often coated in za'atar. |
| Tresse |  |
Syria | A braided string cheese. |
Turkey
| Name | Image | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abkhazian cheese | Black Sea region | A fresh curd cheese introduced by Abkhazian immigrants; also called Abhaz peyniri. | |
| Beyaz peynir |  |
A white brined cheese, the most widely consumed cheese in Turkey. | |
| Chechil |  |
Eastern Anatolia, Caucasus | An elastic string cheese. |
| Civil |  |
Erzurum | A stringy cheese made from skimmed cow's milk. |
| Çökelek | A dry curd cheese made from buttermilk. | ||
| Çömlek |  |
Central Anatolia | A cheese ripened in earthenware pots. |
| Dolaz | Western Taurus | A whey cheese. | |
| Ezine peyniri |  |
Çanakkale | A white cheese of sheep's, goat's, and cow's milk matured in brine for at least eight months; the first Turkish cheese registered as an EU PDO (2023).[5] |
| Golot |  |
Eastern Black Sea region | A fresh cheese. |
| Kars gravyer |  |
Kars | A hard cheese modelled on Gruyère. |
| Kasseri (kaşar) |  |
Turkey, Greece | A pressed yellow stretch-curd cheese of sheep's and goat's milk; Turkish kaşar and Greek kasseri share an Ottoman-era tradition. |
| Künefe peyniri |  |
Hatay | A fresh melting cheese used in künefe. |
| Lavaş |  |
Eastern Anatolia | A soft cheese. |
| Mihaliç | Bursa region | A hard sheep's-milk cheese. | |
| Saganaki |  |
Turkey, Greece | A frying cheese; the name refers to the two-handled frying pan. |
| Teleme | Anatolia, Balkans | A soft brined cheese. | |
| Tomas | Northeastern Anatolia | A fresh cheese. | |
| Tulum |  |
A crumbly cheese ripened in a goatskin bag (tulum). | |
| Van herbed cheese | Van | A brined cheese mixed with wild herbs. |
Yemen
| Name | Image | Region | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yemeni cheese | Yemen | Fresh and smoked white cheeses of Yemen. |
Related dairy products
The following traditional Middle Eastern dairy products are not cheeses in the strict sense but occupy a similar place in the cuisine:
- Kashk – dried fermented whey or yogurt, used in soups and stews
- Labneh – strained yogurt eaten like fresh cheese, often rolled into balls and preserved in oil
- Qishta – clotted cream
- Laban rayeb – naturally soured milk, the base of areesh cheese
- Ambarees (sirdeleh) – raw goat's milk fermented with salt in terracotta jars in the Beqaa Valley and Chouf, Lebanon; listed in the Slow Food Ark of Taste[6]