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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Jordan, Palestine and neighbouring Bedouin areas

Jameedجميد

Sheep or goat milk is soured, churned to take off the butter, and the buttermilk is heated near boiling until it thickens. The curd is strained in cloth bags, salted, rolled into balls and dried in the shade and then the sun for about two weeks. The hard, salty balls are rehydrated to make the sauce for mansaf. Made in 7 steps over 16 days. The longest step, dry in shade, then sun, takes 16 days (Alu'datt M.H. et al. 2015) and runs at 35–40 °C (Alu'datt M.H. et al. 2015). Lactic acid bacteria from the milk's own flora does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step16 daysReported[aludatt2015]Dry in shade, then sun
Temperature35–40 °CReported[aludatt2015]Dry in shade, then sun

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold method with no fixed amounts. Jordan made about 200 tonnes a year in the 1990 FAO survey.
Sheep or goat milk · Raw and soured by its own flora in the traditional method[fao-tmp]
Salt · Added before or during drying; the finished product holds about 12 %[fao-tmp][aludatt2015]
Starter: spontaneous (milk flora) traditionally; starter cultures in modern hygienic production

Total time across the recorded steps: 16 days

Start
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Milk sugarLactic acidshapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Raw sheep or goat milk sours and clots by itself

Step 1 of 7
Sour the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Raw whole milk is not heated; acid develops from the milk's own flora.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

lactic bacteria from the milk sour and clot it

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Jameed is made from buttermilk left after churning, not from whole yogurt, and is heated near boiling before straining. Dried hard, it holds about 12 % moisture and 12 % salt.

Milk
Raw sheep or goat milk, soured and churned in a goatskin
Composition
Moisture about 12 %, salt about 12 % (FAO, Jordan)
Drying
24 h in shade, then 15 days in the sun at 35–40 °C by day (one study)

Related ferments

Variants

  • Sun-dried salted jameedThe traditional form; one study found it gave the highest yield.
  • Freeze-dried jameedDried at −55 °C for 48 h in trials; paler colour.
  • Cow-milk jameedMade from cow milk in some modern production.

Safety

In one study, applying a hazard plan (pasteurising milk, adding starter, and controlling water, salt, straining, drying and packing) cut plate counts from 2.1 × 10³ to 3.1 × 10² cfu/g and brought S. aureus and coliforms below 10 cfu/g.

Hazards the sources name: Staphylococcus aureus and coliforms (counted in home-made jameed before hygiene controls; Salmonella below 10 cfu/g).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Jameed is a staple of Bedouin diets and the base of mansaf. FAO's 1990 survey found it made all over Jordan, in rural areas and in the desert.

  1. [fao-tmp] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, Animal Production and Health Paper 85, section on Jemid, eqet (Jordan)gov
  2. [aludatt2015] Alu'datt M.H. et al. 2015, Effects of sun and freeze-drying techniques on molecular, fatty acid and therapeutic properties of fermented goat milk product, Journal of Food Science and Technology 52(9):5989–5995paper
  3. [alsaed2012] Al-Saed A.K., Al-Groum R.M., Al-Dabbas M.M. 2012, Implementation of hazard analysis critical control point in jameed production, Food Science and Technology International 18(3):229–239 (abstract)paper
  4. [aludatt2016] Alu'datt M.H. et al. 2016, Evaluation of different drying techniques on the nutritional and biofunctional properties of a traditional fermented sheep milk product, Food Chemistry 190:436–441 (abstract)paper