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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Palestine

Nabulsiجبنة نابلسية

Nabulsi is a white brined cheese. The pressed rennet curd is salted, then scalded in boiling brine at 90–100 °C, which firms it and helps it keep. It is stored in strong brine in jars, at room temperature for months. Made in 5 steps over 3 months – 9 months. The longest step, store in brine, takes 3–9 months (Al-Ismail K.M 2003). Salt is 18 % (Ayyash M.M 2011).

Key numbers
Main step3–9 monthsMeasured[alismail2003][ayyash2011]Store in brine
Temperature90–100 °CReported[alichanidis2008]Scald in boiling brine
Salt18 %Reported[ayyash2011]Store in brine

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceNo fixed recipe in the sources read; the brine strength is one study's.
Milk · Most traditional cheeses of the region are made from sheep or goat milk[alichanidis2008]
Rennet[alichanidis2008]
18 % brine in one studySalt[ayyash2011]
Starternone named in the sources read

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months – 9 months

Start
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What changes: Rennet sets the milk into a curd

Step 1 of 5
Set the milk with rennet
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

Nabulsi is scalded in boiling brine after salting, which white brined cheeses such as Feta are not. This, with strong brine, lets it keep for months at room temperature.

Milk
Sheep or goat milk, like most traditional cheeses of the region
Storage
Months in strong brine at room temperature

Related ferments

Safety

In one study fresh cheese carried coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, yeasts and moulds that a 115 °C, 2 min in-container heat treatment removed for a year. Fat and cholesterol oxidise more in jars exposed to light.

Hazards the sources name: Coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, yeasts and moulds; an in-container heat treatment of 115 °C for 2 min removed them for a year of storage in one study.

History and sources

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

  1. [alichanidis2008] Alichanidis E., Polychroniadou A. 2008, Characteristics of major traditional regional cheese varieties of East-Mediterranean countries, a review, Dairy Science and Technology 88:495–510, doi:10.1051/dst:2008023 (abstract)paper
  2. [ayyash2011] Ayyash M.M., Shah N.P. 2011, The effect of substituting NaCl with KCl on Nabulsi cheese, chemical composition, total viable count, and texture profile, Journal of Dairy Science 94(6):2741–2751, doi:10.3168/jds.2010-3976 (abstract)paper
  3. [alismail2003] Al-Ismail K.M., Humeid M.A. 2003, Effect of processing and storage of brined white (Nabulsi) cheese on fat and cholesterol oxidation, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 83(1):39–43, doi:10.1002/jsfa.1278 (abstract)paper
  4. [aldabbas2014] Al-Dabbas M.M., Saleh M., Abu-Ghoush M.H., Al-Ismail K., Osaili T. 2014, Influence of storage, brine concentration and in-container heat treatment on the stability of white brined Nabulsi cheese, International Journal of Dairy Technology 67(3):427–436, doi:10.1111/1471-0307.12139 (abstract)paper