How to Make Nabulsi Cheese at Home (جبنه نابلسيه) 

Palestinian food is amazing! The world should know!

@@GiveCheeseaChance YES YES

@@nanaah4602 sorry for being late, but i would love to try your cuisine! Middle eastern cuisines are one of the best! 🤤

@@UrbanHotel0 Totally agree!

Ur dishes are awesome

Such a lovely thought. Thank you so much!

Awww, thank you so much, Eman! I really appreciate your note. I hope you do give it a try. It feels fantastic when I make cheese. If you do make some, be sure to post a picture. Take care, Mary Anne

I am so happy to hear that! What a lovely comment. I appreciate it. All the best, Mary Anne

I am glad that you will give this recipe a try. I think you will have success and enjoy the result. :-)

Oh my! What a lovely compliment. Thank you so much! You made my day. :-)

Such a pleasure to read your note, Jim! You made my day. I hope you post pictures of the Nabulsi cheese you make at home in the future! Thanks for taking the time to write!

Thank you so much for leaving your comment. This is my mother's recipe which always made authentic tasting Nabulsi cheese. I hope you have many years of success with this recipe!

Thank you!

I love it! So glad you tried the recipe, and I hope you enjoy the cheeses for many months!

Most welcome 😊

Hello R Brown, thanks so much for your lovely comment! I am glad you told me about the music. I will make sure to keep it low or completely off in future videos. Thanks! Mary Anne

Thank you! Yes, this cheese has personal meaning to me. My mother was just amazing and I was lucky to know her.

@@GiveCheeseaChance 💕💕💕

Thank you so much, Sir Mouselot, for your kind comment!

أنا سعيد لأنك فعلت ذلك! إنها حقًا جبن رائع، سواء بالبذور السوداء أو بدونها.

Oh thank you. That is so thoughtful for you to say! All the best to you too!

A pleasure to talk with you.

Isn't it just yummy?! Glad to hear you like it!

You are so welcome!

That's very exciting! 🙂

Wonderful!

Thank you for your comment! I share your enthusiasm for Nabulsi cheese. I hope you make it and enjoy with your family.

So sweet. Thank you!

Thank you for your comment! Yes, my mother wrote a cookbook on middle eastern cooking that I refer to a lot. My next video will be her recipe for making labneh from scratch so I hope you will get a chance to watch it when it comes out in the next 2 weeks.

Thank you so much! :-)

@@GiveCheeseaChance you are most welcome 🤗

Thank you so much! :-)

Hello, such interesting info about your grandfather. I hope you really do trying to make this cheese. Make sure you press it well so it is nice and firm. You'll love it!

I had to go to google to translate your comment, which read as "It's amazing 👏👏 great video I like it very much I also share cheese recipes and I will try this cheese recipe 😍😍 I wish there was a turkish subtitle." Thanks so much for your feedback! I appreciate it. What kinds of cheeses do you make at home? Any recipe you want to share with me?

@@GiveCheeseaChance linki buraya eklemem de bir sakınca yoktur umarım ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-D1WrYN7jbmI.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pzdpEX18Rk4.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Hsz8oIrgFTE.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OUVE__9syvo.html

@@datejust520 Thank you! I looked at the video and was impressed by the braided cheeses you made. I wish I could try them! I think the language is going to be a problem for me. How can I get your video translated, I wonder?

And I subscribed to your channel!

@@GiveCheeseaChance Çok teşekkür ediyorum ingilizce çevirmeyi düşünüyorum 🙏🙏

Great! Let me know how it turns out.

My pleasure!

Ahmad, Thank you so much for your wonderful comment and feedback. I am so happy you found this recipe and that you will make this cheese for years to come. My best regards, Mary Anne

Thank you, Rabie!

Hello Rick, You make cheeses? What kinds of cheeses do you make? I'd love to know. Yes, I have used pasteurized milk to make quite a few cheeses, as long as it is NOT ultra-pasteurized. Not all milks work for cheesemaking, so sometimes you have to call the dairy and ask if the milk you are buying is suitable for cheesemaking. Make sure you press the cheese well, it is a firm cheese and a little squeaky when you bite into it. But I suspect you have eaten this before! 🙂

@@GiveCheeseaChance Hi, I generally make less sophisticated cheeses, some domestics, my best was feta, it turned out fantastic. I have had to search out for local milks that werent altered, its not always easy. I've made gouda, Halloumi which was close to what you made. Cheddar and Mozza are basic cheese and easy. I made a Brie but it wasnt as good as I hoped it would be. I'd like to try some hard cheeses sometime soon. Pressing cheese is so important so I agree with you. To me a good cheese compliments what its served with. You have many more videos so i will have some fun watching them and likely learn a thing or two.

@@ricksmith7631 That's so great, Rick! You have made a lot of cheeses! I am impressed. Keep trying new recipes; I think part of the thrill of making cheese is creating something you didn't think was possible (at home) before.

Hello Sam Sam, I was planning to make a video about halloumi in 2023 but I can put ekawi on my list!

Thank you for your feedback! Much appreciated. :-) I send you regards from Oakville, Ontario, Canada!

Thank you so much, Majed!

" life is a knack an art..any think you can make is Art , art is science and science is art " Da Vinci

@@majedahmed5410 Well said.

Oh no! I have let the secret out? ;-)

You bet--watermelon and Nabulsi cheese go great together! My mother also used to use mozzarella (and even ricotta) for her kinafe dessert when she didn't have any Nabulsi cheese. So delicious!

Hey! I am so glad you know this cheese and have enjoyed it. It really is unique in flavour and texture (almost squeaky)! Let me know how it goes.

Happy to hear that. :-)

Thank you Habib!

Thank you!

Yes, some people add black seeds and they love it that way. But for me, I keep mine plain because sometimes I use Nabulsi as the cheese in kinafe dessert (which does not have black seeds).

I am confident the recipe will work for you. Hopefully, you can get good quality milk (don't use shelf stable milk stored at room temp. though). Try to find milk like what I am showing in the video for a good result. Good luck!!

@@GiveCheeseaChance thank you. Will fresh whole milk from supermarkets work?

@@seldatamara Definitely! That's the milk I usually use and the recipe works great!

It was so wonderful to read your comment! I agree --I have had several desserts with mahleb (especially a sweet milk bread served at easter time). And my father uses mastica as a chewing gum, just like you mentioned. He says he makes his breath fresh. Anyway, I hope you try the Nabulsi cheese recipe and I look forward to hearing about your other cheese projects in the future.

Great idea! I will do that in 2023. Thanks!

Hi Ghassan, yes this nabulsi cheese can be used for kinafe dessert. If you make it with NON-homogenized milk, it will be even better because it will melt better. It is sometimes hard to find non-homogenized milk though. Good luck! Mary Anne

My pleasure! :-)

Hello Ruthy, First you make the salted Nabulsi cheese. Then, when it is time to make Kunafe, you just soak the nabulsi cheese in water to de-salt it. That is all. You liked the blue plate I had in the video at the beginning? This plate was a gift from my brother and sister-in-law who live in Brazil. It has a beautiful domed lid that goes on top as well. It is hand made by a Brazilian artist.

Absolutely. It works perfectly!

Sorry, no.😊

You've made my day! Thank you so much for your comment. I am so happy to help people like you make cheeses that mean so much to us. It is so satisfying. Feel free to post pictures when you make the cheese. Take care, Mary Anne

@@GiveCheeseaChance Hello my sweet lady.. You make my day too my dear..Thank you a lot for replying it's so kind of you, I wish you all the best in your useful and beautiful channel, please keep making your special and delicious new recipes if possible, I always thank you for every recipe your going to make... GOD bless you Mary Anne , have a great day sweetheart 🙏🙏🌹

Thanks Lourdes! Post a picture of your cheese, if possible. :-)

That's wonderful that you made the cheese. I don't add the black seeds because I like to use the cheese for Kanafe sometimes. I hope yours tasted great. (Too bad the pictures couldn't be posted.)

Hi Houeida. Citric acid is not used when making Nabulsi cheese. I am using homogenized milk in this video and no citric acid is used at all.

Thank you! I wish I was fluent in Arabic. I say what I can. Marhabba !

Hello Chaker, Thanks for your questions. I hope I can answer at least some of them with clarity. The temperature for heating of milk is actually a range, it doesn't have to be so very exact for the home cheesemaker. The goal is to create a temperature that will make the bacteria comfortable enough that they will want to multiply and convert lactose to lactic acid. Too hot and they will die. Also, there are generally 2 different kinds of bacteria for cheesemaking, those that love mild or medium temperatures (mesophilic bacteria) and those that can handle hotter temperatures (thermophilic bacteria). So you have to check in your recipe, which bacteria and which temperature you want the milk at, so the bacteria won't die and will multiply. The temp. of milk is a funny thing and can affect the end cheese product, for example, the heating of the milk to a high temperature and then letting it cool down, as in the case when making Nabulsi or yogurt, actually changes the structure of the milk to create a whole new cheese product. You mentioned sodium chloride. Did you actually mean CALCIUM chloride? CaCl is used to add calcium back into milks that were processed (homogenized or pasteurized) because when milks are processed, calcium gets destroyed and it is harder to get the rennet to do its job of setting or gel-ing the milk. So you only need to use CaCL if you use processed milk. If you have raw milk, you don't need it at all. Hopefully I've explained things well enough.

@@GiveCheeseaChance Thanks Mary Anne for the quick response. All understood. I did mean "calcium chloride". Appologies

That is an interesting question. I don't know how you made your goat milk cheese. Why not follow the recipe in the video and then you will ,for sure, get Nabulsi cheese without the risk of forcing what you have to become something else. Sorry if that is now the answer you were looking for.

Whenever you are able to come, I'd be happy to see you, even if it means standing outside in the cold the entire time, standing 15 feet apart.

Nabulsi is sometimes used for kunafe, but akawi cheese is more popular in that dessert. I have a video about making akawi cheese and showing how I use it in kunafe dessert. Here is the link to that recipe: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NIChzKHC2fw.html

Here's a recipe to make the famous Kunafe dessert at home: 1 package Knafeh (kataifi) dough, shredded 8 Tbsp Butter 8 Tbsp Ghee 1 tsp Red food colouring (optional) 1 lb Akawi cheese (soaked overnight to remove the excess salt; do a taste test to confirm correct saltiness) 1 lb Fresh mozzarella 4 Tbsp Ricotta cheese Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C. Melt butter and ghee, and add food colouring (optional). Add it to the shredded dough and mix. Layer 1/2 of this dough onto an edged baking pan. Mix the 3 cheeses together and add them in a uniform layer on top of the shredded dough in the pan. Layer the other half of the shredded dough evenly on top. Bake for 30 min. at 350F in the middle rack. It is best served when still warm (but not too hot). Enjoy with a simple syrup poured on top of individual portions.

Yes, this is the cheese that is traditionally used to make kinafa. However, when my mother did not have nabulsi cheese available, she would use mozzarella and even ricotta to make kinafa.

Yes, it does work with kunafe, however you can also use akawi cheese in kunafe--even a mixture of several cheeses too! Here is my akawi cheese recipe in case you haven't seen it... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NIChzKHC2fw.htmlsi=4t1Mrplu1X_bxIiB

The point of salting is to provide flavour, but mostly for long term storage of the cheese in jars at room temperature. In historic times, there was no refrigeration, so this cheese was stored in a heavily salted brine for months to prevent spoilage. Sheep would have their babies in the spring, and there would be lots of milk that had to be saved for future months in the form of cheese. Nabulsi cheese was a (delicious) way to store food for later.

Hello, sorry I just saw this message, I must have missed it before.. I don't really understand what this means: "

Good question. The answer is NO. Ultra heat treated milk doesn't work at all in cheesemaking. Don't even waste your time trying. If you do, you'll be disappointed.

HI Hania, It is a really good cheese that keeps for a very long time without any care, just make sure to soak the cheese in hot/boiling water, then change the water again, because otherwise it can be very salty. I hope you enjoy it!

@@GiveCheeseaChance shukran kteer, for some reason this cheese (even though it might not be the same that’s used in knafeh) has reminded me of knafeh since this is a Palestinian cheese and knafeh is Palestinian too

انت راءعة وجميلة في التقديم والوصف. شكرا جزيلا سؤالي. غالون واحد من الحليب كم حبة من الخميرة أضيف له ؟؟؟؟؟

@@hania4889 This cheese is definitely used in making kanafe however I have seen people also use mozzarella and even ricotta when Nabulsi cheese is not available.

@@najatkhalaf1499 Hi Najat, I had to use "Google translate" to understand your question because it was written in arabic which unfortunately I don't read. In the translation, your question is asking me how much "yeast" do I need, which is an ingredient not in the recipe. Are you able to ask your question in english so I can better understand?

Well, halloumi is delicious too!

@@GiveCheeseaChance but thanks for the recipe. its in my favorites list :)

I think you will be fine using non-homogenized milk for this Nabulsi recipe. I suspect you will get a better set/firmer curd after you add the rennet using non-homogenized milk. Let me know how it goes!

There is no substitution for the mastic nor the mahleb. They are unique flavourings. Sorry, vanilla won't cut it. Could you try to order them on-line, or find a local arabic or greek shop that sells them? That is where I get mine nowadays. Also, it is interesting that you want to add yogurt to add an acid taste, but I don't advise it. Nabulsi cheese does not use bacteria to create flavour (like feta does). You'd be inventing something totally different there.

@@GiveCheeseaChance I did order by internet, I dont want to lose this amazing recipe. Thanks for answer me and share this incredible knowledge. Btw, my asking about yoghurt comes from the similitude with feta in fact, I knew some feta starter or even a 1/4 tsp of yoghurt. But I am gonna try it exactly like the video to check te taste. Thanks again

@@michaelsmith2678 Right-o. Feta can be made with a yogurt culture. Nabulsi is more rubbery and squeaky than feta (which is more crumbly) but I understand how they can be compared. They are both stored in a brine, but the brine used in Nabulsi is so much more salty! You wouldn't be able to eat Nabulsi right out of the brine. It really is a preserved cheese meant for the long haul. Thanks for writing and let me know how it goes. Mary Anne

Stirring the curd for 40 minutes causes more whey (or liquid) to be removed from the curds, so that the final cheese is firmer.

Hello Nora, pasteurized and homogenized milk works perfectly well in this recipe (that is what I use in the video) but you could use a pasteurized and unhomogenized milk as well. So glad you will try the recipe. Good luck!

Thank you! I love your videos 😊

I've not done this before, so I can't talk from experience, but I have heard that other cheesemakers have had success using powdered milk.

In terms of taste, Nabulsi is not like feta. Feta is crumbly and lightly salty and can be eaten right out of the brine. Nabulsi is not crumbly, instead it is almost rubbery and squeaky when you bite into it. It cannot be eaten right out of the brine--it has to be desalted first. Nabulsi also has two flavourings (mahleb and mastica) added to it, so it has a different taste than feta. However, there is some overlap in the procedure like adding rennet, making a brine and pressing.

Hello Walid, my grandmother and mother used EITHER sheep OR goat milk to make Nabulsi cheese. Both worked very well. Yes, this is the cheese used to make kunafa!

@@GiveCheeseaChance In Jordan (most Jordanians are Palestinians), they used this cheese called "Mashmola" to make Kunafa. I actually got some Mashmola cheese from Jordan and made Kunafa, but it's missing something.

@@IADHDD I am wondering if it is missing the mahleb or mistaka?

Hello Rekha, thanks for your comment. I am happy that you are going to try this recipe. You do NOT need CaCl for this recipe, even if you use store bought milk. As you can see in the video, I am using store bought cows' milk, and there is no CaCl added, and the recipe works perfectly fine. In fact, my mother always used store bought milk as well, and the recipe worked for our family for years. Regarding your second question, honestly, I have never tried this recipe with raw milk but I would love to know if it works for you, if you ever try it. I suggest the first time you try this recipe, you make it with pasteurized milk though--just don't use shelf-stable, ultra-pasteurized milk (the kind that is stored at room temperature). I hope this has helped! Mary Anne

@@GiveCheeseaChance Thank you so much Mary-Ann for your quick reply. I will surely follow your advice of making it from store bought milk for the first time 🤗

@@rekhaasnani7068 Excellent. I am excited for you. I think you will like the result. Good luck! :-)

I like my Nabulsi without the back seeds because I often put it into Kinafe desserts.

However, I totally understand why people like it with the seeds too!

Absolutely, yes!

Hi! Great questions. 1) Yes, I have only ever used store bought cheese for this recipe, not raw milk. 2) I am not familiar with using the whey to make the brine. It is not what I was taught, but it actually sounds like a very good idea! Is that what you do? If so, tell me the details. I'm very interested.

@@GiveCheeseaChance yes usually keep the whey add the cup of salt to the whey I got after I strain the curd boil it for 10 minutes and let it cool down in the fridge until cheese in done then use to preserve the cheese. I never used rennet before usually I add white vinegar to get the curd. I will try to get rennet to try it as you did to make nabulsi cheese. Thank you 💕 for

@@01ZENZEN You are totally welcome! Thanks for the info about using whey. Great idea! Yes, I think using vinegar works too to set the curd. I used the vinegar method of acidifying the cheese in the "I Gotta Ricotta" video (Episode 1), so if anyone else is reading this comment, they can see how it is done there. :-)

Hi again, I just saw that you had another question. YES, I used WHOLE milk (3% fat) to make this cheese, although I think 2% could work as well, you just wouldn't get as much yield.

@@GiveCheeseaChance usually I buy passtrized whole milk from store for anything to make sweet or yogurt or any 5g fat

Hi Ce Ha.You asked some good questions. I don't know why the mahleb and mastika are put in the brine and not the milk. I guess you could, but I have never done that. Yes, this cheese is perfect for kunafe. You can use liquid rennet, for sure, but I would not use vinegar as a replacement in this case. It would change the acidity of the milk, and you don't want that.

@@GiveCheeseaChance Thank you very much for the quick response. I will try it in the next days. Did you ever try it with fresh sheep milk? I try to find a farm here where I live. Till now I could just find bio supermarkets that sell half a liter for 3,50 eur. I do not know if it worth the price. Again. Thank you very much! Great channel. ❤✌

@@ceha9517 Hello again. :-) I have tried the recipe with 50/50 sheep and goat's milk but never with pure sheep's milk. Sheep milk behaves differently by itself--it might be too creamy/soft. May I suggest that your first attempt with this recipe should be strictly adhering to it, and then your subsequent attempts, you could do substitutions? As-is, this recipe is rock-solid. I prefer you have success at the beginning before changing things. My two cents...

@@GiveCheeseaChance you are absolutely. I should succeed first and then go from there with a variation. Have a beautiful day! And thank you again! ❤😘

There's not much difference between the two (other than the city of origin), but I have to admit I am not as familiar with akawi cheese to give a full description. Here's what I can tell you about rennet strength: a 1/4 rennet tablet is equivalent to a 1/4 tsp of SINGLE STRENGTH liquid rennet.

@@GiveCheeseaChance thank you so much Mary Anne. We just had the cheese today after soaking in brine for a couple of days and the flavour is amazing. And thank you for replying back to me. I hope you'll be able to post more videos of Middle Eastern cheeses ❤️ Thanks. Laila

@@lailatellawi2556 I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the cheese! Now you have the ability to do it for years to come! All the best, Mary Anne

Hi Omar, I recommend you use pasteurized milk-as I also do in the video.

Hello Jawad, I use rennet for most cheese recipes but for some very simple recipes I use citric acid or lemon juice. But these two ingredients are not as reliable as proper rennet. To make fresh mozzarella (the quick version) I use CITRIC ACID so it may work instead of rennet but you'd have to fiddle with it to get it right. There is such a thing as vegetarian rennet. Is that OK for you? And you asked about what cheese I use for Kunafa... I think Nabulsi cheese is great, but I have also seem it done with ricotta and mozzarella, or a combination of the two.

@@GiveCheeseaChance yes! Would love to know about vegetable rennet. In addition, please make a video on haloumi cheese.

@@jawadbaig3046 OK, I will make a halloumi video in the future one day. Here is a link to vegetarian rennet. glengarrycheesemaking.us/products/rennet-tablets-vegetarian

Hello WamdaAli. I am using cows' milk in this video and the recipe works great, as you can see. But the recipe also works great with goats' milk. I have never tried this with sheeps' milk though.

@Sinan Abu-Aisheh You can use less rennet if you are using raw milk.

In the decades that I have made Nabulsi cheese, I have never added calcium to the brine. Never needed to. Not once. I have never had or made slimy Nabulsi cheese. Have you?

That's a good suggestion! Thanks!

Yes, definitely! This is the cheese traditionally used to make kunafa (kinafe) dessert but I have also seen people use ricotta and mozzarella instead, when they don't have access to Nabulsi cheese.

@@GiveCheeseaChance do you know what is the difference from akkawi cheese? Thank you

@@metehanoksas I have never made akawi. Sorry!

Hello Yuval. Homogenized milk and UHT milk are not the same thing. Homogenized milk is milk where the milk fats have been reduced into such small particles that they are spread evenly throughout the milk (so that the fat does not rise to the surface of the milk). UHT milk is milk that has been treated to such a high temperature that it becomes not suitable for making cheese (but it lasts much longer on grocery store shelves).

@@GiveCheeseaChance thanks! :) so in that case, can i use non homogenised milk? The cows milk here is fresh and non homogenised. Is that a problem in making this cheese?

@@yshemtov7719994 Yes! Use non-homogenized milk for the best results with all cheesemaking projects!

Great :) thank you! Will start the process today. If i have whole mahleb, would you suggest making it into a powder or only hitting once as you did with the mastika?

@@yshemtov7719994 Just lightly crush them with a mortar and pestle. You don't want to pulverize them, just crack them a bit.

That will be in the future, I promise (but maybe 2024). 🙂