Domiati cheese, a salty white cheese made from cow or buffalo milk and pickled with salt, has been produced in the Egyptian city of Damietta for over 2,300 years. It is known by various names and can be made with different levels of salt and types of milk.
Directly across the Mediterranean Sea from the birthplace of feta cheese, Greece is the historic Egyptian coastal city of Damietta. Centuries ago, another salty white cheese was born here, known by another spelling of the name of its hometown, Domiati. Using milk mostly from cows or buffaloes, this popular Egyptian cheese is salted and lightly pickled with added salt even before dairy cultures are added.
The city of Domiati holds the main naming rights for the country’s prized white cheese, but other names are also commonly used. Some call it gebnah baida or “white cheese”. Gebnah tariyah is another popular name, which means “soft cheese”. Its use is widespread, not only throughout Egypt but throughout the Arab nations of the Middle East.
The production process of Domiati cheese is at least 2,300 years old. Salt is added to pasteurized cow or buffalo milk in precise measurements according to the desired sharpness, between 5% and 14% by volume. After saturated with salt to about 175°F (about 80°C), this batch of heated, salted milk is mixed into two parts unsalted milk. Only then does the cook add the bacterial starter, which is a different combination of bacterial agents that act at warm temperatures to form the final cheese product.
The coagulated Domiati cheese that begins to form at the top of the salted milk is then collected in molds lined with cheese cloth. Once a mold is filled, the cloth is completely wrapped around the cheese, which is placed in a vise-like press for an extended period of drainage and drying at a high ambient temperature of about 100°F (about 38°C). Sometimes, the molds will be square or rectangular; other times, they’ll be in a circle or oval shape.
Various types of Domiati cheese are made by altering the type of milk or the amount of salt. Whole, half, and quarter cream cheese are made using 8%, 4%, or 2% milk, respectively. The amount of salt added could also vary based on the season in which it is added. In summer, up to 14% salt could be added to milk by volume. In the winter, as little as 5% salt might be adequate. In the fall and spring, somewhere in between around seven percent salt is the norm. Another unrefrigerated Egyptian white cheese adds even less salt and has longer drying times.
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