Middle Eastern Cheeses: Akawi, Nabulsi, Labneh, Halloumi

Most are eaten young at breakfast or on a meze spread, and a few go into dessert.

The pattern is simple: salt does the preserving, and heat or soaking changes how the cheese behaves. That is why one white block can be a breakfast slice, a fried snack or the filling of a syrup-soaked pastry, depending on what you do to it first, and why the package label alone says little about how to use it. This guide covers each cheese, links the full page where one exists, and says what to buy in the US.

Middle Eastern cheeses at a glance

This table of Middle Eastern cheeses gives milk, character and use, consistent with the individual pages.

Akawi and nabulsi, the brined white cheeses

Akawi and nabulsi are the two brined white cheeses behind most Levantine breakfasts and desserts. Akawi is mild and semi-firm, usually cow's milk, named for the city of Acre. Nabulsi comes from Nablus and is boiled in brine, which makes it firmer and springier, and it is traditionally flavored with mahleb, mastic and nigella seeds.

Both come out of the package very salty. Cover slices with cold water and refrigerate overnight, changing the water if you can, before you cook with them. The individual pages give the details and the safety notes on pasteurized cheese.

Jibneh arabieh, the mild white cheese

Jibneh arabieh is a soft white cheese found across the Middle East and especially popular around the Persian Gulf. The heritage started with Bedouins using goat or sheep milk, but current practice uses cow's milk. It is a brined white cheese with a mild taste like feta but less salty, used as a table cheese and in cooking, including pastries such as knafeh. It has no page of its own here.

Labneh, the strained yogurt cheese

Labneh is the strained yogurt cheese of the region: yogurt that has been strained to remove its whey, and most popular as a breakfast food. The labneh page has the numbers, and the make-labneh guide has a home method. Serve it with olive oil and za'atar and flatbread. Rolled in balls and kept in oil, it lasts for months.

Halloumi, the cheese that grills

Halloumi is the grilling cheese of the region, and it comes from Cyprus, which has its own country page. Halloumi curd is cooked in hot whey above 194°F (90°C), so it browns instead of melting, and the name has been an EU PDO since 2021.

Cut slices about half an inch thick, pat them dry and cook in a dry nonstick pan until golden on each side. It is salty enough that it needs no more salt.

Shanklish, the aged and spiced cheese

Shanklish is the aged cheese of the Levant, made from cow's or sheep's milk, formed into balls about 2.4 inches (6 cm) across and often covered in za'atar and Aleppo pepper. It is made by curdling yogurt, straining it and fermenting it, then aging and drying. Fresh shanklish is soft and mild, and longer aging makes it harder and extremely pungent. It is traditionally eaten with chopped tomato, onion and olive oil, and it is easy to miss outside Syrian and Lebanese shops.

Cheese in knafeh and other Middle Eastern desserts

Cheese in knafeh is the dessert use that surprises newcomers. Knafeh Nabulseyeh is filled with the firm, white, salty nabulsi cheese and covered with a sweet syrup called qatir, and desalted white cheese is layered over the dough. In Hatay, Turkey, the pastry called künefe uses a mozzarella-like local cheese instead.

If you can't find nabulsi, low-moisture mozzarella works as a stand-in, soaked and drained as needed. Taste a small piece before you cook, because brined cheeses vary a lot in saltiness from one brand to the next, and soak again if needed.

What most Middle Eastern cheese advice gets wrong

Middle Eastern cheese advice often gets wrong the idea that all the white cheeses are interchangeable. Akawi, nabulsi and jibneh share a look, but nabulsi is boiled and spiced, akawi is plain, and jibneh is milder in salt. The other miss is salt: the cheese from the tub is made for storage, not for eating straight, so soak it before knafeh and taste before you salt a dish.

Questions about Middle Eastern cheeses

These questions about Middle Eastern cheeses cover the usual confusions.

What is the most famous Middle Eastern cheese?

The most famous Middle Eastern cheese worldwide is halloumi, from Cyprus, a grilling cheese that browns without melting.

What cheese is used in knafeh?

The cheese used in knafeh is traditionally nabulsi, soaked to remove salt, with akawi and other white cheeses as alternatives.

What is the difference between akawi and nabulsi?

The difference between akawi and nabulsi is mainly the method: nabulsi is boiled and flavored with mahleb, mastic and nigella, while akawi is plain.

Is labneh a cheese?

Labneh is a cheese made by straining salted yogurt until it is spreadable.

Where are Middle Eastern cheeses sold in the US?

Middle Eastern cheeses are sold at Middle Eastern, Arab and Mediterranean grocers, and halloumi is common in regular supermarkets.

Buying Middle Eastern cheeses

Buying Middle Eastern cheeses is easiest with a short list: halloumi from any supermarket, labneh in a tub, and akawi or nabulsi in brine from an Arab grocer. Choose pasteurized, keep brined cheese in its brine, and refrigerate it. The next step is a breakfast of labneh, olives and flatbread, then halloumi for lunch.