Akkawi
Akkawi cheese is a white brine cheese named after the Palestinian city of Akka.
Etymology
Akkawi cheese is named after the port city of Akka. Akkawi in Arabic means "from Akka".History
Muslim scholar Ahmed Aref El-Zein's 1913 book The History of Sidon contained a list of imported goods into Sidon, Lebanon from 1907, the list contains mentions of 1200 containers of "Akkawi cheese" being imported from the cities of Haifa and Akka.Production and storage
Akkawi is commonly made with pasteurized cow's milk, but can also be made with goat or sheepmilk. This cheese is largely produced in the Middle East, notably in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Cyprus. In these regions, people usually eat it with a soft flatbread during lunch and dinner. Akkawi is hand-packed into square draining hoops and then cured in a salted whey brine for two days.Akkawi is produced by heating milk to 35-40 Celsius, adding rennet, then leaving it to curdle for around an hour, after which the whey is squeezed out through a cheesecloth to drain the cheese.
Texture and taste
The color is white and it has a smooth texture and a mild salty taste. It is commonly used as a table cheese eaten by itself or paired with fruit.The texture can be compared to mozzarella, feta or a mizithra, since it does not melt easily. Akkawi can be stored up to a year. The texture and flavor is a result of its specific culturing from its curds that are kept together for a prolonged period longer than simpler tasting curd cheese such as Syrian cheese when akkawi is transformed into cheese.