Arabic & Levantine Pantry Guide
Majdoula Cheese (Braided Cheese): Levantine String Cheese with Nigella Seeds
Majdoula (known in Arabic as jibnet majdoula, related to fine-stranded mshallaleh) is a traditional Syrian and Lebanese stretched-curd white cheese pulled into ribbons and braided by hand. Cured in brine with black nigella seeds and aromatic mahlab, it is prized for its springy, pull-apart texture.
Hand-Pulled and Braided: Levantine Cheesemaking Craft
Originating in northern Syria (especially Aleppo and Hama) and the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, majdoula is a pasta filata white cheese: fresh curds are heated in hot whey, kneaded and stretched repeatedly until they form glossy, fibrous strands. When spun into delicate, hair-thin loops, the cheese is called mshallaleh (or jibneh shallal); when plaited into a sturdy three-strand braid, it becomes majdoula. Both are steeped in brine with black seed (habbet el-baraka) and wild cherry kernel spice (mahlab).
How to Desalt and Serve Majdoula for Breakfast
Because majdoula is preserved in salty brine, a quick soak transforms it before serving: unplait the braid, peel the cheese along its natural grain into tender strips, and soak them in a bowl of cold tap water for fifteen to thirty minutes until mildly salted to your liking. Drain well, pile onto a plate and drizzle generously with extra-virgin olive oil alongside warm flatbread, ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and sweet black tea.
In Salads, Savoury Pastries and Melted Dishes
Beyond the breakfast mezze spread, shredded majdoula adds chewy texture to Levantine chopped tomato, cucumber and mint salads dressed with olive oil. Thanks to its stretched-curd structure, it also melts into stretchy ribbons when tucked inside baked fatayer, flaky filo börek, sambousek or hot manakish flatbreads.