Goat cheese aged inside a goatskin, dense and strongly flavoured. It is made in the high villages above the Qadisha valley, where the skin acts as both the mould and the ripening chamber.
The vessel is a cured animal skin, which is the method rather than the packaging — it regulates moisture and excludes air in a way nothing else reproduces — and it is raw-milk cheese ripened for months without refrigeration.
What goes into it
- raw goat’s milk
- rennet
- salt
- a cured goatskin
How it is made
Raw goat’s milk is set with rennet, the curd drained and salted, and then packed tight into a cured goatskin with the hair turned inward. The skin is sealed and hung in a cool cellar for months. It lets moisture out slowly while keeping air off the paste, and the cheese comes out dense, oily and very sharp.
How long it takes: three to six months in the skin
How it is eaten
Crumbled with bread and oil, or with arak as meze.
History
Made in the high villages above the Qadisha valley, the skin acting as both mould and ripening chamber.
Frequently asked questions
What is Darfiyeh?
Darfiyeh is a cheese & dairy from Lebanon: goat cheese aged inside a goatskin, dense and strongly flavoured. Made in the high villages above the Qadisha valley, the skin acting as both mould and ripening chamber.
How is Darfiyeh made?
Raw goat’s milk is set with rennet, the curd drained and salted, and then packed tight into a cured goatskin with the hair turned inward. The skin is sealed and hung in a cool cellar for months. It lets moisture out slowly while keeping air off the paste, and the cheese comes out dense, oily and very sharp. It takes three to six months in the skin.
Can I make Darfiyeh at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The vessel is a cured animal skin, which is the method rather than the packaging — it regulates moisture and excludes air in a way nothing else reproduces — and it is raw-milk cheese ripened for months without refrigeration.
What goes into Darfiyeh?
Raw goat’s milk, rennet, salt, a cured goatskin.
How is Darfiyeh eaten?
Crumbled with bread and oil, or with arak as meze.
