Egypt’s everyday soft white brined cheese, eaten at breakfast with ful and bread. It is named for the Delta port of Damietta, and it is made in an unusual way: the salt goes into the milk before the rennet, which is what lets it keep for months in its own brine.
Salting the milk before renneting is a dairy technique that depends on a measured salt concentration to work at all, and the months-long ripening happens in a controlled brine store.
What goes into it
- cow’s or buffalo milk
- salt, added to the milk
- rennet
How it is made
A large quantity of salt is dissolved into the milk before renneting — up to a sixth of its weight — which changes how the curd sets and slows every microbe in it. The salted milk is then set, the curd drained and pressed into blocks, and the blocks stored submerged in their own salted whey, where they ripen slowly for months.
How long it takes: eaten fresh, or ripened three to eight months in brine
How it is eaten
With ful medames and baladi bread at breakfast, in fatayer, or in a salad with tomato.
History
Named for the Delta port of Damietta; unusually the salt goes into the milk before renneting, which lets the cheese keep for months in its brine.
Frequently asked questions
What is Domiati cheese?
Domiati cheese is a cheese & dairy from Egypt: soft white brined cheese, Egypt’s everyday breakfast cheese with ful and bread. Named for the Delta port of Damietta; unusually the salt goes into the milk before renneting, which lets the cheese keep for months in its brine.
How is Domiati cheese made?
A large quantity of salt is dissolved into the milk before renneting — up to a sixth of its weight — which changes how the curd sets and slows every microbe in it. The salted milk is then set, the curd drained and pressed into blocks, and the blocks stored submerged in their own salted whey, where they ripen slowly for months. It takes eaten fresh, or ripened three to eight months in brine.
Can I make Domiati cheese at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Salting the milk before renneting is a dairy technique that depends on a measured salt concentration to work at all, and the months-long ripening happens in a controlled brine store.
What goes into Domiati cheese?
Cow’s or buffalo milk, salt, added to the milk, rennet.
How is Domiati cheese eaten?
With ful medames and baladi bread at breakfast, in fatayer, or in a salad with tomato.
