There are a few variations of how to make this particular kind of cheese. I’m sure the cheese we have available to us in the U.S. isn’t quite the same as it is back home. We opted to use a panela cheese instead. Basically, you take a few wheels of the panela cheese and place them in boiling water with a small muslin bag filled with both gum arabic and mahlab (a fragrant spice made from the seed of the St Lucie Cherry). I know that once the cheese is boiled some choose to store in jars with additional spice and more of the gum arabic and mahlab. It is reboiled before serving. A couple of my aunts just freeze individual wheels in plastic and reboil when they feel like eating it. Either way – this cheese tastes incredible and is so good with fresh baked bread, olives, zaatar, and cucumber.
Zayt and Zaatar 