Misplaced Pages

Shanklish

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Traditional Levantine cheese
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (July 2021) Click for important translation instructions.
  • Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages.
  • Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
  • You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution.
  • You may also add the template {{Translated|es|Shanklish}} to the talk page.
  • For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation.
Shanklish
RegionSyria, Lebanon, Turkey, and the Middle East
Source of milkCow or sheep
Related media on Commons

Shanklish (Arabic: شنكليش shanklīsh or شنغليش shanghlīsh), also known as chancliche, shinklish, shankleesh, sorke, sürke, or eddesh, is a type of cow or sheep milk cheese in Levantine cuisine.

Shanklish is made by curdling yogurt, straining it, and fermenting it. It is typically formed into balls of approximately 6 cm diameter, often covered in za'atar and Aleppo pepper, and then aged and dried.

The most common spice is thyme, which gives the cheese an appearance somewhat resembling a rum ball. Shanklish is also sold in much smaller balls or in an unformed state.

In Egypt, shanklish is made by fermenting Areesh cheese, usually called mesh.

Shanklish varies greatly in its texture and flavour. Fresh cheeses have a soft texture and mild flavour; those dried and aged for a longer period become progressively harder and can acquire an extremely pungent odour and flavour. To make spicier cheeses, spices such as aniseed and chilli can be mixed in before the cheese is formed into balls. Spicy shanklish are often covered in chilli, especially in Syria, thus appear red. Shanklish from the Syrian coastal plain around Tartus and the adjoining northern Lebanese region of Akkar are considered particularly delectable; these tend to be hard, with a clean strong flavour and near-white colour.

Shanklish is generally eaten with finely-chopped tomato, onion and olive oil in a dish called Shʿifurah; and often accompanied by araq. It is a common meze dish. Shanklish is also mashed up with eggs or in a pita with cucumbers, mint leaves and olive oil for breakfast.

References

  1. ^ Esen, Yusuf; Çetin, Bülent (2021). "Bacterial and yeast microbial diversity of the ripened traditional middle east surk cheese". International Dairy Journal. 117: 105004. doi:10.1016/j.idairyj.2021.105004. ISSN 0958-6946. Surk is a cheese produced by the addition of certain spices to the skim-milk cheese and it is known especially in the East Mediterranean region of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and the Middle East. Surk is also named as shanklish, shinklish, shankleesh, sorke, or sürke.
  2. This Isolated Syrian Community Straddling the Israeli-Lebanese Border Is a Culinary Gem, Haaretz
  3. Helou 1998, p. 18.
  • Helou, Anissa (1998). Lebanese Cuisine. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0312187351.
Turkish cheeses


Stub icon

This cheese-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Stub icon

This Arab cuisine–related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: