Rumi cheese ( arz, جبنه رومى ' , also known as ' in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
) is one of the main types of
cheese in Egypt. It has a pungent smell, and different degrees of saltiness depending on the age.
Description
Rumi is thought to be derived from the Greek
kefalotyri
Kefalotyri or kefalotiri ( el, κεφαλοτύρι, tr, talar peyniri) is a hard, salty white cheese made from sheep milk or goat's milk (or both) in Greece and Cyprus. A similar cheese Kefalograviera, also made from sheep or goat milk (or bot ...
cheese. It is the main hard cheese in Egypt.
It belongs to the same family as ''
Pecorino Romano
Pecorino Romano () is a hard, salty Italian cheese, often used for grating, made with sheep's milk. The name "pecorino" simply means "ovine" or "of sheep" in Italian; the name of the cheese, although protected, is a simple description rather t ...
'' and ''
Manchego
Manchego (officially es, queso manchego, ) is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. It is aged between 60 days and 2 years.
Manchego has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery tex ...
''.
Rumi cheese is made from cows' milk, or from a mixture of cow and
buffalo milk
The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...
. No starter culture is used.
The milk is natural, with full cream.
Peppercorn
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diamet ...
s may be added.
After 3–4 months the cheese develops an open texture and a sharp, pungent flavor.
Rumi is available in disks or as slices with variable weight in vacuum packing.
There are 100
calories
The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of o ...
in an
ounce
The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement.
The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...
serving, with about 28%
saturated fat.
Related products
The addition of low levels of PGE or lipases from ''R. miehei'' or ''R. pusillus'' has been reported to improve the flavor of ''Ras'' and ''Domiati'' cheeses.
In 1985 an experimental Ras cheese was made using equal amounts of cow and buffalo milk, with the addition or 20% to 30% of soy milk. The fat content was lower than natural cheese, and the flavor was affected slightly, but the result was said to have "satisfactory sensory properties."
Although the fermented cheese ''
mish
Mish ( arz, مش ) is a traditional Egyptian cheese that is made by fermenting salty cheese for several months or years.
Mish may be similar to cheese that has been found in the tomb of the First Dynasty Pharaoh Hor-Aha at Saqqara, from 3200 BC ...
'' is traditionally made from
Areesh cheese
Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...
, commercial products similar to ''mish'' may be made from ''ras'' and ''
domiati
Domiati cheese, also referred to as white cheese ( arz, جبنة بيضا ' ), is a soft white salty cheese made primarily in Egypt, but also in Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries. Typically made from buffalo milk, cow milk, or a m ...
'' cheeses.
See also
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Egyptian cuisine
Egyptian cuisine makes heavy use of poultry, legumes, vegetables and fruit from Egypt's rich Nile Valley and Delta.
Examples of Egyptian dishes include rice-stuffed vegetables and grape leaves, hummus, falafel, shawarma, kebab and kofta ...
*
Areesh cheese
Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...
*
Domiati
Domiati cheese, also referred to as white cheese ( arz, جبنة بيضا ' ), is a soft white salty cheese made primarily in Egypt, but also in Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries. Typically made from buffalo milk, cow milk, or a m ...
*
List of cheeses
This is a list of cheeses by place of origin. Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors dep ...
Notes
References
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{{Cheese
Egyptian cheeses