Jameed

Jameed

White Jameed in a shop front
Place of origin	Jordanian cuisine
Main ingredients	laban

Jameed (Arabic: جميد, literally "hardened") is a Jordanian food consisting of hard dry laban made from ewe or goat's milk.Milk is kept in a fine woven cheesecloth to make a thick yogurt. Salt is added daily to thicken the yogurt even more and the outside of the yogurt-filled cheesecloth is rinsed with water to allow any remaining whey to seep through. After a few days of salting the yogurt, it becomes very dense and it can be removed from the cheesecloth and shaped into round balls. It is then set to dry for a few days. If it is dried in the sun it becomes yellow; if it is dried in the shade it remains white. It is important that the jameed is dry to the core because any dampness can spoil the preservation process. It is also often referred to as "rock cheese".

Traditionally, Bedouins supplied Jordanian markets with jameed and other sheep and goat dairy products. Jameed is used in Jordanian dishes such as fatta, mahashi and mansaf, the latter also being the national dish of Jordan.Karak, Jordan is famous for its high-quality jameed. It is used in other Jordanian dishes such as Kousa Mahshi, Kubbeh blabaniyyeh, Mjalaleh, Rashouf, Madgoga and er-Rgage.

The old-style traditional way used to be done at end of spring and early summer time, when the production of sheep milk is over the needs of farmers. The first step was shaking the yogurt (which originally made from sheep milk) in a leather bag made from sheep or goat leather to separate butter. The left over liquid part after separation called butter milk. The liquid condensed by boiling for long time, till most of water evaporate. The left over material, similar to Labaneh (thick yogurt) can then be salted (a quite high percentage) and shaped in balls, then sun-dried. The new dried balls called Jameed, can be preserved for months in sealed boxes at the room temperature as it is salty and very low in moisture. However, nowadays customers consume Jameed because of its flavor or as it becomes a basic component of many meals in Jordan and the surrounding area.