Künefe
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| Alternative names | kunafeh, kunafah |
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| Type | Dessert |
| Place of origin | Turkey, Ottoman Empire |
| Region or state | Countries of the former Ottoman Empire, Levant, Middle East and Caucasus |
| Main ingredients | Sugar, cheese, pistachio, rose water, kaymak |
| Variations | Multiple |
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Kanafah (Arabic: كنافة kunāfah), also spelled kunafeh or kunafah is a Middle Eastern cheese pastry soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup. It is a specialty of the Levant and Turkey.
The Arabic word kunāfah (Arabic: كنافة) is derived from the Arabic verb Arabic: كَنَف, translit. Kanaf, meaning to shelter.
Kanafeh pastry comes in three types:
The pastry is heated in butter, margarine, palm oil, or traditionally semneh and then spread with soft white cheese, such as Nabulsi cheese, and topped with more pastry. In khishnah kanafeh the cheese is rolled in the pastry. A thick syrup of sugar, water, and a few drops of rose water or orange blossom water is poured on the pastry during the final minutes of cooking. Often the top layer of pastry is tinted with red food coloring (a modern shortcut, instead of baking it for long periods of time). Crushed pistachios are sprinkled on top as a garnish.
Kanafeh was first mentioned in the 10th century.
It is generally believed to have originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus, hence the name Nabulsieh. Nablus is still renowned for its kanafeh, which consists of mild white cheese and shredded wheat surface, which is covered by sugar syrup. In the Levant, this variant of kanafeh is the most common. The largest plate of kanafeh was made in Nablus in an attempt to win a Palestinian citation in the Guinness World Records. It measured 75×2 meters and weighed 1,350 kilograms.
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Wikipedia