Just say ‘cheese’ [Archives:2002/42/Last Page]
October 14 2002
BY FAROUK MOQBILL
FOR THE YEMEN TIMES
One of the best presents you may bring with you from Taiz is the domestic cheese, “al-Jubn al-Baladi”.
It is a round chunk of cheese made basically of the natural milk of cows and goats.
It gives good nourishment due to the ingredients used in its preparation.
It widely sold in a special market in Bab al-Kabeer of Taiz.
The city of Taiz is very famous for producing this kind of cheese.
Whenever you visit a friend in Sana’a or other parts outside Taiz, the best present to give is one or two chunks of round domestic cheese.
In Shaneeni’s popular market, all kinds of domestic cheese varies in price from YR 300 to YR 1,000, and even more for each piece, depending on the quality of the cheese and how long it may last.
This kind of cheese is made by hand and without any chemical preservation. Its best kind keeps for a month or more if untouched.
The cheese is the main resource for revenue for many Taiz families.
Abdulgabbar Ghaleb, a cheese maker, told us about the cheese preparations.”First, the milk is put in special round containers and then a special material extracted from intestines of a little goat. This material helps the milk to be a solid material, and then it is dried and put on a fire in order to get light brown color.”
Cheese preparation
There are two different kinds of domestic cheese. The first one is salty and eaten when mixed with tomatoes, garlic, parsley, and green peppers.
The second is more expensive than the first. It has not too much salt added and therefore is preferable to be eaten as is, or mixed with some sweets.
The different names of the domestic cheese are different from one area to another. The name can be applied to the area where the domestic cheese is prepared. Among these name are the following:
Qamari, Aowshaki, Orfi, and Owbal.
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