Knafeh

What makes it knafeh

• A mild, stretchy white cheese — nabulsi or akkawi, desalted.
• Kataifi strands or a fine semolina crust, cooked in ghee.
• Hot sugar syrup, often scented with orange blossom or rose water.

Where it comes from

Nablus, in Palestine, is the town most tied to knafeh, and its version — knafeh nabulsieh, made with the local white cheese soaked to take out the salt — is the one others are measured by. It's baked in great round trays and cut to order, stretching in strings as it's lifted.

In Beirut it's often eaten for breakfast, stuffed into a sesame bread with syrup poured over.

How it varies

Khishneh

'Rough' — with shredded kataifi.

Na'meh

'Fine' — with a smooth semolina crust.