Jameed

Origins and story

Jameed developed among the herding communities of Jordan and nearby regions as a way to preserve milk. In spring, when sheep and goats give plenty of milk, there was far more than a family could use fresh. By turning the milk into yoghurt, removing the butter, and then straining, salting and drying what remained, families created a food that could be stored for a long time and carried easily. The name comes from an Arabic word meaning 'hardened' or 'solid'. Today jameed is a symbol of Jordanian food heritage.

How it is made

Traditionally, jameed is made from sheep's milk or goat's milk, although cow's milk is also used today. The milk is turned into yoghurt and churned to separate the butter, which is often used to make samn, a clarified butter. The remaining liquid, a kind of buttermilk, is heated and then poured into cloth bags and hung to strain until it becomes thick.

Salt is kneaded into the thick yoghurt, which is then shaped by hand into balls or rounded cones, often with the marks of the maker's fingers still visible. These are laid out to dry in the sun and open air for several days until they become hard and white or pale cream in colour. Well-made jameed has a strong, sour and salty flavour and can be stored for many months.

How it is used

Before cooking, jameed must be softened. Traditionally, the balls are broken into pieces and soaked in warm water, then rubbed or pounded by hand until they dissolve into a thick liquid. Today many cooks use a blender, and liquid jameed sold in packages is also common. This liquid is cooked slowly with lamb to make the sauce for mansaf. Jameed is also used in other dishes, such as rashouf, a hearty soup of lentils or grains. Some people enjoy small pieces of hard jameed as a salty snack.

Regional variations and where to find it in Jordan

Many regions of Jordan make jameed, but the Karak area in the south is especially famous for it, and jameed from Karak is often considered among the finest. Its taste varies with the type of milk, the amount of salt and how it is dried, so families often buy from producers they trust. You can find jameed in markets, dairy shops and grocery stores across the country, especially in Karak, Madaba, Salt and the old markets of Amman. It makes a meaningful gift for those who love Jordanian cooking.

Related dishes

Jameed is inseparable from mansaf, in which lamb is cooked in a jameed sauce and served over rice and shrak bread. The butter separated while making jameed becomes samn, which gives mansaf rice its rich flavour. If you enjoy the tangy taste of yoghurt in cooking, try kubbeh in yoghurt sauce or fatteh with its garlicky yoghurt topping. Each of them shows how central yoghurt is to Jordanian cooking.

Frequently asked questions