Tresse cheese Tresse cheese Tresse Cheese, also known by its Arabic name "Jibneh Mshallaleh" is a form of string cheese originating in Syria. It can be eaten plain, or mixed with pastries. The cheese is properly mixed with Mahleb, which is often mixed with nigella sativa (black cumin), anise or caraway seeds. It is commonly soaked in brine for several weeks before being braided. Described as a "fine white semi-soft smooth and springy cheese...similar to mozzerella" with a "nutty" aroma it is traditionally made from cow's milk, but variations are found with sheep or goat milk. It can be used as a
Egyptian cheese or close to it; there was an old dry cheese; and there was a medium one in between." The first would have been unripened cheese made locally from sour milk, which may or may not have been salted. The old dry cheeses would have often been imported, and were cheeses ripened by rennet enzymes or bacteria. The nature of the "medium" cheese is less certain, and may have referred to preserved fresh cheeses, evaporated milk or cheese similar to Indian paneer, where the addition of vegetable juices makes the milk coagulate. Medieval Egyptian cheese mostly used buffalo or cows' milk,