⚪ Jameed

Jameed is a dried, salted fermented milk product from Jordan and neighbouring countries: hard balls of strained yoghurt. It is made in Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Iraq; most Jordanian families still shape jameed by hand using old recipes, and it has a long history in Bedouin culture. ¹²

Traditionally, sheep's or goat's milk ferments by itself, without a starter, and the yoghurt is strained, salted, shaped into balls and dried in the sun. ICARDA researchers note that the milk is usually not heated enough ⁵.

Two studies of market samples in Jordan gave close but different figures. In 90 samples, total solids were 77.6%, salt 11.7% and pH 3.7 ⁵. In 80 samples, total solids were 84.57% and salt 15.68%, with composition varying widely between producers ². Antibiotic residues were found in about half the samples in both studies, because farmers treat mastitis without observing the withdrawal period ²⁵. Brucella, chlamydia and Q fever were not detected in the product ⁵.

ICARDA tested another method: pasteurised milk and a suitable starter. Three batches had 53% less salt than traditional jameed ⁵.

The signature dish made with jameed is mansaf: lamb cooked in a sauce of soaked jameed and served on rice. In 2022, UNESCO inscribed Al-Mansaf in Jordan, as a festive banquet, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Similar products are known under various names from the Middle East and Turkey to Central Asia, China and Mongolia, and for small Jordanian processors jameed provides up to 20% of their income. ²³⁴

Jameed or yoghurt? Jameed starts as yoghurt, but it is strained, salted, shaped into hard balls and dried in the sun, so it has little moisture, high acidity and a lot of salt, and keeps for years at room temperature. Jameed or kashk and kurt? They are relatives, all dried soured milk, but jameed is Levantine and is the base of mansaf, kurt is Central Asian and kashk is Iranian. Traditionally the milk ferments by itself without a starter; ICARDA tested pasteurised milk with a starter and got 53% less salt.

Dry jameed is sold as hard, pale balls or lumps and is usually labelled «jameed» with milk and salt as the only ingredients. It is soaked and ground with water before use, and it is meant as a seasoning rather than a snack. Choose jameed from trusted producers. You will find it in Middle Eastern and Arab grocers and in some delicatessens and online shops, rarely in an ordinary supermarket.

Why it matters to you. Buy jameed from trusted producers, treat it as a seasoning and do not add extra salt to the dish ²⁵. Dry jameed is soaked and ground with water before use.