Jibneh
The Arabic word for cheese, used across the Levant and Egypt, as in jibneh baida, white cheese.
Also: جبنة, jibna, gibna, jibne
Jibneh, also written jibna or gibna in Egypt, is the everyday Arabic word for cheese. Most Arab cheeses are white and brined, and jibneh baida, white cheese, covers akkawi, nabulsi, domiati and many local cheeses kept in salt water or whey. Jibneh khadra is green, or fresh, cheese; jibneh mashallaleh, braided cheese, is a pasta filata string cheese close to chechil, flavoured with nigella seeds. Cheese is part of every breakfast table in the region, with olives, bread, za'atar and tea. It is also central to the sweet kunafa, in which a mild, melting jibneh such as nabulsi or akkawi is baked under shredded pastry and soaked in syrup.