knafeh

{{Infobox food

| name = Knafeh

| image = Künefe.jpg

| image_size = 250

| alternate_name = {{plainlist|

Kunafeh
Kunafa
Kanafeh
Konafi
Kunaftah
Künefe
Kinafa

}}

| country =

| region = Arab world

| year =

| creator =

| course =

| type = Dessert

| served = Warm, room temperature, or cold (qishta variety)

| main_ingredient = {{plainlist|

}}

| variations = Multiple

| other =

| calories =

}}

Knafeh{{Cite web|title=knafeh|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/knafeh|access-date=2021-08-14|website=dictionary.cambridge.org}} ({{langx|ar|كنافة}}) is a traditional Arab dessert made with kadayif (spun pastry dough){{Cite news |last=Nissenbaum |first=Dion |date=2023-01-04 |title=A Trendy Dessert Stirs Up a Sticky Debate |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/middle-east-west-bank-knafeh-dessert-debate-11672847029 |access-date=2024-12-12 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}{{cite book |title=The World Religions Cookbook |year=2007 |page=158 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780313342639|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORy2aVD7cEgC&dq=tel+kaday%C4%B1f+shredded&pg=PA158}} layered with cheese and soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar.{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA661 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199677337 |pages=33, 661–662 |via=Google Books}} Knafeh is a popular throughout the Arab world, especially in the Levant,{{cite book |last1=Edelstein |first1=Sari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQoWQTVcpVIC&pg=PA575 |title=Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals |date=2010 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers |isbn=9780763759650|quote="The topping is made of orange-dyed vermicelli in Palestine and Jordan, and named knafeh nabilsiyeh due to its origin, Nablus (West Bank)."}} and is often served on special occasions and holidays.{{cite web |title=Knafeh |url=https://www.timeout.com/sydney/restaurants/knafeh |website=Time Out Sydney}}{{cite book |last1=Nasser |first1=Christiane Dabdoub |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HT8hBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 |title=Classic Palestinian Cuisine |date=2013 |publisher=Saqi |isbn=9780863568794|quote="Knafeh, a traditional cheese dessert from the Nablus area."}} The most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine, Knafeh Nabulseyeh, originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus.{{Cite news |last1=Tamimi |first1=Sami |last2=Wigley |first2=Tara |date=2024-10-08 |title=Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley's knafeh nabulseyeh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/mar/29/20-best-cheese-recipes-sami-tamimi-and-tara-wigley-knafeh-nabulseyeh |access-date=2024-12-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite book |last1=Abu Shihab |first1=Sana Nimer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kgVTx41NbYC&q=Kunafa+Nablus&pg=PA74 |title=Mediterranean Cuisine |date=2012 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=9781477283097 |page=74|quote=}}

Etymology

The English language borrows the word "knafeh" from Levantine and Egyptian Arabic, and widely transliterates it as {{transliteration|ar|kanafeh, kenafeh, knafeh, kunafah, kunafeh, konafa, knéfé, kunafa}}, and similar variations.{{cite web|access-date=11 October 2020|title=Etymological Dictionary of Arabic|url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=record&view=record&vid=1146&mid=1969765&level=3|website=Bibliotheca Polyglotta|publisher=University of Oslo}}{{cite book|first1=Gil|last1=Marks |author-link=Gil Marks|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT892|section=Kanafeh/Kadayif |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|date=17 November 2010|isbn=9780544186316|via=Google Books}}

The ultimate origin of the word knafeh is debated. Some sources state that it comes from the Coptic Egyptian word "{{transliteration|cop|kenephiten}}", meaning a bread or cake.{{cite news|first1=Charles|last1=Perry|access-date=2018-07-12|title=The Dribble With Pastry|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-26-fo-41011-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207223510/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/may/26/food/fo-41011 |archive-date=7 December 2015 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=26 May 1999|issn=0458-3035|url-status=live|via=LA Times}}{{Cite book |title=From Pharaoh's Lips : Ancient Egyptian Language in the Arabic of Today |last=Youssef |first=Aḥmad Abdel-Hamid |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |year=2003 |isbn=9781617974762 |location=Cairo |pages=46–47 |oclc=897473661}}{{cite book|editor-first1=Darra|editor-last1=Goldstein|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|pages=447|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbi6BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA447|publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 2015 |isbn=9780199313396|via=Google Books}} Another view is that it comes from a Semitic root with a meaning of "side" or "wing", and from the Arabic {{transliteration|ar|kanafa}}, "to flank or enclose".{{cite web |author=((The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries)) |title=Appendix II - Semitic Roots |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/semitic.html#knp |access-date=July 12, 2018 |website=American Heritage Dictionary |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}}{{cite web |last1=Team |first1=Almaany |title=Definition and meaning of Kanafeh in Arabic in the dictionary of the meanings of the whole, the lexicon of the mediator, the contemporary Arabic language - Arabic Arabic dictionary - Page 1 |url=https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%83%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/ |website=www.almaany.com |language=en}} Early uses are found in stories like One Thousand and One Nights.

History

A common story is that the knafeh was created to satisfy the hunger of caliphs during Ramadan. The story, which dates in writing as early as the 10th century, is variously said to have occurred in Fatimid Egypt{{cite book |last1=Roufs |first1=Timothy G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_eCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA464 |title=Sweet Treats around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture |last2=Roufs |first2=Kathleen Smyth |date=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781610692212 |page=464}}{{cite book |author=Wright, Clifford A. |url=https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanfea00wrig |title=A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean from the Merchants of Venice to the Barbary Corsairs, with More than 500 Recipes |publisher=William Morrow Cookbooks |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-688-15305-2 |url-access=registration}}{{cite news |last1=Al-awsat |first1=Asharq |date=4 October 2007 |title=The Ramadan Experience in Egypt - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive |url=https://eng-archive.aawsat.com/theaawsat/lifestyle-culture/the-ramadan-experience-in-egypt |access-date=2018-06-18 |newspaper=ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive}} or in the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus, Syria, where Levantine dessert makers preparing it for Mu'awiya I.{{cite news|access-date=2018-07-12|title=Kunafa, Qatayef: Ramadan's most favorite desserts|url=http://thecairopost.youm7.com/news/158613/inside_egypt/kunafa-qatayef-ramadans-most-favorite-desserts|newspaper=Cairo Post|date=6 July 2015|archive-date=2018-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712192802/http://thecairopost.youm7.com/news/158613/inside_egypt/kunafa-qatayef-ramadans-most-favorite-desserts|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |date=2021-04-14 |title=20 places to get amazing kunafa and Arabic sweets in the UAE |url=https://gulfnews.com/going-out/20-places-to-get-amazing-kunafa-and-arabic-sweets-in-the-uae-1.2034447 |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=gulfnews.com |language=en}}

File:Knafeh from.png

Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's tenth century Arabic cookbook, {{transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Tabikh}} (Book of Dishes), which documented many recipes from Abbasid courts, does not mention or describe knafeh. However, it does feature a chapter on qatayif, an Arabic pancake dumpling dessert that originated in the Fatamid Empire.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQCwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |title=Annals of the caliphs' kitchens : Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq's tenth-century Baghdadi cookbook |last=Nasrallah |first=Nawal |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |isbn=9789047423058 |pages=39, 43, 420}} The 13th century anonymous cookbook, {{transliteration|ar|Kitab al tabikh fi-l-Maghrib wa-l-Andalus}} (Book of Dishes from Maghreb and Al-Andalus), however, gives a number of recipes for knafeh, which it describes as a pancake dumpling thinner that qatayif prepared on a flag pan. Some of the knafeh recipes in the cookbook call for layering the thin pancake with fresh cheese, baked, and topped with honey and rose syrup.{{cite web |title=An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century |url=http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian9.htm |access-date=2018-07-12 |website=www.daviddfriedman.com}} See also [http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian_contents.htm contents] and [http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian_footnotes.htm footnotes.]

Ibn al-Jazari gives an account of a 13th-century Mamluk period market inspector who rode through Damascus at night ensuring the quality of knafeh, qatayif, and other foods associated with Ramadan.{{cite book |last1=Sato |first1=Tsugitaka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0eBTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |title=Sugar in the Social Life of Medieval Islam |date=31 October 2014 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004281561 |via=Google Books}} Over time, new knafeh preparation methods were developed, including a technique of dripping thin batter onto a metal sheet from a perforated container, creating hair-like strings. A mid-15th century Ottoman Turkish translation of Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi's {{transliteration|ar|Kitab al-Tabikh}} added several new contemporary knafeh recipes, though it does not specify where they originated from.{{cite book |last1=Isin |first1=Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YHj-Mdv432UC&pg=PA193 |title=Sherbet and Spice: The Complete Story of Turkish Sweets and Desserts |date=8 January 2013 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=9781848858985 |pages=193–194 |via=Google Books}} Today, knafeh is served throughout the Middle East, although it is "particularly associated with Nablus" and considered to be a "cultural touchstone for Palestinian identity".

Common variants

File:Nablus souq kanafeh 131 - Aug 2011.jpg, or street market]]

= Knafeh Nabulseyeh (Nablus, Palestine) =

Knafeh has been described as a "Palestinian Institution." Knafeh Nabulseyeh is a popular version of knafeh originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus, hence the name Nabulseyeh (also spelled as Nabilsiyeh). Nablus is still renowned in for its knafeh, which "is filled with the city’s trademark firm, white, salty nabulsi cheese" and covered with sweet syrup.[http://imeu.net/news/article00258.shtml Cuisine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804160904/http://imeu.net/news/article00258.shtml|date=2007-08-04}} Institute for Middle East Understanding

Today, Knafeh Nabulseyeh is the most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine. As a result, academics have described Nablus as the modern-day knafeh capital.

= Knafeh Ghazawiya (Gaza Strip, Palestine) =

Knafeh Ghazawiya is a Palestinian variant of knafeh unique to the Gaza Strip. It is made with a variety of Gazan nuts and spices, with "nutmeg and cinnamon replacing the cheese."{{Cite web |last=Berger |first=Miriam |title=The Palestinian dessert few can enjoy |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170802-the-dessert-thats-blocked-at-borders |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=www.bbc.com}}

= Künefe (Hatay, Turkey) =

Künefe is a variant of knafeh believed to have originated in Hatay Province, Turkey.{{Cite web |last=Tokyol |first=Gonca |title=Künefe: The beloved dessert rebuilding Turkey |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230417-knefe-the-beloved-dessert-rebuilding-turkey |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=BBC |date=18 April 2023 |language=en-GB}} It is filled with a mozzarella-like local Hatay cheese and coated in "a syrup made of water, sugar and lemon juice." In 2012, the EU Commission approved Antakya Künefesi, a variant of both kadayif and künefe, as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).{{CELEX|52022XC1115(02)|text=Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs 2022/C 433/24}}

= Dubai chocolate =

Dubai chocolate is a chocolate bar with a knafeh and pistachio filling. It was first produced by Fix Dessert in Dubai, but versions are now sold worldwide.{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/dining/dubai-chocolate-cant-get-knafeh-it.html | title=How Dubai Chocolate Took over the World | work=The New York Times | date=23 January 2025 | last1=Wilson | first1=Korsha }}

Preparation

File:Knafe on a plate.jpeg

There are many several types of knafeh pastry:{{cite web |date=9 October 2013 |title=Kunafa |url=http://www.sampateek.com/en/recipe/kunafa-0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109023752/http://www.sampateek.com/en/recipe/kunafa-0 |archive-date=9 November 2017 |access-date=8 November 2017 |website=Sampateek |language=en}}{{Better source needed|date=July 2018}}

khishnah ({{langx|ar|خشنة}}, rough): a crust made from long thin noodle threads.
nāʿimah ({{langx|ar|ناعمة}}, fine): a semolina dough.
muhayara ({{langx|ar|محيرة}}, mixed): a mixture of khishnah and na'ama.
mabruma ({{langx|ar|مبرومة}}, twined): a noodle pastry

The knafeh pastry is heated in butter, margarine, palm oil, or traditional semneh, spread with soft sweet cheese, such as Nabulsi cheese, and topped with additional pastry. In khishnah knafeh the cheese is rolled in the pastry. During the final minutes of cooking, thick sweet sugar syrup, water, and a few drops of rose water or orange blossom water are poured on the pastry. The top layer of pastry is sometimes tinted red or orange, and crushed pistachios are often sprinkled as a garnish.