Farmhouse kitchen

A simple cheese with a kick

Dave and I are preparing for our 2017 overseas trip and this year we’ve decided it’s time for a new adventure.

That’s why before we head to the UK to see our daughter, and then France to explore the wine and cheese, we are flying to Doha. It’s the capital of Qatar, a peninsula that juts out into the Persian Gulf, dwarfed by its neighbour Saudi Arabia.

We have visited the Middle East before and I am always fascinated how they keep their cheese for extended periods in the quite fierce heat.

Domiati (pronounced doh-my-a-dee) or white cheese is a common cheese you’ll find in the market places of Doha, layered and pickling in large vats of brine.

Although it looks and tastes a bit like feta, it is made differently, it can be very strongly flavoured, and the older it gets, the more acquired the taste.

Not many cheeses have salt added to the milk when you begin the recipe, but domiati is one of them. Salt inhibits bacterial growth and the milk will be more resistant to invasion from unwanted bacteria. However, it is also difficult to get flavour development from a starter culture because of this.

The texture, saltiness and keeping properties are its strengths. It doesn’t form a rind and has a fairly soft-close (no holes) texture which hardens and turns flakey when old.

it can get very strongly flavoured; the older it gets, the more acquired the taste