Mish

It ferments in its own salted whey for months, and the older the jar the better it is thought to be.

Not vegetarian — contains cheese whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 1 kg salty white brining cheese, broken up
• 1 litre whey, or salted water
• 4 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
• 2 tablespoons chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 4 dried red chillies
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds

to serve

• olive oil
• flatbread
• spring onions

Method

1. IT FERMENTS IN ITS OWN SALTED WHEY FOR MONTHS, and the older the jar the better it is thought to be. Broken-up salty cheese is packed into a jar with whey, a great deal more salt, and whole spices, and then simply left -- at room temperature, in the dark, for three months at the very least and often for a year or more. Over that time it goes from white and squeaky to a yellowish-brown paste that is sharp, pungent and intensely salty, somewhere between a very old cheese and a fermented condiment. There is no cooking, no pressing and no turning. The only work is in the first ten minutes and the only skill is leaving it alone.
2. THE SALT IS THE PRESERVATIVE AND IT IS NOT REDUCIBLE. Four tablespoons on top of cheese that is already salty, plus salted whey. This sits unrefrigerated for months, and the salt is the only thing keeping the wrong organisms out. An under-salted jar does not make a milder mish; it goes bad.
3. EVERYTHING MUST STAY SUBMERGED. The cheese pressed down and the whey topped up so nothing breaks the surface, and checked after the first week when the level drops. Anything above the liquid will spoil and will take the jar with it.
4. THE JAR IS STERILISED AND THE SPOON IS ALWAYS DRY AND CLEAN. No vinegar is involved, so there is nothing to fall back on. A wet or used spoon dipped in introduces exactly what the salt is excluding.
5. FENUGREEK IS THE CHARACTERISTIC SPICE AND IT IS WHOLE. Two tablespoons of seeds, not ground. Whole seeds release slowly over months and can be left in; ground fenugreek turns the whole jar bitter and cloudy within weeks.
6. IT IS TASTED AT THREE MONTHS AND THEN LEFT LONGER IF IT IS NOT READY. The test is the smell and the colour: ripe mish is yellow-brown and smells sharply of old cheese. White and mild at three months means it wants another three. Nothing is lost by waiting.
7. A GOOD JAR IS USED TO START THE NEXT ONE. A few spoonfuls of ripe mish added to a fresh jar carries the culture across and the new one ripens faster. This is also why household jars are described as being decades old -- they are topped up rather than finished.
8. The cheese broken up roughly and packed into a STERILISED, DRY jar with the whole spices and dried chillies.
9. The salt added, then the whey or salted water poured over to COVER COMPLETELY.
10. The cheese PRESSED DOWN so nothing breaks the surface.
11. Sealed and left at ROOM TEMPERATURE in the DARK.
12. Checked after 1 WEEK and TOPPED UP if the level has dropped.
13. LEFT 3 MONTHS at the very least, and a year is better.
14. TESTED: ripe mish is YELLOWISH-BROWN and smells sharply pungent. Still white and mild means it wants longer.
15. Served mashed with olive oil, with bread and spring onions. A DRY spoon every time.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Egypt · All recipes