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Halawet el jibn

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Halawet el Jibn حلاوة الجبن
Halawet El Jibn
TypeDessert
Place of originHama or Homs[1][2][3]
Associated cuisineLevantine cuisine (especially Syria & Lebanon)
Serving temperatureRoom temperature
Main ingredientsSemolina, Akkawi cheese, sugar, qishta, pistachio, rose water
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Halawet el Jibn حلاوة الجبن

Halawet el-jibn (Arabic: حلاوة الجبن, romanized: Ḥalāwat al-jibn, lit. 'cheese sweet') is a Syrian dessert made of a semolina and cheese dough, filled with qishta.[4] Its origins are somewhere from central Syria.[5][6] It is found in other regions in the Levant and the Middle East notably Tripoli, Lebanon,[7] and has been brought by Syrian immigrants to other countries such as Turkey and Germany.[8][9]

History

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The exact origin of the dessert is disputed. It is often claimed to have originated in the Syrian cities of Homs and Hama, and there is a long standing debated among the inhabitants of both cities over which city invented it.[10][1][2][3][11]

The time period of its invention is also debated, its commonly believed to have been invented during the 19th or 20th centuries.[10][2][11]

Syrian author Khayr al-Din al-Asadi described halawet el-jibn in his book "Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo", which was completed in 1971 and published posthumously in 1981.[12][13] Al-Asadi described the dessert as a sweet made from sweet cheese, semolina, and samneh, and noted that it was popular during spring, when cheese was in season.[12]

Ingredients

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This dessert is primarily made of a semolina and cheese dough (containing traditionally Akkawi or Majdoola cheese,[14][15] but also mozzarella or some mix of cheeses as alternatives[16]), a sugar syrup locally called ʾaṭər (Levantine Arabic: قَطْر), and orange flower water or rose water.[17] It is normally filled with cream or clotted cream (Levantine Arabic: قشطة, romanized: ʼəshṭa[4][17]) and decorated with pistachio.[17] Rose petal jam can be used as a garnish as well.[15]

Arabic ice cream (booza) is a common topping for halawet el-jibn during summer.[10][2][18]

Variations

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Maʻjūqah (معجوقة) is a dessert native to Hama made similarly to halawet el-jibn, where the semolina-cheese dough is spread on a plate rather than rolled, and then topped with qishta.[19][10][20]

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See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "في تنافس مطابخ حلب ودمشق على السياسة والنفوذ" [In the competition between the kitchens of Aleppo and Damascus for politics and influence]. The New Arab (in Arabic). 24 Jan 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "برع السوريون في صنعها.. فما هو أصل حلاوة الجبن؟" [The Syrians excelled at making it... So what is the origin of sweet cheese?]. CNN Arabic (in Arabic). 28 May 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 "ما قصة حلاوة الجبن وتنافس السوريين عليها حتى أثناء المعارك؟" [What is the story behind halawet el-jibn and the competition among Syrians for it even during battles?]. Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 7 Dec 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  4. 1 2 Samira (2021-10-25). "Ashta". Alphafoodie. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  5. ↑ "Berlin now 'home sweet home' for Syrian pastry chefs". The Express Tribune. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  6. ↑ "طريقة حلاوة الجبن الطرابلسية بالوصفة الأصلية خطوة بخطوة بالصور". honna.elwatannews.com. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
  7. ↑ Ibrahim, Omar (2016-03-04). "Lebanon's Tripoli, capital of oriental delicacies". The Arab weekly. Archived from the original on 2025-04-18. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  8. ↑ Clark, Melissa (2016-01-19). "Turkish Sweets Are the Essence of a Nation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  9. ↑ Helou, Anissa (20 June 2013). Levant: Recipes and memories from the Middle East. HarperCollins UK. ISBN 9780007448623.[page needed]
  10. 1 2 3 4 "حلاوة الجبن.. والصراع الحموي الحمصي على ملكيتها" [Sweet cheese... and the Hama-Homs conflict over its ownership]. Erem News (in Arabic). 6 Apr 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  11. 1 2 "معركة حلاوة الجبن... قصّة مدينتين" [The Battle of Halawet el-Jibn... A Tale of Two Cities]. The New Arab (in Arabic). 2 Sep 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  12. 1 2 Khayr al-Din al-Asadi (1981). موسوعة حلب المقارنة [Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo] (in Arabic). pp. 1149–1150. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  13. ↑ ""موسوعة حلب المقارنة".. الأسدي يرسم هوية المدينة بسبعة مجلدات" ["The Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo": Al-Asadi outlines the city's identity in seven volumes]. Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 5 October 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  14. ↑ Tamime, Adnan Y. (15 April 2008). Brined Cheeses. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 313–314. ISBN 978-1-4051-7164-9. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Halawet el-jeben | Traditional Cheese Dessert From Hama | TasteAtlas". www.tasteatlas.com. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  16. ↑ Gallagher, Natalie Torres (27 September 2019). "Nazareth Sweets Brings Middle Eastern Goodies to the Kansas City Area". Feast Magazine. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  17. 1 2 3 "Salloura, an Epic of Sweets: Chap. 4, Betrayal". Culinary Backstreets. 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  18. ↑ "بالصور - حلاوة الجبن... حلوى رمضانيّة لا تُقاوم" [In pictures - Sweet cheese... an irresistible Ramadan dessert]. An-Nahar (in Arabic). 4 Apr 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  19. ↑ "المعجوقة.. حلويات رمضانية في حماة" [Ma'jouqa... Ramadan sweets in Hama]. Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 24 March 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  20. ↑ "من المطبخ السوري.. طريقة عمل حلوى المعجوقة" [From Syrian cuisine: How to make Ma'jouqa dessert]. Sada El-Balad (in Arabic). 30 April 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
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