Knafeh in Nablus
Nablus gives its name to knafeh Nabulsiyeh, one of Palestine's best-known sweets. Its cheese, its two kinds, and the giant knafeh of 2009.
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The history, heritage and science of knafeh, with every claim sourced.
Kunafa in Egypt
In Egypt kunafa is a Ramadan sweet, made by hand on a great round griddle or by machine, and filled with cream, nuts and, lately, mango or Nutella.
The history of knafeh
Medieval kunafa was a thin crepe-like bread with nuts, not cheese. How it changed, what al-Suyuti wrote about it, and which origin stories are legends.
The science of knafeh
Why the cheese stretches, why it is soaked first, why cooks use ghee, what browns the pastry, and what lemon does to the syrup.
The word knafeh: spellings and meanings
Kunafa, knafeh, kanafeh, künefe, كنافة. Where the word comes from, what old dictionaries say it means, and why it is spelled so many ways.
What is knafeh?
Knafeh is a pastry of fine threads or semolina, layered with cheese or cream, cooked in butter or ghee and soaked in syrup. Here is what goes into it, and where it is made.