Maker · Cheese
Al Shahbaa
A grilling cheese that turns golden brown and crispy without collapsing or melting. Made in Leusden with a recipe from Aleppo and milk from their own herd.
The story
Who's behind it
Al Shahbaa is the work of two men who found each other in Leusden. Nidal Aswad fled Aleppo to the Netherlands in 2016 and brought his family's cheese craft with him; his uncles operate a cheese factory and dairy shops in Syria. Ramon van Roomen, together with his wife Sophie, runs a dairy farm at De Boom on Asschatterweg. Ramon supplies the milk, Nidal makes cheese from it according to his home recipe. The name Al Shahbaa refers to Aleppo.
On De Boom, about 115 cows decide for themselves when to go inside and be milked. Currently, roughly half the milk goes to the cheese making operation. Production is COKZ-certified.
What really makes it different
It doesn't melt. Where most cheese runs away from the fire, this one turns golden brown and crispy on the outside on the grill and stays soft and springy on the inside. The same property as halloumi, but softer and more aromatic in taste.
It's fresh daily, without aging. The entire cheese is made within one day. Nidal lets the milk coagulate, adds mahlab (a spice from the pit of the sour cherry), presses the curds, gives it a brief salt bath and heats it. No weeks of aging, so you taste the milk itself.
Dutch milk in a Syrian recipe. The rich cow's milk from Leusden is fuller than the milk used for this back home, which benefits the taste. The result is lightly salted, full and milky, with spicy notes of black cumin and mahlab.
How to set yourself apart with this
This cheese gives you a warm vegetarian dish that stands up on the plate. It handles high heat, so grilling, frying and sautéing can all happen without the cheese losing its shape. That makes it strong as a meat substitute on the grill, in a salad or on a mezze board.
It's also a story that holds up: a cheese maker from Aleppo, milk from a herd a few kilometers away, and a product you're seeing more and more on tables in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Amersfoort. Put the origin on your map and you're telling something concrete, not decoration.
Chef’s tip
Pat the cheese dry and place it on a truly hot, lightly oiled griddle. Don't move it until you have a golden crust, then flip. This gives you a crispy exterior and springy interior, without any moisture running out.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
From the grill or plancha
In thick slices over high heat, brief cooking. Golden crust outside, soft inside. Works as a warm vegetarian main.
In a fresh salad
Grilled chunks on tomato, cucumber and mint. The salt of the cheese against the acidity of a lemon dressing.
Baked with honey
Brief cooking, finish with honey and black cumin. The spice notes of mahlab come through.
On a mezze board
Alongside labneh, olives and warm flatbread. Roll a slice in thin bread, as is customary in Syrian cuisine.
For your menu
“Grilled Syrian grilling cheese from Al Shahbaa (Leusden), with honey and black cumin”
Products from Al Shahbaa
What we carry from this maker
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Taste it in your own kitchen
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