Market Staple · Dried Yogurt Balls
Jameed
Photo: Syrinje / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Jameed can keep for years without refrigeration — Bedouin herders developed it specifically so a dairy surplus could survive a desert crossing that fresh yogurt never would.
Sheep's or goat's milk yogurt is boiled, salted daily as it thickens, then hand-shaped into hard, chalky balls and left to dry in the sun. Karak's markets sell it by the kilo, stacked in baskets, ready to be soaked and blended back into the tangy sauce that defines mansaf.
Why it's made this way: Karak's herding families are widely credited with producing Jordan's highest-quality jameed, making the city the country's de facto source for the ingredient every mansaf kitchen depends on.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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