Roumy Cheese: Egypt’s Pungent, Ancient, & Addictive Icon

Let’s talk cheese. Every culture has its own melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece. The Italians have mozzarella, the Dutch swear by Gouda, and the French—well, they age their blue-veined beauties like fine wine. But in Egypt? It’s all about Roumy. Sharp, salty, unapologetically pungent, this golden-hued cheese has been the backbone of Egyptian breakfasts, feteer feasts, and late-night street sandwiches for centuries.

But where did this funky block of goodness actually come from?

For decades, food historians thought Roumy cheese was just Egypt’s take on Mediterranean staples like Greek Kefalotyri or Pecorino Romano. The name itself, Roumy, literally means Roman, and coastal Egyptians even called it Turkish cheese thanks to Ottoman-era cheesemakers. But in 2018, archaeologists made a discovery that blew every cheese lover’s mind.

Inside a Saqqara tomb dating back to 3,200 BC, researchers uncovered an ancient, crumbly substance. After eight years of analysis, they declared it “most likely” the world's oldest cheese—and not just any cheese. It was Roumy. That’s right: while the Greeks were still figuring out feta, Egyptians were already perfecting their sharp, funky masterpiece.