The Kazgil region is known for its cheese making and the history of Kazgil cheese dates back to the late 1920s a time when a large number of nomadic tribes, who were able to supply large quantities of milk, came through the area that has an extensive forest and vast agricultural lands. At the beginning, a cheese making school was established in Al-Obaid, and the people of Kazgil were invited to learn the skills required to make various cheeses and were awarded certificates for their efforts. After independence a large and successful development programme was implemented that helped increase the activity of the cheese industry in the area until it became a ‘cheese centre’ and earned a reputation for good quality cheese. Relations between the nomads and local farmers were strengthened and the volume of nomads passing through increased, particularly now that they could earn good money for their milk.

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Braided cheese is one of the most famous types of cheeses produced in the area and is a cooked type of cheese similar to mozzarella. After adding rennet, an enzyme that used to be extracted from calf intestines and is now made chemically, the curd is separated from the water and cooked in boiling water. Unlike mozzarella which is shaped into balls, braided cheese is stretched into long strips and salt and nigella seeds are added to the mixture. The difference between cooked and uncooked cheeses, such as white, or feta cheese, is that after the curd separates, the cheese is boiled in salted water for a short period of time and a large amount of salt is added to it to preserve it instead of cooking it. In this way the cheese loses its melting property when cooked. This video was filmed as part of the Heritage Survey and Documentation Project in Kordofan that was conducted in 2021.

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