Shelal Cheese is a salty white Syrian string cheese made up of strands of cheese woven together. Cow, sheep, and goat milk can be used in the preparation of string cheese. The cheese is pulled during the culturing process (like making noodles) to form the springy curds.

It is popular with children as it is an excellent source of protein and calcium.

The cheese is flavoured with various spices including black cumin, nigella seeds and a unique Middle Eastern spice known as mahleb. The flavour of Shelal cheese varies from velvety, buttery to a sharp, tangy one. Texturally, it is firm and flexible besides giving a thread feeling in the mouth. Many people associate Mozzarella with string cheese as it can be plucked apart in logs. It is better to be rinsed before serving.