Ġbejna is a round cheeselet made in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 (commonly associated with the island of Gozo

Gozo

Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...

 ) from goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

’s or sheep's milk, salt and rennet

Rennet

Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...

. Most sheep's milk and goat's milk produced in Malta is used for the production of these cheeselets.

Until the early 20th century, ġbejniet made from unpasteurised milk were one of the causes of the spead of Brucellosis

Brucellosis

Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions...

 which was so prevalent as to be called "the Maltese fever".

Prior to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

's accession to the European Union, the EU accepted Malta's request to protect the ġbejna along with the traditional variant of ricotta

Ricotta

Ricotta is an Italian dairy product made from sheep milk whey left over from the production of cheese. Although typically referred to as ricotta cheese, ricotta is not properly a cheese because it is not produced by coagulation of casein...

.

Preparation and Varieties

Ġbejna is shaped in a cheese hurdle made of dried reeds, although now plastic ones are also used. They are traditionally dried in small ventilated rooms, with windows protected by a special mesh mosquito net. It is said that in the past sea water, rather than rennet, was used as a curdling agent.

Ġbejniet are prepared and served in a variety of forms: fresh (friski or tal-ilma), sundried (moxxa, bajda or t'Għawdex), salt cured (maħsula) or peppered (tal-bżar). The fresh variety have a smooth texture and a milky flavour and are kept in their own whey in a similar manner to mozzarella

Mozzarella

Mozzarella is an Italian Traditional Speciality Guaranteed food product. The term is used for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...

. The sundried variety have a more definite, nutty almost musky taste, and are fairly hard. The peppered variety are covered in crushed black pepper and cured, after which they may be stored in oil or pickled in vinegar. Their sharp taste becomes more piquant the more they age and they also develop a crumbly texture.

In Maltese cuisine

Ġbejna is an important element in a number of dishes such as soppa tal-armla

Maltese cuisine

Maltese cuisine refers to the dishes identified as Maltese. Reflecting Maltese history, it shows strong Sicilian and English influences as well as influences of Spanish, Maghrebin and Provençal cuisines.-History:...

. It is often added to pasta dishes or soup to enhance flavour , as a pizza topping or the filling for ħobż biż-żejt

Maltese bread

Ħobż tal-Malti is a crusty sourdough bread from Malta, usually baked in wood ovens.Although it can be eaten as accompaniment to food and with a variety of fillings, the typical and favourite way to eat it is as Ħobż biż-żejt, where the bread is rubbed with tomatoes or tomato paste, drizzled with...

.