Seems like it's been ages ago, but the time is ripe.
I'm just back from Malta and still very keen on eating Maltese foods and using Maltese ingredients. I must admit they are VERY hard to come by in Belgium, but with the help of my family, I do keep a constant supply of a number of items including
kunserva, pastizzi and of course
twistees !
This summer I tried to see what was new on the market and new Maltese products seemed to be sprouting. New cheese spreads, new brands packing
bigilla and of course
gbejniet.
My girls gave me a butter churner last Christmas which was put to good use a few days later when the local supermarket was trying to get rid of a large amount of soon-to-expire cream. We made butter, which we ate, froze and even made bread with the buttermilk.
They also gave me a book about cheeses and butter which I must admit I have not really used except for the part where it explains how to make butter.
Having come back from Malta though, I was keen to try my hand at making Gbejniet. These are little cheeselets made from goat's or sheep's milk and do not taste anything like the goats cheese we find here, c
hèvre.
I have found a recipe from Marlene Zammit who lives in Australia and runs
Maltese Mouthful. Her recipe for gbejniet seems very authentic however, the ratio of milk to rennet varies completely to the once published by
Pippa Mattei. I just need to source the fresh goat's or sheep's milk and try the recipes out!
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