Ġbejna
Ġbejna
Maltese cheese made from sheep's milk
Ġbejna (Maltese pronunciation: [dʒbɛɪ̯na], plural ġbejniet) is a small round cheese made in Malta[1] from sheep milk, salt and rennet.[2] Most sheep's milk produced in Malta is used for the production of these small cheeses.[3]
Ġbejna is the diminutive of the Maltese word ġobna, which means "cheese"; it is synonymous with the Maltese English word "cheeselet", i.e. "little cheese". The fully qualified name Ġbejna tan-nagħaġ means "sheep cheeselet".
Milk in Malta was traditionally sold fresh, immediately after milking goats on the streets.[4] The unpasteurised milk sold was one of the causes of the spread of brucellosis (Maltese: Deni Irqiq; "Maltese fever") in the late 19th to the early 20th century. Themistocles Zammit is credited with stopping the pandemic.[4]
The European Union accepted Malta's request to protect the ġbejna along with the traditional variant of ricotta, however, it was later refused to grant the protection because the term "ġbejna" now refer to all cheeselets generically.[5][6]