Anything can be ġbejna if you let your imagination fly

What are we skinning? Industry big-wigs allegedly throwing spokes in the wheels of legitimate ġbejna producers as Malta submits the humble sheep’s milk cheeselet for a Protected Designation of Origin quality label within the EU.

Why are we skinning it? Because it’s our own David vs Goliath story. And it’s a delicious one, to boot.

How did the said cheeselet become the cause of such drama? It all comes down to a linguistic trick apparently played by big producers like Benna.

How so? Due to a push to specify that ġbejna must exclusively refer to ġbejna tan-naghag (sheep milk ġbejna), herders and cheesemakers are arguing that this confusion is paving the way for big producers to chip away at the very integrity of the basic term itself.

I knew language was tricky, but I never assumed ġbejna would be at the root of such a battleground. Well, the herders are actually calling for simplicity: they argue that ġbejna can ONLY be sheep milk ġbejna…

So that introducing alternatives muddies the waters by proxy? In a sense, yes – they are arguing that bifurcating definitions of the ġbejna would simply cancel the ġbejna out.

This is getting philosophical. Yes. The herders will only accept the Platonic ideal of the ġbejna.

All other ġbejniet are mere shadows on cave walls. And Benna is the de facto leader of the League of Shadows, yes.

But at the end of the day… what’s in a ġbejna, really? Sheep milk, it seems! But it’s also so much more, as the quest for this ever-elusive PDO proves.

Such as? The importance of enshrining the cheeselet as a marker of Malta’s culinary heritage, in part. And ensuring that quality production is given priority at all times.

Strange how this is so controversial, for a country that apparently loves both food and nationalistic jingoism. Well, our approach to food definitely veers towards ‘quality over quantity’, and our jingoism stops at ‘whatever will help us rake in the most cash’.

Here I thought ġbejna consumption was one of the last innocent activities left at my disposal. You were wrong, my friend – so wrong.

Do say: “Enshrining local foods with recognised quality assurance labels is not just about showing off. It’s also a reward given to all those who endeavour to produce a genuine culinary product – all the more relevant in a time of increased mass production and crisis-bourne scarcity.”

Don’t say: “Anything can be ġbejna if you let your imagination fly.”