Goats and cheese

Reference is made to the letter by Marlene Farley-Hills who wrote on the demand for goats' cheese.

It should be noted that back in the 1950s, Malta was predominantly a goat rearing country and daily fresh milk for human consumption was supplied from goats. Due to economic and health reasons (eradication of brucella) goat breeders gradually changed their livestock to dairy cows which are more efficient in milk production. Consequently, goat herds dwindled in number and so did the Maltese goat breed.

The main goat breeds in Malta are the Alpine, Saanen and the Maltese breed. However, a high degree of cross breeding between these breeds exists. Regretfully, pure Maltese goat herds are nowadays rare to find, being limited to a few numbers which are still being reared by traditional breeders. The government farm at Ghammieri holds a small herd of pure Maltese goats and a breeding programme to propagate such breed is being followed.

It should also be noted that the Maltese word gbejna means small cheese or cheeselet and it does not refer to the type of milk that such cheese is made from. Traditional Maltese cheeselets are neither made from cows' milk nor from goats' milk but from sheep's milk, the reason being that sheep's milk contains a higher percentage of fats and total solids, hence is more ideal for cheese production.