Julian Sammut
Maltese bread for all
I cannot understand why something so good and wholesome, the pride of our kitchen, the piece of Malta many miss most when away from home for long, is always debated and written about in such controversial manner.
Over the years, our humble loaf has been the cause of strikes, heated discussions, boycotts, TV programmes and countless newspaper articles... incredible, when it was all about a ha'penny or a penny ,sometimes a few mils!
Today, thankfully, we no longer speak of the breadline. Even the poorest of our brethren are sustained by more than a crust of bread. Our daily bread is no longer blessed, it is no longer a meal in itself but solely an accompaniment. People no longer depend on bread to stave off hunger. Yet, bakers recently aired concern that, with their flour no longer subsidised and the price of fuel rising, they could no longer cope and cover their costs.
For God's sake, all they have to do is increase the price of their bread! No ferocious government department, shoppers' guardians, consumer associations are going to descend upon them in fury, accusing them of exploiting the working class and threatening the old with starvation. If they did, they would first have to do likewise with the scores of bakers and industrial bakeries who bake thousands of loaves of fancy bread, Tal-Franċiż, day in day out. Not to mention the several importers of bread or frozen baguettes and the like, all of which, weight for weight, are sold at considerably higher prices than a ħobża (loaf). For crying out loud, we live in a free market with self-regulating prices based on consumer demand. I can see no reason whatsoever for the ħobża to stop selling if its price is increased by some cents to reach acceptable market levels.
Traditional bakers must not be afraid to take this step as long as they continue with the same quality of product. Crisp and crusty on the outside and light and aerated within, a good ħobża remains almost as fresh and sometimes tastier the next day. Alas, one can be easily taken in by an impressive exterior only to cut it open and find a thick spongy dough. In Gozo, for instance, I have not eaten good bread for several years now.
What the bakers' association must do is organise their marketing and distribution. They must see that all the members are producing the real McCoy, label their bread - no plastic bags, please, these suffocate the texture - and find a way to take it into all the big and not so big food stores on a regular basis.
Malta has very, very good bread. Malta is a very small country. There should be no problem whatsoever for good bread to be available to whoever wants to buy it without having to drive to the next village. Similarly, effective distribution and common sense will see this superior product offered in every hotel and restaurant to the delight of foreigner and local alike.
Surely, they are organised enough to seek government help or an EU grant for whatever administrative or financial assistance they may require to move forward. If they achieve this ,then the traditional bakeries may come to a point when they won't even be able to cope .
Come on boys don't underestimate yourselves, you deserve every cent you can make for the long , inconvenient hours of back-breaking work you put into your job. Go for it!
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Eleanor Ciantar
Jan 29th 2009, 12:02
Prosit Julian!! Your concluding statement is the crux of the whole matter!! There is no point in commiserating oneself and expect the authorities to act. The tools are there...all our bakers need to do is join forces and act. The EU Label TSG is there for them to acheive. Many other countries have taken this opportunity so why shouldn't we? We have a lovely product and as you rightly so said we need to preserve the traditional loaf. By now most of us Maltese are very conscious of our food choices...paying a few extra cents for a quality product will surely not deter us from buying the real Hobza tal-Malti!!
carmel debono
Jan 28th 2009, 15:48
N DEBONO.
THANKS GOD THAT THERE IS SOMEONE WHO HAVE THE FEELINGS AND RESPECTS TO US AS A BAKERS AND OUR TRADIONAL MATESE. MR. JULIAN SAMMUT APPRICIATE VERY MUCH OUR MEDITERNIAN MALESE PRODUCTS AND MAINLY L-HOBZA MALTIJA QORMIJA .THIS HOBZA IS STILL LOVED WITH MALTESE POPULATIN AND WITH FORINERS .TODAY WE HAVE PROVEN THAT IT IS THE MOST HEALTY BREAD ON THE ISLAND ESPECIALY COMPERED WITH IMPORTED FROZEN BREAD AS JULIA MENTION.
WE THE BAKERS AND OUR OLD GENERATION AND FAMILIES HAVE DONE OUR JOB VERY WELL.HOPE WILL BE NOT TO LATE????.
Michael Debono
Jan 28th 2009, 14:48
Mr.Martinelli from Canada might have tasted the French croissant. Diet matters have nothing to do with taste; two different subjects. I only referred to taste not to slimming. Don't mix brass with grass, together they produce another substance. Following Mr Martinelli opinion Malta should not import chocolate or other sweetenings or confectionary. Aged or young persons particularly children need a different diet particularly wheat and sugar products and even fats.
What's not good for the goose it's not good for the gander does not come into question in the subject of diet.
J Martinelli
Jan 28th 2009, 13:30
Mr Sammut hit the nail on the head. "For God's sake, all they have to do is increase the price of their bread!"
It is not the lack of subsidies, the quality of the product or government intervention which is slowly choking this vital product - it is mostly the public's reluctance of paying for what it gets. The expression, 'Use it or lose it' is very appropos and lose it we will if we do not buy in sufficient quantities at a price which make it worth while for the bakers.
On the other hand Mr. Debono mentions the baguette and the croissant and that the latter is not found, or hard to find in Malta. This is no great disadvantage because a steady diet of croissants is one sure way of a quicker encounter with the Maker through heart disease brought on by a liberal use of fats used in croissants. Besides, this product is not considered to be a staple, not even in France, unlike Maltese bread which is (or used to be) a staple in Malta.
Michael Debono
Jan 28th 2009, 12:17
Maltese bread is appreciated and preferred but don't underestimate the Franch bread known as “baguette” as is manufactured in Paris. Its taste is wholesome and could even be eaten without any addition such as butter. There is also the French “croissant” which is as popular as our “pastizzi”. If I am aware correctly, there is no place where the French “croissant” is available in Malta and the baguette sold in Malta has only the shape of the Paris “baguette” that is made of the finest wheat that grows in the “Beauce and the Brie” both near Paris and surrounding Chartres Cathedral