Everything looks and smells spotlessly clean when you enter Professor David Mifsud’s cheese lab in Zejtun, in the southeast of the island a few kilometres from Malta International Airport. In this space, which is part of his home, he has all he needs on hand to produce cheese in a meticulous, hygienic and safe manner. This includes materials for pasteurising milk, cutting curds, shaping and pressing cheeses, as well as an array of ripening cabinets. David Mifsud works at the University of Malta as a lecturer and researcher specialising in rural sciences and food systems; in his spare time, he makes artisanal cheeses with Mark Xerri, a friend from his student days, who has been working in the dairy sector for 30 years.
What initially seemed like a hobby that took on a life of its own has gradually evolved into an officially registered enterprise. It's clear that the duo behind this venture have never been motivated by a desire to make money. Professionally speaking, they each have schedules that are more than full. What started out as a fun and intriguing way to unwind took a surprising turn as they gained in expertise and were able to show off the impressive fruits of their labour. Through trial and error, they have developed a variety of tasty, refined and, above all, distinctive cheeses made from milk sourced from local Maltese farms.
“We work in full compliance with EU food safety standards and have recently received official recognition for this,” says David Mifsud, a professor of entomology and microbiology. The enthusiastic way in which he demonstrates how he produces artisanal cheese in his living room is a joy to watch – and a far cry from the image of the authoritative professor rationally imparting scientific knowledge and new insights to students in a university auditorium. Cheesemaking at home appears to be a unique complement to the specific study of microbiology that is so close to the pair’s hearts and finds concrete applications in this cheese lab.
The starting point is raw milk from smallholdings, such as Joseph Vassallo’s St Joseph Farm in Siggiewi. There, cheesemaker Anthony Farrugia carefully watches over a flock of some 250 sheep. The animals provide an average of just over 100 litres of milk per day. Their diet includes oats, barley, sweet corn and dried Alpine wild grasses from Italy. A retired chef and professional cheesemaker, he produces his own range of artisanal cheeses that he sells on the farm or directly to a few MICHELIN-starred restaurants in Malta, such as Noni. In addition to traditional Ġbejna, a small round cheese made from sheep’s milk that is available all over Malta, he makes classic pecorino and ricotta. His repertoire also includes 18 varieties, including types that are matured for four months in Alpine hay, which gives them a sophisticated flavour.
“To give cheeses a refined flavour, I use, for example, saffron, powdered fennel pollen, truffles, my own fig leaves, peppercorns, as well as sun-dried tomatoes and chilli powder that I make with produce I grow myself,” says Anthony Farrugia. “The seasonal cheeses made during the olive and grape harvests are something very special. They are lent a unique flavour profile by being rubbed with olive pulp or wine pomace. Besides making typical farmhouse cheeses, we also like to supply our sheep’s milk to David and Mark, because we know they will use it to make all kinds of distinctive and delicious cheeses in an artisanal, small-scale set-up, providing a great deal of added value.”
The fresh sheep’s milk from St Joseph Farm is always pasteurised by David Mifsud and Mark Xerri, which seems remarkable at first glance in an artisanal context. However, artisanal cheeses are often and wrongly reduced to cheeses made solely from raw milk: nothing could be further from the truth. Take, for instance, well-known artisanal cheeses such as English Stilton, whose appellation dictates that it may only be made with pasteurised milk. “We pasteurise the cheese to neutralise any bacteria,” says Mark Xerri, “and then add specific microbial cultures that we buy from specialised pharmaceutical companies abroad. With those cultures, we can develop specific cheeses and add them to various types of milk from cows, sheep or goats, producing a different-tasting cheese each time.”
Instead of the traditional rennet obtained from calf stomachs, this duo utilises a vegetarian mould to achieve coagulation. Ripening is the result of the composition of the microbial cultures or moulds. Ripening in cabinets with specific temperature and humidity levels ensures the distinctive flavour and natural preservation. Indeed, throughout the artisanal process, there is no need to use artificial preservatives or other artificial additives. This further emphasises the artisanal nature of the manufacturing process. Incidentally, less salt than usual is used to enhance the flavour, because the cheeses are already so flavoursome in their own right. And this is precisely thanks to the use of high-quality milk in combination with selected microbial cultures. These home-made cheeses have recently gained recognition under the Delectat brand and have been bestowed with monastic names, alluding to their artisanal origins and perhaps the patience with which they are flavoured and shaped in a repurposed living room-turned-lab.
Several cheeses appear on the menus of MICHELIN restaurants, such as Noni, Briju and ION Harbour by Simon Rogan. These remarkable cheeses are also sold in a number of delicatessens in Malta. For those who would like to know more about cheese, David Mifsud and Mark Xerri also organise workshops in their lab for groups, in partnership with the University of Malta, on the art of cheesemaking and the science behind it (https://www.um.edu.mt/clas/plasunits/). Indeed, when it comes to Malta's surprising range of artisanal cheeses, nowadays the iconic Ġbejna is just the beginning.
For more info or questions about Delectat cheeses, contact info@delectat.org
Head photo: Torta tal-Hassul from Briju, French pastry topped with selected local tomatoes, a pecorino foam & toasted pine nuts ©Joel Gueller
