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As babies, we put everything in our mouth as a means of exploring the world. As we grow older, while the taste of a screwdriver or a piece of fluff may seem less appealing than it did when we were toddlers, the sense of taste remains a fascinating, but also important way of learning.Indeed taste can teach us about cultural and local cuisine in the same way as it can teach us about international dishes. It also helps us learn what is safe and what is poisonous, and salty versus sweet foods. The discoveries are quite endless as through this sense we can also learn about chemistry, geography, mathematics, history and so on.Indeed a country’s or particular region’s cuisine has so much to tell about its history, its geography. In China, it is practically anathema to be a vegetarian in the light of the country’s long history of famine – you eat what is available; for Hindus the cow is sacred and should not be eaten in Italy it is frowned upon if you drink a cappuccino after 11 since this is believed to interfere with lunch; the list is interminable.You see, a country’s cuisine is the portal to its history and culture. The same, of course, can be said of the Maltese Islands’ dishes. It is impossible to examine each and every dish, also because dishes are constantly evolving and changing, but here are a few dishes and the story they have to tell.As an island in the Mediterranean Sea we are blessed with a variety of fresh fish and seafood and what better way to reflect our glorious sea than in this dish? The local octopus dish is a favourite among locals and foreigners alike. Like many popular delicious dishes, this is a simple one: the accompanying tomatoes, capers and olives give it just the right tangy taste. The dish is a particularly special one because it requires long and slow simmering, something we have come to appreciate far more considering the fast paced lives so many of us lead.The indigenous Maltese pig has also made its way into one of the island’s favourite dishes. Indeed the popularity of pork bears an interesting reflection on the culture. By consuming a food that is taboo in Muslim culture, this could have been a way of asserting our Christian identity. The pork belly and cheek croquettes are a fine slow-cooked dish. In our version, the pork’s succulent taste is deliciously offset by the sweet flavours of a burnt apple purée, turnips and Brussels sprouts.We’ll end on a sweet note. Ġelat tan-nanna (Grandma’s ice-cream) is a homemade ice-cream that reflects the local, close-knit, family culture. It reminds many locals of balmy summer days spent eating ice-cream in the family garden, or even just sitting outside on a chair outside their front door. The charming ice-cream takes its idiosyncratic taste from a blend of sweet, condensed milk, cream and sugar mixed with crunchy roasted almonds, candied peel, cinnamon, lemon and vanilla. It’s a veritable explosion of flavours, and history, in each mouthful.So, each time you bite into one of these dishes, you are biting into a piece of Maltese history.Another interesting facet to taste is that it can also be seen as a social sense. The sense is indeed a shared cultural activity. We cook for others and we delight in them tasting what we have prepared for them. We also delight in sharing and exploring new tastes together. What’s a delicious new taste if you cannot tell your dining partners or friends about it, or even have them take a bite of that mouth-watering chocolate fondante you ordered?Eating is a social activity and so many traditions and festivities revolve so heavily around food. Who can think of Christmas without the mince pies, imbuljuta, Christmas cake, pudding, tuket, timpana that come with it? Or even the feast of St Joseph without zeppoli, ghadam or bone-shaped biscuits for All Souls’ Day… the list goes on and on… Food is so intrinsically intertwined with Malta’s culture, with any culture for that matter.Food is indeed a portal into a culture, and it should be treated as such. So join us in exploring Maltese culture in the appetising journey of tastes on offer on our menu….
The sense of taste is a fascinating gateway to experiencing the world around us
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