TL;DR: Gbejniet Gozo are small rounds of sheep or goat milk cheese made fresh, dried, or peppered. The peppered-aged variety is the one most worth seeking out. This guide covers what they are and where to try them.
Gbejniet are small, round Maltese cheeselets made from sheep’s or goat’s milk, and they are one of the few traditional foods in the Maltese islands that have remained almost completely unchanged for centuries. If you are visiting Gozo, trying gbejniet gozo is not optional. It is simply something you do.
I say that with some confidence, though I will admit the first time I ordered a plate of them I had no idea what I was looking at. Four small white discs arrived alongside some bread and a dish of olive oil, and I ate them politely, thinking they were pleasant but mild. What I did not know was that I had ordered the fresh version and that the aged, peppered variety sitting in the jar behind the counter was the one worth arguing over. Nobody told me. I had to come back the next day and start again.
What Gozo Cheeselets Actually Are
The word ‘gbejniet’ is the plural of ‘gbejna’, and it refers to small rounds of fresh, dried, or peppered cheese produced across Malta and Gozo. They are typically made from unpasteurised sheep’s milk, though goat’s milk versions exist and are common in some villages. The texture depends entirely on how long they have been aged.
Fresh gbejniet, known locally as ‘gbejniet tal-ilma’ or water cheeselets, are soft and mild. They taste something like a lighter, less salty ricotta. Dried versions, ‘gbejniet moxxi’, are firmer and more concentrated in flavour. The peppered variety, ‘gbejniet tal-bzar’, is soaked in vinegar and coated in cracked black pepper, giving them a sharp, tangy bite that stays with you.
Each type is genuinely distinct. This is not a case of marketing language dressing up minor differences. The fresh and the peppered versions taste like they belong to different culinary traditions entirely, even though they start from the same base.
Gbejniet Gozo: Why the Island Version is Different
Gbejniet gozo has a reputation that the Maltese mainland versions rarely match. The reason is mostly the milk. Gozo has a smaller, more contained farming environment, and the sheep and goats there tend to graze on wild herbs and scrubland grasses that give the milk a slightly more pronounced, aromatic quality. It is not a dramatic difference, but in a cheese this small and simple, that slight variation in the milk matters.
Gozitan producers also tend to work at a smaller scale. Many of the cheeselets you find in Gozo come from farms producing only a few hundred units at a time, often by hand. The curds are set using traditional rennet, drained through cloth, and shaped in small round moulds. There is no industrial shortcut that replicates that process at scale without losing something.
Gozo cheeselets also age differently in the Gozitan climate. The salt air and warm, dry summers affect the crust of the dried variety in ways that are difficult to replicate indoors or under refrigeration. Some producers will tell you this is the defining factor. Whether or not that is entirely accurate, the end result tends to be more complex than what you find in a supermarket on the mainland.
How Gbejniet Are Made
The production process is short by any cheesemaking standard. Milk is warmed gently, rennet is added to set the curds, and the curds are then drained and shaped into small rounds. This takes a matter of hours rather than days. What changes the character of the cheese is what happens next.
Fresh gbejniet are eaten almost immediately, usually within a day or two of being made. Dried gbejniet are left out in the sun or in well-ventilated rooms to firm up over several days or weeks. Peppered gbejniet go through an additional step: a vinegar bath followed by a generous coating of cracked black pepper before being stored in jars, sometimes submerged in olive oil.
The simplicity of the process is partly why the quality of the milk matters so much. There is nowhere for a mediocre ingredient to hide when the method is this straightforward.
Where to Try Maltese Cheese in Gozo
The best place to start is the Marsalforn market, which runs on Saturday mornings and regularly features local producers selling gbejniet alongside honey, olive oil, and seasonal vegetables. You can taste before you buy, which matters when you are choosing between fresh and aged varieties for the first time.
Victoria, the island’s capital, has several shops in and around the Citadel that stock locally made cheeselets. The Citadel itself is worth visiting for other reasons, but if you walk down towards Republic Street, you will find a handful of delicatessens selling Maltese cheese. Goz residents actually buy it for their own kitchens rather than tourist-facing versions packaged for gifts.
Mġarr harbour, at the southern tip of the island near the ferry terminal, has a small cluster of restaurants and market stalls where gbejniet appear on nearly every menu. Eating them with Maltese bread, ‘ħobż tal-Malti’, and a drizzle of olive oil is the most straightforward way to understand why they have been a staple food here for so long.
If you want to go directly to a producer, the area around Gharb and San Lawrenz in the west of the island has working farms where small-scale production still happens. Some will sell at the gate. Asking at your accommodation for a recommendation is genuinely useful here, because the farms worth visiting are not always signposted.
Restaurants Worth Trying
Ta’ Rikardu in the Citadel of Victoria is probably the most frequently mentioned name in connection with gbejniet, and the reputation is earned. They produce their own cheeselets on site and serve them simply, which is exactly how they should be served. The terrace seating makes for a reasonable spot to sit with a glass of local wine and work through a plate at your own pace.
Qbajjar Bay near Marsalforn has a few casual restaurants right on the water that serve gbejniet as part of larger sharing platters. The setting is relaxed and the food is consistent. It is not a destination in itself, but if you are swimming at Qbajjar, it is a perfectly sensible place to eat.
How to Eat Gbejniet
Fresh gbejniet work well with tomatoes, olive oil, and a pinch of salt. They also pair well with honey and walnuts if you want something slightly richer. Dried gbejniet can be grated over pasta, which is a traditional use that many visitors overlook entirely. Peppered gbejniet are best eaten in small amounts with bread and olives, as a starter or alongside drinks before a meal.
Do not try to eat a jar of the peppered variety in one sitting. I say this from experience. The vinegar is more aggressive than it looks, and the pepper accumulates. One or two at a time is the right pace.
Taking Gbejniet Home
Fresh cheeselets will not survive more than a couple of days unrefrigerated, so they are not practical to bring home unless you are flying back the same day. Dried gbejniet travel reasonably well if wrapped carefully. Peppered gbejniet in oil, sold in sealed jars, is the most practical option and the most shelf-stable. Most Gozitan delis will wrap them for travel if you ask.
If you are buying to take home, buy more than you think you need. The jars are small, and the peppered variety disappears quickly once you are back in a kitchen where no one else knows what they are tasting.
The Bottom Line
- Gbejniet comes in three main forms: fresh, dried, and peppered. Each one is genuinely different and worth trying separately.
- Gbejniet Gozo are generally considered superior to mainland versions because of the milk quality and small-scale production methods on the island.
- The best places to try gozo cheeselets are local markets, delicatessens around Victoria’s Citadel, and restaurants like Ta’ Rikardu that make their own.
- Peppered gbejniet in oil are the most practical to take home and tend to be the version people go back to buy again.
- If you want to understand what Maltese cheese Gozo has to offer, start with a side-by-side tasting of fresh and peppered. The contrast is the point.