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Ainsley's Taste of Malta
series • cooking
PG
series • cooking
PG
Cousins, Adam and Ben Zammit of in Sydney’s west aren’t just connected by blood. Their bond is tied by a long, linking line of Maltese sausages (zalzett tal-Malti).
“Maltese sausages have been part of our life, forever,” says Adam Zammit, the chief operating officer of Zammit Smallgoods, which has been producing Maltese sausages in Australia for over 70 years.
“We've always had Maltese sausages around us, so we've always eaten it since we can remember. We've also known how to make Maltese sausages since we were very young. Maltese sausages have a really big place in our hearts.”
Zalzett tal-Malti is a traditional sausage from the Mediterranean country made from ground pork, sea salt, crushed black peppercorns and coriander seeds, garlic and parsley. Maltese sausages are considered just as integral to the national food culture as bread (ftira), cheese (ġbejniet), rabbit stew and pastizzi.
Maltese sausages have a really big place in our hearts.
However, to the Zammit cousins, the Maltese sausage means so much more. It's played a significant role in both their family history and Australian immigration story.
“Our great, great grandfathers were butchers in Malta,” Adam says. “They migrated to Australia with their sons after World War II. Back then, there was nowhere to buy Maltese foods in Sydney so they made their own in their backyard and sold them to Maltese migrants living locally. People were able to eat their Maltese sausages and remember the taste of home."
In Sydney in the 1950s, demand for Maltese sausages always outstripped supply. So the Zammit family up-scaled and bought a factory to produce smallgoods like Maltese sausage and black pudding.
The family business is still going strong 70 years later. It currently produces a wide range of hams and smallgoods under the direction of the company’s main director – the cousins’ grandmother.
It's important to keep our heritage going, here in Australia.
Despite the family's passion for Maltese sausages, national demand has decreased in recent years as Maltese migration to Australia has declined.
“From a financial point of view, it probably doesn't make sense to still produce it," says Ben Zammit, the company’s chief financial officer.
“But the Maltese sausage means a lot to us so we will never stop making it. It's important to keep our heritage going, here in Australia.”
Malta's Butcher of the Year, Jeffrey Calleja of Jeff's Meat Shop, talks to Ainsley Harriott about the importance of Maltese sausages to the local culture.
Sausages, a source of national pride
Over in Malta today, Maltese sausage consumption is still on-trend. There’s even a national day dedicated to it. On 30 July every year, people eat Maltese sausages and honour the vital cultural role the meat product plays across the Mediterranean islands.
British chef and TV personality, Ainsley Harriott pays homage to the Maltese sausage during his visit to Malta in his new series
During the series, Harriott meets Malta’s Butcher of the Year, Jeffrey Calleja of who has been making the sausage since he was 12 years old.
“I always get a satisfying feeling after tasting [my own] Maltese sausage – the wonderful taste always makes me proud that I have made it with my own hands.”
Maltese sausages are a source of national food pride for Maltese Australians and people living in Malta today.
“The key ingredient that gives its distinctive flavour is the coriander seed, which infuses the sausage with a subtle citrus and earthy taste.
“The most classic use of Maltese sausage is for people to [eat it raw], smothered on local bread. You can also cook it and include it as a topping on Maltese ftira or pizza, as a main ingredient in pasta or combined with roasted potatoes.”
...the wonderful taste always makes me proud that I have made it with my own hands.
Back in Australia, the Zammit brothers say they adore grilling Maltese sausages on the barbecue.
“The Maltese sausage fits very easily into Australian culture,” Ben says. “We always take a packet or two of our Maltese sausages with us whenever we visit someone because it's also a great product to eat as a snack – cooked and sliced, or barbecued as a gourmet sausage.”
No tomato sauce or bread roll is needed, the cousins explain. Just eat the sausage as is and let its Mediterranean flavours shine through.
“The Maltese sausage is not like any other sausage you can buy from a supermarket in Australia,” Adam believes. “It’s full of flavour and spice. It’s the kind of product that you just have to try yourself to fully understand. Once you taste a Maltese sausage, it will speak for itself."
