Polish doughnuts "pączki"

"Pączki" (POHNCH-kee) are fried rounds of yeast dough with rosehip, prune, apricot, strawberry, raspberry or sweet cheese filling. In Poland, authentic Polish "pączki" are the sweet treat when it comes to Fat Tuesday, the last day of feasting before the start of Lent.

Dominika Bisgwa

Polish "mazurek wielkanocny"

Mazurek, known as "mazurka" in English, is a flat Polish yeast-dough or pastry-dough cake variously topped with almond paste, preserves and/or nuts, dried fruits, meringues, and sometimes left plain. The one thing they have in common is they are rarely over 1 inch in height. They are typically served for Easter. This "royal" version is probably so named because the coloured preserves peeking out of the lattice resemble the jewels in a royal crown. 

Weronika Seidel

Polish "babka wielkanocna"

Baba or babka means "old woman" or "grandmother" in Polish and gets its name from the dessert's resemblance to an old woman's full skirt or a top knot. This half-cake, half-bread, yeast-risen confection celebrates the return of the egg to the diet after Lent. Raisins, citron and almonds are traditional, but some prefer to leave them out entirely. 

 Wiktoria Żydek

Polish Easter Soup "white borscht soup"

White borscht soup is either eaten on Easter Sunday morning or served for dinner after the appetizers. It's made with most of the foods from the "święconka basket" and with the flavourful "kiełbasa" cooking water. There are as many recipes for this soup as there are cooks. Some make it with a "kwas" (a sour starter similar to that used in sourdough bread) when it becomes "żurek wielkanocny", others with sour cream or buttermilk. Some use smoked sausage, others use fresh white sausage or ham or bacon.

Aleksandra Bednarkiewicz

Polish Easter Lamb

The Easter Lamb bearing a cross-emblazoned flag represents Christ Resurrected and is thus the typical Polish Easter symbol. At the centre of Catholic Mass is the sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the Eucharist. The lamb adorns greeting cards. Sugar lambs are blessed in Easter baskets and plaster lambs form the centrepiece of the Easter table. The sugar lambs are most often blessed in children's baskets as a sweet treat.

Typically the table also includes a butter lamb shaped by hand, in a mould, or purchased from Polish markets. This lamb is always included in the basket to be blessed.

The lamb also appears in the dessert form of the Lamb Cake, a pound cake shaped and decorated, often sitting on the Easter grass, and always carrying the Resurrection Banner.

Aleksandra Bednarkiewicz

Polish Easter Eggs "pisanki"

The custom of coloring eggs for Easter is still observed in Poland. The eggs are decorated with many traditional Polish symbols of Easter. Most popular are lamb, cross, floral designs or Easter's greetings such as "Wesołego Alleluja". The eggs decorated with the use of treated wax are called "pisanki". Another technique involved gluing colored paper or shiny fabric on them. The eggs which are painted in one color are called "malowanki" or "kraszanki". If patterns are etched with a pointed instrument on top of the paint, the eggs are then called "skrobanki" or "rysowanki".

Aleksandra Bednarkiewicz

Eating Lenten Traditional Maltese Food and Sweets

What is better that experiencing these delicious food tastes in class?

That is what we did last week.

Cherise’s dad is a baker and he baked an Appostles’ Bread Ring for us to share.

Anthea’s mum sells sweets in her shop and she brought us some carob sweets to taste.

Our teacher got some hot cross buns

and kwarezimal and we just enjoyed every part of it!

Qagħaq tal-Appostli or Appostles' Bread Ring

“Qagħaq tal-Appostli” or Appostles Bread Ring is a delicious type of bread which is prepared and sold during Lent. In most villages and towns, this bread is sold on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This traditional Maltese bread is a circular loaf of bread which is very soft inside. The bread is decorated with roasted almonds and sesame seeds on the top. The roasted almonds remind us of Jesus nails on the Cross. This  bread  is mainly sold near the main churches of towns and villages especially during the time that religious functions and activities are being held. The tradition of these “qagħaq tal-Appostli” goes back hundreds of years and is still very popular nowadays.

Martina Pace

The Appostles’ Bread Ring is a bread of Lent. I can eat it with butter and with cheese. I like it very much. In Lent we eat this bread. During the last supper Jesus’ gave the Appostles this kind of bread to eat. This bread is prepared especially for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Shaisen Muscat

We buy the Appostles’ bread ring on Good Friday. Bread has a special significance in our life. The nuts represent the nails of crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ used a similar loaf during His last Supper with his Appostles.

Shania Azzopardi

Karamelli tal-Harrub or Carob Sweets

Karamelli are made from the juice collecting from the fruit produced by the carob tree.

Leon Camilleri

The karamelli are sweets for Good Friday. The karamelli are made from carob and they are hard. You can find them during Holy Week. The karamelli are very good to eat. They are hard. People love to eat them.

Cherise Micallef

Carob sweets are made from carob, the fruit from a large carob tree. They are traditionally made in the Maltese Islands. These carob sweets are most popular during the days of Lent. During Holy Week and especially on Good Friday, street hawkers are found in street corners calling out, ‘’Karamelli tal-Harrub”.

Daniel Azzopardi

Karamelli are another traditional lental sweet food. Nowadays these are made from brown sugar but years ago these were made from carob. That's why karamelli are brown in colour.

Martina Pace

The shape of the ‘’Karamelli tal-ħarrub’’ are squares. ‘’Karamelli tal-ħarrub’’ are popular in Malta. When the ‘’Karamelli tal-ħarrub’’ were not ready there were black. ‘’Karamelli tal-ħarrub’’ are sweets of Lent. But they have sugar.

Shaisen Muscat

The carob tree or Ħarruba, as it is well known in Malta, is a common tree on the Maltese Islands. This tree is found in its natural habitat, though have been destroyed due to infrastructure. The carob tree is one of the oldest tree in the Mediterranean and in Malta it is protected by law.

When its fruit are dry they darken and at this stage they are boiled in water and pressed to make a delicious syrup. Sugar is also added.

This syrup is used to make karamelli and it is also used as a natural remedy when people have a bad cold. A tablespoon full of carob syrup is stirred into a mug of hot water and drank by the patient. It is very soothing and it helps to clear the chest too.

 

Kwarezimal

Kwarezimal are eaten during Lent. These are covered with honey and sprinkled with roasted nuts.

Leon Camilleri

These are other traditional sweet for Lent. The kwarezimal is made in The Maltese Islands. They are made from almonds, milk, black honey and spices. These are sold from sweet shops, cake shops and cafeterias.

Daniel Azzopardi

The word kwarezimal refers to quaresima which means the forty days of lent. These were one of the few sweets that Catholics could eat during lent. Kwarezimal are made from ground almonds, flour, sugar, orange flower water, spices and eggs. Once cooked in the oven and cooled down, honey is dizzled over and crushed almonds are sprinkled on top.

Martina Pace

Kwarezimal are a sweet of Lent too. ‘’Kwarezimal’’ are my favourite sweet of Lent. They have no sugar in them. The shape of the ‘’Kwarezimal’’ is like a long loaf of bread but smaller in size.  On the top the ‘’Kwarezimal’’ there are nuts.

Shaisen Muscat

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten during the forty days of Lent. These buns are delicious and they have a cross on top which reminds us of Christ’s Cross.

Leon Camilleri

A hot cross bun, or cross-bun, is a sweet, yeast-leavened, spiced bun made with currants or raisins, often with candied citrus fruit, marked with a cross on the top. The cross can be made in a variety of ways including: pastry, flour and water mixture, rice paper, icing or two intersecting cuts. They are traditionally eaten during Lent.

Anthea Kert

Hot cross buns are made in England. They are really popular in the Maltese Islands. Since hot cross buns are originally made in England, they like to eat their buns hot because the weather is really cold.

Daniel Azzopardi

The hot cross buns are very good to eat. You find them during Lent. The hot cross buns are brown and on them there is a yellow cross made from icing. The hot cross buns are very soft. They are very smooth too. They are bought single or in packets. People love to eat them. There are raisins inside them. I love them too.

Cherise Micallef

Hot cross buns are very popular in Malta. These are very similar to the English hot cross buns, usually small buns coated with honey. On top of the hot cross buns is a cross made of icing. The cross is a reminder of Christ’s Cross. Children and adults love to eat hot cross buns but Maltese hot cross buns are never really hot!

Juan Chircop

Before Easter, we eat hot cross buns. The buns have raisins inside and they are like bread. On top there is cross made from icing.

Martina Doublet

Hot Cross Buns are small buns. They are like bread but have raisins inside and a cross made of icing on top. The icing is usually white or yellow and it reminds us of Christ’s Cross. In England, people eat them hot but in Malta we do not eat them hot.

Anthea Falzon

Hot Cross Buns are round sweet buns with a cross on top. They are very nice and delicious to eat.

Dejean Celeste.

Zeppoli or St.Joseph's Day Cake

Today, the 19^th of March, is the feast of St. Joseph. On this day, Zeppoli or St. Joseph’s Day Cake are traditionally eaten by Maltese and Sicilian people alike. These sweets are very similiar to donuts but are filled with ricotta cheese. They are also known as Italian donuts. These donuts are deep-fried and topped with powdered sugar. In Malta, these little pastries are also given as gifts on this feast day.