After making fresh gbejniet it is time to dry/age them and pepper them.
Step 1
Place gbejniet on a ventilated dripping tray. Cover with insect screen (shown below) and put outside in the shade. Try to avoid direct sunlight if possible. Gbejniet can also be aged inside, near an open window or a well ventilated room. If you're making them in winter you could also dry them inside by placing an oscillating fan a couple of feet away from the tray. They should dry in about 2 days. Another trick is to place the fan right in front of the heat radiator so that it will blow warm air on the gbejnient.
Step 2
After about a day or so of drying, fresh cracked black pepper can be sprinkled on top. This helps the pepper to stick better as most of it will wash away when soaked in vinegar.
Step 3
After the gbejniet have dried to your desired consistency, it is time for a 24-hour white vinegar bath! Store in the refrigerator.
Step 4
After 24 hours, remove the gbejniet from the white vinegar. Put them in an air-tight sterilized jar with black pepper, a little bit of white vinegar and a little bit of oil. Store in the refrigerator. Flip the jar a few times over every two days to make sure that all the gbejniet get a coating of vinegar and oil.
Hope you enjoy making them as much as I do! If you have any questions please feel free to ask, you can post a comment here!
Step 1
Place gbejniet on a ventilated dripping tray. Cover with insect screen (shown below) and put outside in the shade. Try to avoid direct sunlight if possible. Gbejniet can also be aged inside, near an open window or a well ventilated room. If you're making them in winter you could also dry them inside by placing an oscillating fan a couple of feet away from the tray. They should dry in about 2 days. Another trick is to place the fan right in front of the heat radiator so that it will blow warm air on the gbejnient.
After about a day or so of drying, fresh cracked black pepper can be sprinkled on top. This helps the pepper to stick better as most of it will wash away when soaked in vinegar.
Step 3
After the gbejniet have dried to your desired consistency, it is time for a 24-hour white vinegar bath! Store in the refrigerator.
After 24 hours, remove the gbejniet from the white vinegar. Put them in an air-tight sterilized jar with black pepper, a little bit of white vinegar and a little bit of oil. Store in the refrigerator. Flip the jar a few times over every two days to make sure that all the gbejniet get a coating of vinegar and oil.
Hope you enjoy making them as much as I do! If you have any questions please feel free to ask, you can post a comment here!
This is exactly what I was looking for. How long do you leave the gbejniet in the "qwieleb" before you place them in a tray to dry outside? Thank you. - A maltese in California!
ReplyDeleteHi Roberta. You're welcome! I usually leave them for 6 hours on each side in the "qwieleb". Please refer to my other post "Making fresh gbejniet" for more step by step instructions.
ReplyDeleteAll done and they taste great! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat! I'm happy you got awesome results :) Happy gbejniet making :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for.
ReplyDeleteYou have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day.
Bye
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@Anonymous - you're welcome! glad you found the information helpful!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHi Karl, you did some great work putting the post together and I appreciate you sharing it! Do you know where I might order the the "qwieleb"?
ReplyDeleteThanks Robert! Much appreciated. I got mine from Malta, that's your best bet. If you know someone that lives there, maybe they can purchase them from that Kitchen Store in Merchants Street Valleta (near Diesel Store) and have them shipped to you. Otherwise you can get them from here, but they are slightly expensive - http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?product=Cheese%20Moulds
ReplyDeleteyour page helped to make that so easy thank you very much
ReplyDeletei have seen them in maltese bakeries sitting on the counter fully covered in vinegar and pepper.liquid fully covering them. is that something that you do also?
ReplyDeleteHi Keith. I'm glad you found this information helpful! Yes you can store them like that as well. There are different ways of storing them, it all depends on personal taste.
ReplyDeleteHi Karl
ReplyDeleteFor many years my sister and I have tried certain gbejnet recipes and never had as greater success as your recipe. I have now made 4 batches and have enjoyed making them very much...this was my Easter gift to the family for entrée. We live in Adelaide Australia and we cannot buy Maltese food in our shops. Many thanks and Happy Easter.
Miriam Jackson
Hi Miriam Jackson,
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you found this recipe useful! Just like you I had been trying for quite a long time! I'm glad you like them and I hope your family was happy with them for Easter!
Hi Karl, thanks so much for this great website!! Currently living in Massachusetts and miss Maltese food. Plan on preparing ġbejniet tomorrow or Monday :)
ReplyDeleteHi Karl, thanks so much for your excellent website!!! Currently living in Massachusetts and miss Maltese food. Planning on preparing ġbejniet tomorrow or Sunday :)
ReplyDelete@Steff - Glad you found it helpful! Let me know how the gbejniet turn out :)
ReplyDeleteHi there i have tried your way of drying but they are starting tp smell a bit. Is this normal? Thanks Marisa
ReplyDelete@Anonymous - which way? Did you dry them outside or inside with a fan?
ReplyDeleteIf drying outside make sure that are in a well ventilated area and not directly in the sun. You should also make sure that there is a breeze, if not, just dry them inside using a fan.
Hi there karl, thanks for your reply. I am drying them inside but I didnt use a fan. Should I start again?:-)Marisa
Delete@ Anonymous .. yes they need some sort of ventilation. I usually leave a fan on them for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteAlso make sure you sprinkle some sea salt while they are dripping as the salt is the only preservative in the cheese.
hi karl,
ReplyDeletei made the gbejniet i followed your instructions they turned out really good exept when they dried they were a bit salty.
i suspect i put a lot of salt in the saline solution.
next step i am going to put pepper,can you tell me what type of oil i should use.thanks
It's good to see great instructions WITH explanatory photos.
ReplyDeleteWe unfortunately don't have the space to make 'em, but what the hey, just the thought is mouth-watering.
Well done. Thanks
It's good to see great instructions WITH explanatory photos.
ReplyDeleteWe unfortunately don't have the space to make 'em, but what the hey, just the thought is mouth-watering.
Well done. Thanks
Thank you Karl, I was born in Malta and came to Australia aged 6. just have some drying up and wondered how to store them and your blog came up in google so appreciative of you , thanks again have a wonderful Christmas ! anna
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, glad to know you find this information useful :) I make gbejniet all the time now .. it is something that brings me a little closer to home. Happy holidays to you too! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting the recipe. I have been dying for gbejniet tal bzar. Haven't been to Malta and Gozo for a couple of years to taste them. Can't find them anywhere is San Diego. Off to the cheese making supply store tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHi Karl,
ReplyDeleteThank you again for the great recipes you have added to your website. They are easy to use and to follow. I have made fresh gbejniet a few times and they have turned out great!
One question with the drying of fresh gbejniet - Is it normal for them to start to have a peculiar smell after leaving them to dry? I tried leaving mine in front of a window to dry and was a bit worried when they started to smell a bit. Thanks for your help. Michelle
@Michelle - How long are you letting them dry for? During the dripping/flipping method, before drying them, are you sprinkling them with sea salt? This is an important step as salt is the only preservative in this cheese.
ReplyDeleteI've been making these for years, I use liquid rennet and I get it on line from Hoegger supply company http://hoeggerfarmyard.com
ReplyDeleteTo preserve the gbejniet moxxa should i put them in vinegar ?
ReplyDeleteWe leave them dry till they are quite hard and mainly in the winter months ,put a little salt as we do not like them too salty,during the day we place them in a sunny position and if it is windy all the better as they dry quicker,and at night we bring them in and put a fan blowing on them.The quicker they dry the better and as I said we make them in the winter months as it is too hot in the other months over here .Then we only wash them in vinager andplace them in a glass jar with a little brown vinager and a little olive oil and lots of pepper .Each to his or her own taste I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI found them to be too vinegary tasting maybe 24 hours is too long in the vinegar ?
ReplyDeleteI have made my first batch of gbejniet and they came out perfect. The problem was when I came to dry them. As it is winter I decided to leave them inside on a metal drip tray covered with net but I did not put alot of salt on them and after 2 days they still felt soft to touch and I think the bottom where there were the grid marks of the rack became a bit mouldy. How much salt do you put on the gbejniet and do you have to leave a fan on them? Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteYes I always put a fan on them when drying inside. Also make sure the rack is plastic, metal will cause mold. I usually sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt on top when drying and turn them over every day until dried to the desired consistency.
ReplyDelete