A food historian is out to convince the Maltese that they should rally behind the initiative to register the ftira on Unesco’s list of Malta’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. By Fiona Galea Debono

The next time you bite into a crusty ftira on a quick guilt-tripping lunch break, think that this is more than just a chunk of bread – and a whole lot of carbs – but also a slice of intangible cultural heritage, and that “its production and consumption need to be considered before it is too late”.

That may be quite a mouthful when you are just minding your own business, piling on the pounds. But for food historian Noel Buttigieg, ftira is his bread and butter in more ways than one – research into its past and its preservation into the future has been ongoing for 11 years.

At a time when the consumption per capita of Maltese bread is decreasing, ftira becomes an immediate contender, he laments. “While the Maltese still consume bread, the market today is spoilt for choice. We have developed a taste for other breads [rather than Maltese], and the local market is now also importing it.

“We are not saying that ftira is at risk, but its production and consumption need to be looked into before it is too late,” warns Dr Buttigieg, a lecturer at the Institute of Tourism, Travel and Culture at the University of Malta.

“It is time to recognise the importance of this intangible cultural heritage and do something about it before it is gone. It is also time the Maltese recognised other aspects of intangible cultural heritage, such as the making of lace, cheese, boats and għana.”

One of the problems of ftira, according to Dr Buttigieg, is that people are not noticing that it has, and still is, changing in its nature, form and taste. This is happening both in the production process and in the way it is being prepared for consumption.

Food is an integral part of the nation’s identity

“My children love eating it with Nutella,” Dr Buttigieg hesitates to admit.

Things have certainly changed from when the schiaccata [flattened bread] was supplied to slaves, according to a 16th century document. Yes, ftira goes back that far, and the linguist Giovanni Francesco Agius de Soldanis also provides evidence related to it, referred to as xawwata, back in the 18th century.

Dr Buttigieg’s main interest lies in the history and anthropology of food. Speaking about the proposal to include ftira in Unesco’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, he insists the process is rigorous and needs to emerge through public consultation and not be simply the opinion of the few.

Those who have come forward to support ftira’s nomination and signed petitions are testimony that the Maltese are not only aware of their culinary past, but also their culinary present. But of course, the younger generations consider Kinnie, Twistees and cheesecakes to be the three main markers of Malta’s culinary identity, Dr Buttigieg admits about today’s reality.  

One of the reasons behind the nomination is, indeed, the fact that “it is high time we inform and educate. Food is an integral part of the nation’s identity, and as a result of globalisation and its democratisation, generations are forgetting their past”.

The diet trends of the moment, which tend to blacklist white bread, may serve to flatten ftira’s cause, and many would consider a talk on its historical, artisanal and culinary qualities, scheduled for January 24, to be a case of over-glorifying a piece of bread.

Moreover, with so many Maltese overlooking their built heritage as it is, appreciating that food is also part of their history may be even harder to swallow.

Dr Buttigieg is, however, expecting the public to bite.

The aim of the lecture at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Vittoriosa is for the public to be able to chew on the process that led to the selection to register ftira as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Malta and to have an application that the Maltese community of producers and consumers have bought into. 

Ftira anyone?

www.heritagemalta.org