A kwarezimal ( mt, kwareżimal; ) is a traditional Maltese

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...

, usually baked during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

. It contains flour, sugar, orange rind and ground almonds (). They are vegan, since they contain no animal protein, eggs, or dairy products. Tradition holds that the kwarezimal was developed by the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. At the time, sugar was not restricted during Lent as it often is in modern practice, but rather considered a type of spice due to its high cost and humoral qualities. In medieval Europe, animal products were to be avoided during times of

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

. The choice of ingredients may have been limited, but that did not mean that meals were smaller. Neither were there any restrictions against moderate drinking or eating sweets. Banquets held on fish days were popular occasions for serving food that imitated meat, cheese and eggs in various ingenious ways: fish could be molded to look like venison and imitation eggs could be made by stuffing empty egg shells with fish roe and almond milk and cooking on coals.

History

According to lore, and many Bible scholars, St

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

was shipwrecked off the coast of Malta in 60 A.D. on his way to Rome to face trial, and swam safely ashore. St Paul is also said to have introduced Christianity to Malta, making it one of the earliest outposts of the faith. The era of the Knights of St John reinforced the islands’ Christian tradition, and Maltese culture and social life are heavily influenced by its faith (the islands are 98 percent Roman Catholic). Church attendance in Malta is among the highest in Europe, although it is declining. Many traditional Maltese sweets and pastries are only available at certain times of the year, bound to the Catholic liturgical calendar—such as ''kwareżimal.'' Kwareżimal are a kind of chewy biscuit made with spices and ground almonds, a humble recipe originally made without eggs or butter, because during Lent, abstaining from eating animal products or animal meat was considered a penance. (Sugar was not taboo because it was considered a spice and therefore savory.) The word kwareżimal stems from the Italian word ''quarezima'', referring to the 40 days of Lent fasting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwarezimal Biscuits Maltese cuisine Lenten foods Vegan cuisine Vegetarian cuisine Almond dishes