Maltese vs Egyptian food & cuisine

Maltese food focuses on fresh seafood, seasonal vegetables, olives, capers, citrus, herbs, good bread, and practical meats. The cooking is simple and honest, with flavors shaped directly by the land and sea.

What makes it stand out in a global contex is that you get touches of Sicily, North Africa, and the broader Mediterranean, yet it still feels distinctly local. Dishes are more rustic than refined, built from everyday ingredients, slow cooking, and clever preservation.

Egyptian food is all about grains, veggies, fruits, and legumes – plant-based stuff makes up 84% of what people eat there, putting Egypt (along with Morocco) at the top for plant-heavy diets in the Mediterranean. Since meat’s relatively expensive, it’s mostly used to build flavor in stews and broths, with big chunks saved for special occasions rather than daily meals. The real staples are slow-cooked vegetarian stews served with bread and rice. But in the cities, as populations grow, people are shifting toward quicker, less vegetable-oriented meals; street food has become a go-to option for the urban population, offering cheap, quick bites along the way.

Bread and pasta are supreme among grain foods in Malta. Ħobz, a crusty loaf available in white or brown varieties, accompanies meals for soaking up olive oil or sauces. Pastizzi — flaky pastries filled with ricotta cheese or mushy peas- are everyday street food. The strong Sicilian culinary heritage is evident in plenty of pastas  –  penne, rigatoni, and macaroni paired with tomato or pesto sauces. Unlike bread and pasta, corn and rice are relatively minor in traditional cooking.

The rich and fertile soil of the Nile Valley provided the Egyptians with cereals and pulses for centuries. Wheat bread is a staple in every meal and is called eish. Food eaten with bread can be as simple as a mix of salt, cumin, sesame seeds, an onion, white radish leaves, and some white cheese. Or a complete meal of cooked vegetables or legumes, but bread is still central. Bread is a utensil used to scoop sauce, dips, and stews, as well as to wrap kebabs and falafel.

Vegetables play a bigger role in Maltese cooking than many people expect. Simply grilled, roasted, or steamed vegetables are common. Salad is dominated by tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers, and capers; olives also find their way into salads for a salty and briny flavor.

Dishes often center around vegetable in minestra (a hearty vegetable soup), kapunata (a cooked vegetable dish with eggplant, tomatoes and capers), bean stews, and vegetable pies.

Pulses are absolutely fundamental to Egyptian cuisine – they’re among the most important food groups in culinary tradition and daily diet. Egyptians typically cook pulses until very tender, often mashing or pureeing them, and season heavily with garlic, cumin, coriander, and tahini. They’re served with flatbread, pickles, and fresh vegetables. One of the most ancient Egyptian dishes still eaten today is fava beans ful medames. 

Maltese cuisine is balanced around traditional meats – beef, pork and poultry consumption is very similar. Rabbit evolved from a historical staple for the poor into a national meat, famously prepared as stuffat tal-fenek (Maltese rabbit stew), a rich, slow-cooked dish with wine, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.

Quantity-wise, Egyptian dishes do not feature large portions of meat. No pork is consumed, but when it comes to animals that are allowed, like beef, lamb and mutton, they are eaten head to toe. Alongside the usual Middle Eastern grilled koftas, kebabs, and shawarmas, there is a variety of offal dishes cooked in endless ways: chopped and grilled, slow-simmered, deep-fried, boiled, and dried.

The quality and variety the fish and seafood in Malta is outstanding. People rely on the daily catch, dishes feature seasonal lampuki (mahi-mahi or dorado), octopus, swordfish, and small coastal fish. To flavor, cooks use tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, herbs and good olive oil.

Fish eating in Egypt depends on the location. People along the coast – around Alexandria, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea – get to enjoy seafood, Nile Delta, and Valley stick mostly to freshwater fish. If you’re living in the interior or desert areas, you’re probably not eating much fish at all since it’s hard to get fresh and even harder to keep it from spoiling.

Milk consumption numbers bounce around from year to year, but overall consumption stays pretty high. Ricotta appears everywhere, British cheddar is popular along local gbejna, small round cheeses made from sheep’s or goat’s milk. Traditional soups often get enriched with eggs and a chunk of gbejna melting into the broth. For breakfast, people reach for plain yogurt, sometimes drizzled with honey or mixed with fresh fruit.

Milk and dairy play a secondary role. Milk production requires water resources and suitable climatic conditions for raising dairy cattle. Egypt’s arid climate and water scarcity limit large quantities of milk production domestically, while imported milk is less affordable. Fermented milk products, such as zabadi (yogurt), labneh (strained yogurt product), kishk (yogurt stone), and cheeses, are consumed more.

The numbers tell a pretty clear story: Malta consumes more sugar and sweeteners than almost anywhere else in Europe. A big chunk of that comes from soft drinks. In fact, Malta ranks second in per capita soft drink consumption, which explains a lot about where all that sugar is going.

The Egyptian diet is low in saturated fats, and oil is preferred for cooking rather than butter. Deep-frying has become quite popular. Most vital oils in Egypt are soybean, sunflower and olive oil. Clarified butter, also known as ghee, is essential for many classic recipes.