The sticky joy of Malta’s festa nougat

Words by Adriana Bishop

From medieval roots to summer street stalls, Malta’s iconic qubbajt remains a chewy celebration of heritage, love and local flavour. It’s festa time! And if you don’t know what that means, think of a party but on the biggest, most exuberant scale that takes over an entire village for a week. The kind of event that can only be described with lots of exclamation marks. And amid the bombastic fireworks, joyous band marches, colourful street banners, glittering churches and festive religious street processions that punctuate Malta’s summers, you’ll find the most traditional of all Maltese sweet treats – nougat, or as we know it, qubbajt (the ‘q’ is silent, more or less).

Despite the encroachment of more ‘international’ food stalls that now populate Maltese feasts, the nougat remains an iconic part of the festa scenery. As one of Malta’s most renowned folklorists, Ġużè Cassar Pullicino, once wrote: “Festa bla qubbajt mhix festa” (a feast without nougat is not a feast). While Maltese nougat isn’t specifically listed as an individual item on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, it forms an integral part of the festa, which was inscribed on the list in 2023 alongside Maltese folk song and local flat bread ftira.

Qubbajt developed as a direct influence from Sicily, where it is still made, specifically at Christmastime, known as cubbaita and possibly derived from the Arabic qubbayt. Food historians write that nougat made with almond and honey formed part of the medieval Arabic cooking tradition in Spain and Sicily. Malta’s history of Arab rule, combined with its close ties to Sicily, helped introduce this sweet into the island’s culinary tradition. It was by far the most popular sweet treat of all, with historic references to people working as a cubaitaro (nougat seller) dating back to at least 1580, the early years of the Knights of St John in Malta.

Before sugar became widely available on the Maltese Islands in the 16th century, all sweet treats were made with honey. Maltese honey was particularly prized for its exceptional taste, especially that produced in Mellieħa. Still is, by the way. Even though honey was imported from Sicily to meet demand, Maltese honey still commanded a higher price due to its superior quality.

Two types of honey were produced: the so-called ‘white’ honey, which was finer and more sought after; and ‘black’ honey, or melenegro, which was considered poorer quality, thus cheaper. This was reflected in the type of nougat made at the time, with white nougat being reserved for those with deeper pockets and the more affordable black nougat for those on a tighter budget.

Today, nougat is made with sugar and an expert hand. At any festa you visit, you will almost certainly spot the charming wooden stalls of nougat supremo Iż-Żebbuġi Hawn (the man from Żebbuġ is here), or, as it is more formally known, Beehive Confectionery. Established in 1948, the family business is synonymous with festa nougat.

The soft, white nougat version is a classic. Light and airy, it is made with egg white, sugar, water, candied fruit and glucose. The brittle nougat is packed with almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, sesame seeds and figs. While white nougat is by far the most popuar across the island, those celebrating the festa in Mellieħa and Gozo prefer the bolder flavours of the ‘black’ variety.

These days, the soft nougat comes in an array of colours and flavours, including banana, strawberry, orange, mint, pistachio and even chocolate chip. Another of Malta’s famous writers, the 18th-century philosopher and linguist Mikiel Anton Vassalli, described the key ingredients for a type of nougat made during his time as consisting of a mixture made from sesame seeds, almonds, honey and sugar, producing a brittle type of toffee known as qubbajt tal-penit, which is still popular today. Even the method of pouring the searing confection onto a marble slab to cool before cutting it into smaller pieces seems to date back to at least the 18th century when it was described by a contemporary writer as being the length of the palm of your hand, more or less. And it’s not just a sweet treat to test your teeth’s resilience (and your dentist’s patience) on a summery night out. The festa nougat has always been considered a special gift for friends or work colleagues, or even a thank you present to your family doctor or lawyer. Tradition dictated that a groom had to buy a piece of nougat for his new bride as a sign of love, especially during the Feast of St Peter and St Paul on 29th June, known as Mnarja – the one feast a man would have to promise to take his new wife to.

Nougat even inspired Maltese folk songs on courtship, according to the 2016 paper, The future of festa food in Malta: lost legacy? by George Cassar, Marie Avellino and Noel Buttigieg from the University of Malta's Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture. One song promised that “next year we will eat it together”:

U l-qubbajt li tajtek jiena

Kollu lewż, kollu ġulġlien;

U dis-sena kiltu waħdek,

Sena oħra nikluh flimkien

So next time you find yourself wandering through a Maltese village in the glow of festa lights, let the sound of brass bands and the scent of roasted almonds lead you to a nougat stall. Whether you choose soft or brittle, classic or candy-coloured, know that each bite carries centuries of story, tradition and celebration. In Malta, qubbajt is more than a sweet treat; it’s a small, sugary symbol of resilience, romance and community spirit. And yes, it really isn’t a festa without it!