We’re home – back on Nigerian soil. In the heat (and even with my nasal congestion), we’re in our land. It makes me smile…in disbelief almost. I can’t believe its been so long. My son says ‘Mama, we’re brown people, there are brown people here’. He’s only 4 years old so arguments about being ‘black’ are lost, in his favor. The world’s colour palette says brown…and so we are.
We’re amongst earth-coloured bodies and familiar faces, voices and sounds – pidgin english and fruit trays on street corners. And rain, plenty of warm ‘rainshine’, I almost want to sit outside and let myself get drenched but the fear of being called crazy reins me in.
I ask them if they want to go back – the kids. I know I shouldn’t but I do anyway. ‘No, we don’t want to go back is the answer I get’. Thankfully. That could have gone either way.
And me? Hmmm. At first I was ambivalent. Worried, happy, excited, concerned – many emotions, many thoughts and feelings. Most of which have been assuaged though. The aisles of my sister’s American style LG frost-free fridge are lined with all manners of things, Sriracha amongst them. And Thai green curry paste. Her crisper drawer? Its full of golden delicious apples, purchased for a mere euro for 5 apples. Pears and kiwis keep the bouncy apples company as do papayas and pineapples. My younger sister kindly informs me that for a price, fresh peaches and plums are also available. Half my heart is content. The other half, still aflutter.
The first channel to pop up on the screen of my sister’s Samsung LED 3D TV is ‘Masterchef Australia’, an episode from season 2 which I had not watched, by some miracle. Further discovery leads me to two dedicated food channels – a luxury I had before my move, and one I can rightfully claim back.
But I am still wondering if I can keep my culinary mojo. I had a mishap with my new camera, dropping it a few days before we boarded the airplane – it is being fixed. In the interim, my blackberry has been my recorder, and recently my sister’s point and shoot. Its interesting finding new angles and places to take photos. The best spot on the counter top? Not yet found but we’re getting there.
I visit ‘Park n Shop’ and ‘Chanrai’ to find a wealth of spices, grains and lots more! I’m thrilled – and can proudly say, we’re on track. Shaoshing Rice wine, Pomegranate molasses, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, Indian pawa (rice flakes), UHT cream (better than nothing), and I could go on and on but I won’t. I’ll show you in the coming months.
After 2 days I have a routine. It involves sampling local delicacies which I’ve been deprived off for 4 years. Number 1 on the list is ‘Maltina’, an energizing drink made of malt and hops. Because of this drink I could set myself on a liquid diet. Especially with the bout of ‘welcome home’ illness that has waylaid me since this Sunday past – an upper respiratory tract infection the doctor says which has kept me in bed.
Anyhow Maltina. I like to think of it as a cross between thick, bitter guiness stout and light, sweet coca cola. Served cold, there is an ultra light fizz with each sip and gulp. Maltina, ladies and gentlemen is not for everyone. Shandy lovers may appreciate its fine talents but hardcore beer lovers ridicule its ‘pansy nature’. I, I laud it. Young beer before beer becomes beer, that it is.
Malta, young beer, or wheat soda is a type of soft drink. It is a carbonated malt beverage, meaning it is brewed from barley, hops, and water much like beer; corn and caramel color may also be added. However, Malta is non-alcoholic, and is consumed in the same way as soda or cola in its original carbonated form, and to some extent, iced tea in non-carbonated form. In other words, Malta is actually a beer that has not been fermented. It is similar in color to stout (dark brown) but is very sweet, generally described as tasting like molasses. Unlike beer, ice is often added to Malta when consumed. A popular way Latin Americans sometimes drink Malta is by mixing it with condensed or evaporated milk.
Nigerians too adopt the latin america maltina latte common during recuperation from an illness.
Maggie Savarino Dutton on Tablematters.com says about Malta Goya, a brand of the drink ‘What the hell it tastes like: Malta lands somewhere at the intersection of brown ale, molasses, and unsweetened cola. Even though the beverage itself is sweet, your mouth might register it as not sweet. It has thickness, like milk, and its carbonation compares to a Coke that’s been open for a few hours’.
I believe the Germans were at the front of the invention line with Malta (a brand of the malt drink) which began as Malzbier (“malt beer”), a malty dark beer whose fermentation was interrupted at approximately 2% ABV, leaving quite a lot of residual sugars in the finished beer. Up to the 1950s, Malzbier was considered a fortifying food for nursing mothers, recovering patients, the elderly etc, according to Wikipedia.
Malzbier in its native form was finally superseded during the 1960s by its modern form, formulated from water, glucose syrup, malt extract and hops extract, which had been on the market since the latter half of the 19th century, notably in Denmark. Such formulated drinks are to be called Malztrunk (“malt beverage”) according to German law, since they aren’t fermented. In colloquial use, Malzbier has nevertheless remained, along with other nicknames such as Kinderbier (“children’s beer”). Some native Malzbiere can still be enjoyed in Germany, notably in Cologne, where the taps of breweries Malzmühle and Sion sell it alongside their traditional Kölsch. Many German breweries have a Malta in their range, sometimes produced under licence (for example Vitamalz).
When I was younger, You could only buy Maltina in bottles but now…..on my return, a glass bottle of maltina is hard to find – cans are rife. In Nigeria, the largest brewery Nigerian Breweries Plc started producing it in 1976, the year of my birth – something that makes kindred spirits of me and the dark handsomeness in a glass! Of the three available varieties – Maltina Classic, Maltina Strawberry, and Maltina with Pineapples, the plain and simple ole classic does it for me.
I’d been thinking of how to incorporate it into a stew when I happened upon Maggie’s ideas.Everywhere she says ‘Malta’, I’m going to sub ‘Maltina’.
She says ‘……And all this is why it is the world’s perfect beverage for carnitas tacos, Cuban sandwiches, and barbeque, even though you’re 10 times likelier to find it in a pupuseria. ……Malta is the secret ingredient for my pull-apart pork, because stock comes off too savory, and coke is too sweet for filling the crock pot. When you cook a pork butt down with beer, you risk too bitter a result, but malta and onions produces a caramelized character smack in the middle of all these things.
Malta makes great liquid to use when sautéing mushrooms or onions and cooks down to something similar to Marsala, but far earthier. Reduce it as you would wine and you end up with something to slather on your steak, and it single handedly changed the way I felt about liver and onions.
Add it when making caramel, chocolate cake, or any other nutty and malty dessert, but you will freak out when you try it with vanilla ice cream, as a float or a milkshake. It’s an instant malted, without that powdery residue getting in the way of all the creamy goodness. Malta is low in sodium and rich in B vitamins, so as you chase your pork tacos with a thick, beery frosty you can think about all that flavor with only a wee guilty conscience’.
Thanks Maggie is all I can say.
When I get my own kitchen, I’ll try it in a fruity ‘malt’ loaf and perhaps with some pulled beef but till then…..I’ll be having you out of a glass, Maltina – my black (or brown, as my son would say) brewed beer.
Welcome home Nigeria says to me. Welcome home. Let’s leave talk about the traffic and the driving for another day :-)!
Have you had a Malt drink before?
Oz, I am so glad you are transition well in Nigeria. Eka bo!
I am so glad you are settling in and the children are happy. I am happy for you.
Your Maltina is like our Malta and its deliciously fatteing and addictive. I rememebr being a skinny kid and my mom making a “malta punch”. It was a bit of malta whisked with a yolk and then more malta… Now I have to go to my Spanish bodega and buy some…drinking it staight with out the egg.
I can’t wait to hear more of your stories now that you are back in Nigeria. Hope the settling in continues to go smoothly and do hope you and camera get well soon.
Glad to hear you’re safely back home and settling in. As a huge fan of stout and porters, I think I would like this Maltina…..like a sweet soda version of beer. Must try to find some one day.
So happy to hear you’ve settled in, that is such a huge transition. Thank you for introducing us to this wonderful new drink. I need to search it out. I will follow your suggestions to a T. Happy Day!
Glad to hear you are re-settling in well and that the kids are too. I once left Sydney and lived for 4 years in Asia before returning – it was strange to see somethings unchanged, as if suspended in time whilst I’d gone, new things of which I was unfamiliar, and things from overseas which reminded me of my time there.
It may be confusing but it’s all you, and contributes to the rich fabric which is your life =)
Mademoiselle d, well said and true. And i love the variety and unique perspective all my moves afford me, so thank you…and glad there are many people out there who understand the feeling of ‘suspension’ in space and time and place.
Welcome home–sorry there have been so many roadbumps but glad you are settling in, and your kids as well! What an interesting post about Maltina. I have seen Goya Malta in the latin food section of our grocery store (which is basically, just an aisle full of Goya products!) and always wondered what it was. Although the flavor profile sounds different, your description makes me think of American root beer (especially when you mention ice cream floats!). I’ll have to try it, I love the flavor of molasses.
Yep, Maltina reminds me of root beer though the flavours are quite different and while I would drink a malt straight, I wouldn’t dare try it with medicinal tasting rootbeer!
I cannot imagine how you feel now. But I somehow understand and will also be afraid. but it seems that everything is there and more. can’t wait to read more.
More coming up Penny. Thanks for stopping by.
There is no place like home. I can’t imagine how it feels because I have never left for such a long time. All the best and get well soon.
Thanks Sarah. It feels weird and wonderful and an enormous task at the same time but the days are becoming weeks so we’re settling in, as a matter of time!
Oz, so wonderful to see you are settling back in your homeland. Sorry to hear about the respiratory infection and hope the Maltina does the trick to help clear it up 🙂 Children are so perceptive, honest and unfettered by the need to say the right thing arent’ they? My kids often remark on how I’m brown, they’re not-so-brown, and daddy’s pink! I am so looking forward to hearing about your life in Nigeria, a country I am ashamed to admit I know very, very little about.
Shaz dearie, thank you and no need to be ashamed about not knowing Nigeria. I’m not Ms Geography myself and really am proud to be the one to showcase Nigeria. Thank you for being there and wanting to know more!
OZ! You have moved? Back home? How serendipitious that I would choose today, after months, to reconnect with you. And, your children are so young. I knew you were much younger than me, but didn’t expect your children to be pre-schoolers. You are surely an old soul inside.
What a simple start. The heat and the noise and the barefeet contrasted with your sister’s lovely full fridge and your malt. And your TV shows, And your food discoveries. Finding your way home again will not be easy after four years away. You may well find you are a woman without a country now… one who loves her homeland, but no longer belongs there. We shall see…
Please keep us informed… even with your iphone.
XO
Valerie
I’ve always wanted to be ‘old’ so glad you’ve seen me with all my silver and grey strands. I have one pre-schooler, the others are 8 and 6! And you are spot on with being a stranger at home – it is so no easy. Much harder than I thought but I’d been warned at a Repatriation workshop I attended so I know it is completely normal to feel as we do. I am also quite excited, with the new foods I’m discovering which I haven’t seen elsewhere – looking forward to sharing it all. Stay well, and I’ve missed you
Such a lovely post, rich with texture and voice. I am so glad to hear that you are safely home in Nigeria. And I wish I could say yes to your question. I’ve never tried a malt before. I hope you have a wonderful evening and weekend my friend. Thank you for sharing another lovely post with me. Many blessings as the days unfold!
Monet dearie, at least when you see a Malt/Malta, you’ll be tempted to try, I hope. LOL
My dear friend, I’ve been thinking of you so often, picturing you flying across the ocean, wondering how you’re settling in with bags and boxes and family and everything. Biggest of hugs to you. I’m so glad you’re safe. 🙂 XO Miss you.
Miss you too sweetie, thanks for your best wishes
What an incredible experience for your son, and for you. I’ve never been but would love to go. I’ve never had malta before either but your suggestions for cooking with it have my mouth watering!
An open invitation France if you ever come to this parts. LOL
I know so little about Nigeria that I’m so looking forward to your account of moving back home in the context of your travels. Not sure about Maltina straight but can see the benefits of cooking with it. We have a Park n Shop in Dubai so that made me smile. I overheard my children with some friends when they were really little, comparing skin colour – they all joined in – ‘you are sort of peach colour, we’re chocolate, you’re caramel’ – it was a visual account with absolutely no previous influences, prejudices or bias and thankfully one that continues now they are teens. Good luck Ozoz and can’t wait to hear the next chapter.
Sally dear, we’re partners in shopping paradises. And children are amazing – they are so free to live and love, unencumbered by past experiences and biases. The book on Nigeria is coming up……
I am so happy for you that you are home – and already setting up a routine, impressive!
I love the sound of this drink and would very much like you to try out the pork with it and share it with us all – when you get settled of course, no pressure!
We’re on Amanda but our recipe is likely to use beef as pork is regarded as unclean….and so now readily available. Deal…still
Welcome home! I am looking forward to see what you come up with from Nigeria! It’s sounds like it’s good to be home! I have not tried this drink or any malt drink yet, but since we can find Cuban sandwiches almost everywhere around here I am sure it won’t be hard! I might like it since I do like different things that many don’t…like Dutch licorice, Vegemite, liverwurst etc… 🙂
Licorice? Girl your Dutch roots are showing and doing you proud. i suspect Malta will be right up your alley, or canal…….I too like liverwurst but can’t stand drop, your licorice
Oh, I’m so glad you’re home!! I hope the transition goes smoothly for you all – sounds like it already is.. 🙂
Thanks Celia, we’re taking it poco a poco…..
A welcome home. How adorable to be around ‘brown’ people through your small sons eyes. Children know what they see. I use Malta (Goya) for many marinades like our jerky and when we made Pierno de Peurco. I haven’t quite acquired a taste for it yet.
I’ll have to look up the Pierno de Peurco – Malt drinks, like root beer are an acquired taste. Thanks
Oh – dear, dear Ozoz!!!!!!!!
What a wonderful blog entry! How I miss you and your family already! Your photography was beautiful, as always, dispite whatever camera you were using. I showed my sister your blog while I was in the U.S. and she said you could be a photographer for a food magazine! I agree! I am so glad to hear that the kids are happy to be there. And what can I say about your sweet, sweet baby boy… I think my new favorite color will be brown! Love you tons!
Dearest Ann, we miss you so much. On our tour of schools I keep wishing we could have brought you with us! And thanks for your compliments on my photography – it means a lot to me. Love you loads and with so many shades of brown on earth…..it is a good choice of faves!
Beautiful post! It’s nice to read that you are settling well.
The only malt drink I have tried is Horlicks. Wenn I drink that in the evening, I sleep like a baby 🙂
I too love horlicks, even though I haven’t had it in ages! Thanks for your kind wishes