Maltese cuisine is the result of a long relationship between the Islanders and the many foreigners who made Malta their home over the centuries. This marriage of tastes has given Malta an eclectic mix of Mediterranean cooking. Many popular Maltese specialities are Italian/Sicilian or Moorish in origin.Maltese cuisine is, nowadays, still popular in households and restaurants in Malta, but is by no means the main gastronomical form present on the island. Rather, it is a traditional form of cuisine, which was prepared more exclusively in the past centuries, and which has now become a part of a much more varied diet followed by the Maltese people. Indeed, the Maltese enjoy a Mediterranean diet, with heavy Italian influences. However, for the purpose of this article, Maltese cuisine is seen to be the more traditional form of Maltese cooking, which is still present in the island, but which has now been joined by other different types of cuisine and influences, which are also an integral part of the Maltese diet.The following are some Maltese dishes, which are part of the diet of the people of Malta: