Take milk with your rooibos? Fancy some pap with your wors? Brave enough to try some skop or mashonzha? Brush up on your culinary vocabulary with our list of South African food terms and what they mean.
South Africa is home to myriad ethnic and racial groups, many of them migrant communities, all of whom have contributed to the country’s rich cultural mix. The resultant kaleidoscope - the famous “rainbow” - applies not only to the people but to the food, for one finds in South Africa the most extraordinary range of cuisines...more
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- 19-Oct-2009Alikreukel
- These giant sea snails, which are also known as large periwinkles and “olly crock”, are very much a part of the South African seafood tradition. They are tough, though tasty, and best served minced with a creamy sauce. They are found mainly in rocky areas along the coast from the Cape Peninsula to KwaZulu-Natal up to six metres below the surface of the sea…
- Total Views: 853 | Word Count: 396
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- 27-Oct-2009Amabele
- Amabele (Zulu), Amazimba (Xhosa), Sorghum (English), Graansorghum (Afrikaans), is one of the five top cereal crops in the world, along with wheat, oats, corn, and barley. It originates in Africa and the largest producer of amabele in the modern era is still Africa, although the crop has spread to southern Asia and the Americas as well…
- Total Views: 475 | Word Count: 285
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- 19-Oct-2009Atjar
- Atjar was introduced to South Africa by the Malays about a century ago. It’s a hot pickle or relish made of slices of fruits such as clingstone peaches, green mangoes, lemons and kumquats, or mixed vegetables - cauliflower and green tomatoes. These ingredients are packed in jars and covered in either vinegar or oil, mixed with red-hot chillies and other curry spices…
- Total Views: 315 | Word Count: 154
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- 19-Oct-2009Biltong
- Biltong, a traditional South African delicacy, is strips of salted dried meat, most commonly beef but venison and ostrich are also used. Although other countries have similar versions, such as Switzerland’s “Bunderfleisch”, northern Italy’s “Bresaula”, America’s “Jerky” and Mexico’s “Carne Secca”, nowhere is it found in exactly the same form as in South Africa…
- Total Views: 596 | Word Count: 1261
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- 19-Oct-2009Biltong Drying Box
- Basically, you can make this biltong box any way you please as long as you end up with something that can be opened and closed completely (whether the door is at the top or on the side), and that has holes only in the locations shown…
- Total Views: 1286 | Word Count: 513
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- 19-Oct-2009Bobotie
- How bobotie became a traditional South African dish is unknown. The word is derived from the Indonesian word “bobotok”, the recipe for which first appeared in a Dutch cookbook in the year 1609. Bobotie as it is made today is regarded as a variation of this original Indonesian recipe in which the meat with its custard topping was cooked in a pan of water until the egg mixture set…
- Total Views: 294 | Word Count: 473
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- 19-Oct-2009Boerebeskuit
- In most countries rusks refer to pieces of bread which have been dried out in the oven, a process which produces a nutty flavour as well as a crisp texture. In South Africa, however, they are more likely to be made from specially prepared dough, which may be flavoured with spices and slightly sweetened…
- Total Views: 586 | Word Count: 455
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- 19-Oct-2009Boerewors
- Boerewors (Boo-ruh-vors) comes from the Afrikaans words boere (farmers) and wors (sausage), it is wholesome, delicious and reasonably inexpensive. Boeries as it is affectionately known by locals, is staple fare in South Africa and is as traditionally South African as biltong, koeksisters, mealiepap and vetkoek…
- Total Views: 629 | Word Count: 892
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- 19-Oct-2009Bokkems
- These salted, wind-dried fish, usually haarders (mullet) or maasbankers (horse mackerel), once formed an important part of the diet of Cape farm labourers. Because the fish were well preserved, they were easily transported inland from the coast. However, with more sophisticated means of keeping fish fresh, dried fish has become far less common than in the past…
- Total Views: 177 | Word Count: 229
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- 19-Oct-2009Braai
- The South African braai (pronounced br-eye) has become one of the country’s greatest outdoor eating pleasures, enjoyed by all the cultures in South Africa. The word braai, an abbreviation of the word braaivleis, is the Afrikaans word for barbecue. It has been adopted by English-speaking South Africans…
- Total Views: 743 | Word Count: 2678
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