A South African breakfast may be as simple as a piece of dry bread dipped in coffee, or a bowl of porridge, a glass of juice with a little dried fruit, or else the country's most famous fruit salad. Sometimes a well-prepared breakfast has eggs, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausages, or steak and fried liver loin. Breakfast for rural blacks is as simple as a bowl of curds, or cereal porridge accompanied by milk, cream, or honey. Corn porridge is the most common. Yushu corn was introduced from America. The time was waning, and rural people still cooked in wattles over campfires in open spaces. The rhythmic sound of stirring the thick corn porridge shows traditional cooking skills. Wawunda women ladle the porridge into wooden dishes, stacking them in layers like a pyramid. In many communities, wives show their love for their husbands by adding a corncob as a garnish to the porridge. Breakfast in coastal areas may consist of fresh shellfish and fish. In trout-producing areas, fresh or smoked trout is common. Some regions add raisins to the porridge or spread jam on the bread for breakfast.
Modern South African Recipe Book:
Maize Porridge
Over the centuries, maize porridge has become so varied that processed bags of maize meal have made the traditional art of grinding it by hand between two stones a lost art. The most flavorful polenta must be ground by hand, simmered slowly, and stirred constantly with a wooden spoon. It can be served with butter, salt, milk or cream, eaten with tomato sauce or curds, or with vegetables, broth. (Eunice: You can't get a good introduction to African food until you've traveled all over Africa and eaten thick porridge with maize meal!)
Snacks and appetizers and soups
Fry various nuts until fragrant and cooked, toss with honey and vegetable oil, sprinkle with raisins, let cool and eat with yogurt.
Assorted dried fruits, citrus juice, lemon juice and zest, brown sugar, cinnamon simmered on low heat for 5 minutes, cooled and kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Dried Maupain Worms
Like the early pioneers who chewed a few slices of salted jerky when they were starving, the tasty and nutritious Maupain Worms were a staple of the black tribes, and are now becoming more and more scarce. Women traveled long distances to collect them in Botswana, dried them and brought them home, or sold them at fairs. They are weighed in tin cans. It also appears on the menus of some city restaurants, but the most traditional and best way to preserve its freshness is to boil it in some salted water for about 10 minutes, drain the water, then fry it in oil for 5 minutes, then grill it dry and serve it. (Eunice: close your eyes while eating! Absolutely delicious! (The more you chew, the better it tastes, don't swallow it!)
Roasted Seafood
For beach dwellers, what's better than fresh shellfish just roasted from the embers of a campfire? Soups are made on the spot with fresh ingredients readily available around the table-chefs improvise works of art. Sometimes it's light, sometimes it's a traditional vegetable bouillon with flour, rice, eggs, cream or wine, and a pinch of curry powder or cardamom. It used to be served with beets, spinach, or figs. Seafood soups were often served with a handful of fresh green seaweed. Meat and fish stews were made into stock and served with ravioli, pasta, and fried croutons. Or with fried rice.
Jerky BILTONG
Savory jerky is always a favorite, and thinly sliced with a sharp knife can be served with salads, soups and vegetables. The strips are rubbed with salt and cilantro, marinated in vinegar and fried dry on a pan. The black tribes would dry the meat of animals that had died by accident or natural causes. Coriander seeds from Asia were the key to making dried meat. Lean meat from deer, ostrich, and beef with salt, black pepper, and coriander seeds. Sauté the coriander seeds in a flat pan to flavor the meat, grind with black pepper and salt, sprinkle in one layer over the strips of meat, let it sit in the refrigerator for a day, turning it over from time to time, and then let it dry in an airy place where it can be hung with clips. 5 days or so is all that is needed. (Eunice: fresh venison jerky is pink and clear, sprinkled with paprika, and absolutely delicious to stimulate the taste buds! (All the way to heaven!)
Roasted corn on the cob
Corn on the cob is brushed with a layer of butter and then roasted or boiled over coals. Mash with roasted peanuts and rice to make a cake-like cooler.
Dried salted fish, a West Coast favorite
Available in small local stores, strings of it hang in airy restaurants as an appetizer to a seafood meal. It's good to garnish soups. Soak in water to remove some of the saltiness before simmering. Salt them overnight, rinse them, and hang them in bunches in a cool but well-ventilated place for about 10 days. Take them back inside at night to protect them from dew.
Pumpkin seeds
Savory pumpkin seeds are popular in the black community as a snack or with porridge. They used to be sold at fairs, but are now replaced by chips. Directions: add salt and fry in a pan until crispy, serve with a drink or salad.
Salads, grains and vegetables
The traditional South African diet has more plant protein than seafood and meat. Roughly processed grains are nutritious, and simply prepared vegetables and fresh fruit are popular. Meat, sugar and salt are rarely used, and in general traditional practices are highly regarded by nutritionists. As early as 1554 the biographies of sailors recorded the cultivation of vegetables by tribal farmers. There was maize, yushu millet, melons, beans, squash, sugar cane and sorghum. All South Africans, including San, black farmers, nomads, and Dutch settlers used to rely on plants from the bushveld. Mothers taught their daughters which bulbs, roots, shoots, seeds, flowers and leaves were edible. Most importantly, which ones were poisonous.
The most important bush food is the leaves of hundreds of species. Leaves, pods and tentacles vary in flavor, and care is taken not to harm the plant when gathering them. Protein-rich beans have long been grown, and pumpkins were introduced from the Americas not long ago. The young fruits and young leaves of the vegetable squash are very tasty, and the scoops are used as eatables and utensils. Sun-dried or roasted to strengthen the toughness, cut and hollowed out to clean with pebbles, sand or seeds.
The Dutch turned a new page in the art of vegetable cooking with their famous vegetable gardens at the Cape. They brought with them an abundance of vegetable seeds, as well as 17th century European cooking methods. It was popular for Dutch dishes to be slightly sautéed in butter or grease, boiled, pureed, fried in cream and drizzled with copious amounts of cream and sugar. These early Cape Dutch cooking methods are still favored.
Salads were also popular in the early days. Wild mustard, watercress, a variety of wild lettuces and tender shoots made up simple yet fresh platters. Tart roots and shoots were alternatives to lemon and vinegar. To serve with a variety of salad leaves, break an egg yolk, beat in vinegar, vegetable oil and mustard, add a little sugar and salt and drizzle over the salad.
Pumaranga salad platter
Add smoked trout rolls to a variety of salad leaves, toss with avocado slices and drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Garnish with citrus petals, nuts, herbs and available flowers. Drizzle with a dressing made of vegetable oil, lemon juice, wine vinegar and sugar, finish with a pinch of trout roe and serve with crusty bread.
Fish and shellfish
Seaside reefs are a great place to catch seafood, but seafood has never been a traditional part of the black diet. Although the Tsongas who lived near the sea caught fish in traps and thatchos for food, women also gathered shellfish. Shells were used as spoons and scrapers. Most of the Dutch fish were simple . Van. Rebeck named it. There was even a time when one of his soldiers tried to rebel because he ate too much sea fish. The officer added meat and the eggs of penguins and other birds to his daily ration.
Fishing skill is something that needs to be learned, and the Europeans just weren't that good at it. But once they mastered it, they immediately experienced the ecstasy of harvesting a wide variety of fish, and their taste for seafood has grown ever since.
Some seafood, like octopus, never dominates the Cape table. But there is a delicious soup: a stew of various seafood with onions, garlic, seaweed and corn kernels, a strained broth thickened with flour and water and finished with a splash of sherry. Although delicious, octopus and squid, which are abundant in the Eastern Cape waters, are often used as bait for other fish and are exported in large quantities. Local restaurants usually fry them or braise them in garlic butter. Fish became a source of government revenue in the late 17th century. Steamships sailed from Simon's Harbor and along the coast, returning with a full load of fresh fish. They were dried on the beach or sold on strings from Cape Malay vendors, who went from house to house with baskets full of fresh fish on their shoulders. Kitchen maids and chefs would arrive at the sound of the horn. The first containers were empty conchs found on the beach, then carts replaced the heavy burdens that made the vendors hobble, and kerosene cans followed the trend. (Eunice: drooling and missing tears exchanged in unison! Lobster dinners and oysters in Cape Town!)
Poultry, meat and game
The African savannah used to echo with the thunderous stampede of plains wildlife. The hunters were loaded: antelope, lion, elephant, rhino, hippo and the smaller animals jackal, ostrich, hare, badger and rat. Wild birds, locusts, flying ants, centipedes (including the highly acclaimed hairy peanuts), sand crickets and beetles are all extremely popular.
Settlers learned the art of trapping from the native peoples. Because in Europe, hunting was the preserve of the nobility. Even so, providing enough fresh meat for ships passing from the Cape of Good Hope was a problem.
Long sea journeys made the importation of poultry unlikely, and the San and seaside natives did not raise sheep or cattle. The meat eaten by early white settlers was exchanged with the Hottentots who lived to the north. Seagulls, penguins and their eggs appeared on Cape tables. Later pigs, rabbits and sheep began to be imported and raised. Before the invention of refrigeration, the pickling vats were always full. Tender strips of pig and stag marinated in salt, roasted coriander seeds and vinegar for weeks.
Lamb and venison bones were marinated in lard and bacon, dipped in a vinaigrette of cloves, lemon leaves, peppercorns, and parsley, rubbed with flour, and roasted in lard. Modern cooking methods rarely fry venison and avoid lard. Although garnished with a little bacon, it retains its original succulence and flavor. Tribal communities cook meat in a simple way. Boiled or roasted over a campfire. Strict religious and ancestral teachings govern the process from butchery to distribution. The Cape Malays use a myriad of seasonings and follow the Muslim teachings of what can and cannot be eaten. Cape Dutch recipes are simple and extremely rich in fats and butter. Animal offal, although never a main dish, is popular in South African recipes. The French Huguenots, favored offal. Their elaborate recipes influenced the processing of meat and added flavor.
With urbanization and the domestication of this continent, game was gradually replaced by livestock and poultry, long symbols of tribal status.
Roasts and stews
Previously, South Africans cooked their gathered food directly over roadside coals. South Africans are among the world's most enthusiastic outdoor diners. Grilled meat and seafood, and large pots of stew are the country's favorite casual meals.
The Afrikaans word for roast comes from early Cape fairs and festivals. First came venison and game birds, then lamb, beef and pork, and offal.
Stews and roasts were inseparable using only a large pot. This simple cooking method works with any meat, as the cast-iron pot produces even heat. Remove the lid occasionally to skim out the floating oil. The secret is to keep the can tightly covered so that the gravy is flavorful. The seashore is accompanied by the sound of the tide and the breeze, the gossip of the fishermen, and the grilling of freshly caught sea fish or shellfish. Served with a can of polenta or boiled potatoes, onions, mushrooms, squash, corn or potatoes wrapped in tinfoil and grilled over coals, or brushed with butter and olive oil and grilled on the grates. (Eunice: the ubiquitous South African barbecue and the family drive around lugging the grill!)
Other countries are keen on gas or charcoal briquettes for barbecues, here wood briquettes are prevalent. There is much debate over what fuel to use. Wine-producing regions think grape roots are good, free states use corn cobs. Above all, when families and close friends gather around the fire and cook up a roast feast, it's truly like stepping back in time to the good old days.
Pickles
Before the arrival of Indian laborers in Zululand and Indonesian slaves from the East, local recipes trumped boring and indigestible Dutch and German dishes. Mediocrity and boredom ended through the deciphering of the colonizer's Oriental slaves, and the myriad of spices brought by the Indians. Exciting oriental specialties were soon added to local recipes. It wasn't just sauerkraut and pickles.
Today, cold dishes are paired with hot ones. Unusual Indian spiced yogurts and pickled onions are popular. Fresh, just-picked-from-the-garden cilantro and mint are most often used. Chili peppers, dried cilantro are also popular. Some pickles are imported and some are bought from Malay and Indian markets. Delicious fruit and vegetable pickle ingredients include onions, tomatoes, apples, coconuts and dates. Indian flavors of mango, lemon, lime, dried fruits and vegetables make the pickles tart and hot.
All these goodies were a new world for the white settlers who were used to potatoes, rice and vegetables cooked with meat until they were mushy. Not only can they be served with light or strong entrees, but also with curries.
Sweet tooth lovers turn fruits into exquisite pickles. Malay-style solos or pair them with afternoon tea. Malay chefs know tropical fruits like the back of their hand and know that the best jams and preserves need only be lightly simmered in juice and dipped in light syrup. It's important to preserve the prototype, the original texture and the original flavor as much as possible. Before the advent of supermarkets and busy two-person households, home pantries were filled with these quality foods.
Today, there is less incentive to make these traditional jams, pickles. We need to scale back seasonal overproduction, and there are always salad substitutes on hand when fresh ingredients aren't as easy to find. Many good modern chefs know that pickles are a great way to save time.
Desserts
For sweet tooths, there is never a shortage of ingredients to satisfy their cravings; consume ripe and fragrant ripe fruits, add salt, ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper to make a fruit salad, flavor it with cardamom, rose water, lemon juice, and orange peel, and finish it off with a little red wine, brandy, or rum. A pleasure of the journey are the oriental flavors of dried apricots and strips of fruit made from crushed dried peaches. Two types of figs grow in the coastal dunes, the yellow, juicy Hottentot fig and the tart, jam-making fig. In the Northern Province are the marula and baobab fruits. The Indians brought mangoes and papayas and made them into delicious chutneys.The Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 brought two exotic fruits. Berries came from England sandwiched in horse feed and multiplied rapidly in Zululand. Soldiers in the Northern Cape chewed dates sent from home and spat the pits on the banks of river valleys, which soon flourished into forests. Concentrated wild berry juice, grape and plum juice sweetened early desserts. Wild honey, harvested from the holes of baobab trees, is claimed by local gourmets to be the best honey in South Africa. The Garden Route's Mt Otteniqua is derived from the Hottentot word for "honey bearer" and has been documented as far back as 1782.
The wide range of milk puddings reveals Anglo-Saxon roots, albeit with Eastern influences. This is thanks to the intriguing spices added by Cape Malay cooks. Interestingly, due to the lack of Javanese milk, coconut milk has become a substitute and has consequently been introduced into Cape cuisine. Visitors can find a variety of pastries with sauces and garnishes, imported as well as locally produced cheeses. The exquisite snacks are paired with fine wines from the Cape's wine estates. Truly South African delicacies are dried fruits and puddings with traditional and homemade flavors.
Breads and pastries
Stories did circulate among the white South African colonists around 1890 that when pampered European girls visited their buddies living in barren South Africa, they were criticized for their self-proclaimed bread-baking skills. The truth is that all South Africans love bread and baked goods at home or when they are guests.
Stuffed bread for the country blacks, whole wheat bread for the Cape Dutch, baked, or fried bread for the Indians. Early nomads and pioneers hollowed out anthills to make perfect ovens. Dutch farmers converted their sturdy three-legged tin cans into baking tins. The clay ovens were large enough to bake 50 loaves of bread at a time. A fire is lit, then more fuel is added, and after about half an hour, when it's hot enough, the fire and ashes are shoveled out, and the risen billets are put in with a long-handled bread spatula, and the door is closed and sealed shut.
Tribal Negroes use clay ovens, digging a pit in the ground and setting up racks inside for baked goods. Stuffed bread made from corn and sorghum alternately steams in jars filled with water on the racks.
When the community settled down, brick ovens were built outdoors, and later the new game was invented and made its way into the family kitchen, now the heart of every home.
Early bread was made using flour ground in stone mills pulled by horses, which were unleavened but had ingredients in the mills that added to the leavening ability of the flour. Many homemade leavening agents were used: such as sourdough made from potatoes, crushed raisins mixed with sugar. West Coast palm wine with salt and sugar was the traditional leavening agent. Carlow bakers used the roots of a plant considered to be the best leavening agent.European-style cakes entered South Africa in 1800 when the British replaced the Dutch as rulers of the Cape. Evaluating South African desserts is best to attend a South African house party, a holiday celebration. A variety of delicious desserts garnished with fruit, cream, nuts and cocoa are colorful.