Indigenous products and cuisine
Prior to the colonial period, the indigenous cuisine of the Xhosa and Khoisan tribes was characterized by the use of a wide range of products, including fruits, nuts, bulbs, and leaves, supplemented by wild hunted game or bush meat. The introduction of domesticated livestock and cereal crops occurred about 12,000 years ago by the Bantu from central Africa. The diet of these populations consisted mainly of cooked cereals, especially sorghum and millet, fermented milk (called amasi) and roasted meat. Then with the discovery of America, corn gradually replaced the other cereals. Samp is a staple dish of the Xhosa people, made from coarsely crushed maize kernels, while the very popular mielie-meal, a type of extra-fine semolina, is used to prepare pap, a type of porridge. Corn is also used to make umphokoqo (a very crumbly corn pie cooked with sour milk), umxhaxha (a pumpkin and corn stew) and uphuthu (a thick cornmeal dough rolled into balls).
Beef, mutton, and goat were the main sources of protein at this time, apart from game, with beef remaining the most popular even today. The Xhosa love meat and during rituals where animals are slaughtered, no part of it is wasted. The tripe of beef and mutton is regarded as a delicacy and is usually stewed. Vegetables such as pumpkin, of which there are many indigenous varieties in South Africa, are added to the meal, and rice and beans are also popular.
The classics of South African cuisine
An Afrikaner heritage, the biltong was born during the great Afrikaner treks. These sticks of dried meat (beef or local game) were perfect for following the settlers on their wagon rides across the country. It was during these great marches that the hunting of local game and the first barbecues also became common practice. The braai is an institution among South Africans, who enjoy it every weekend, with families, friends and even colleagues. The braai, or barbecue, is prepared over a wood fire. Different meats are cooked (beef, pork, ostrich, lamb). Boerewors, delicious grilled sausages spiced with pepper, coriander, cloves and thyme, are an integral part of the braai. And let's not forget the skilpadjies, lamb liver dumplings flavored with onion and rolled in cheesecloth before being grilled.
Fish and seafood are also very popular. It must be said that the South African coasts, bathed by cold currents, are particularly rich in fish. Tuna, lobsters, mussels, oysters and many other species abound in the country. Note that the geelbek or Cape salmon is not a salmon at all, although the country has a few fish farms where salmon are raised. The fish you won't forget is called kingklip, the "king of rocks", with firm and tasty flesh, similar to cod.
Side dishes include tjips (South African potato chips), which have a special flavor because the potatoes are often bathed in vinegar just beforehand to give them a little extra spice, not to mention roosterkoek (the local bread that is barbecued), chakalaka (a vegetable stew lightly spiced with curry and chilies) and amadumbe (a variant of sweet potato usually served mashed with butter, peanuts and a dash of honey). Paptert, a lasagna-like dish, consists of layers of cornmeal dough and vegetables simmered in tomato sauce with bacon. The vetkoek, sold in the street or in fast-food restaurants, is a salty doughnut filled with minced meat or sausage, like a hamburger.
Foreign influences
Finally, South African cuisine has been enriched by the many waves of migration from the British colonies in Asia, particularly from India and Malaysia. Bobotie is emblematic of Cape Malay cuisine. This minced meat made of beef and/or lamb, onions and dried fruits is flavored with a multitude of spices, all topped with an egg and milk cream before being baked au gratin. Otherwise, the sosatie is a type of brochettes usually of lamb or mutton finely spiced. The tomato bredie is a stew of mutton with tomato and pumpkin, of Malaysian origin. Finally, the bunny chow is a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with curry. It is a dish from Durban, which locals sometimes describe as "the largest Indian city outside India". Chutney was introduced by the Indians as well. This condiment, which accompanies curries or grilled meats, is prepared with vegetables or fruits (mango, lime, zucchini, onions, etc.). It combines sweetness, acidity and spiciness, depending on the recipe. It is also called achard, depending on the region.
Desserts and hot drinks
South Africans love sweet foods, such as koeksisters, simple braided fritters drizzled with cinnamon or ginger flavored syrup. They can also be sprinkled with grated coconut. Melktert is a pie simply filled with an egg and milk cream generously flavored with cinnamon, or malva pudding, a very moist cake, flavored with a touch of apricot jam and served with custard. Hertzoggie are tarts filled with apricot jam and covered with coconut meringue. Finally - with an Indo-Malaysian influence - boeber is a dessert made of vermicelli, milk and sago (a tuber) flavored with cinnamon, cardamom and rose water. This cream is traditionally served on the fifteenth night of Ramadan. Adored by Indians and British alike, tea has quickly become one of the most popular drinks in the country, which is the thirteenth largest consumer in the world with almost 1 kg per year per capita. It is preferred in the English style, i.e. black, usually with a splash of milk and a slice of lemon. South Africa has a small production located in the north-east of the country. Consumed for centuries, rooibos - meaning "red bush" - grows exclusively in South Africa in the Cederberg mountains, located north of Cape Town. Drunk as an infusion, hot or cold, it is said to have many therapeutic virtues. Above all, the plant does not contain theine and therefore does not prevent sleep, unlike tea.
Between wine, beer and aramula
The first wine produced by Dutch settlers in South Africa dates back to 1659, but it was from 1688 onwards that the first Huguenots - fleeing the kingdom of France - developed the vineyards and refined the techniques. Despite a significant local production during the 20th century, it was not until the 1990s that South African viticulture experienced a revival and was exported internationally with excellent wines. The country's wine industry is concentrated in a 200 km radius around Cape Town, between the cities of Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester. Beyond that the climate is either too arid or too hot, although trials have been carried out for some years in other regions such as the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape, especially in the mountains or in drier areas.
Wines here are labeled according to grape variety and estate, not according to terroir as in France. There are, however, sixty appellations with the Wine of Origin (WO) label, a system established in 1973 based on the French appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC). White wines are mainly made from Chenin, Sultana, Chardonnay and Sauvignon, while red wines are concentrated on the production of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage. Pinotage is an authentically South African grape variety, born of a cross between pinot noir and cinsault (or hermitage) in the 1930s, which is ubiquitous on the hillsides of the Rhone Valley. Since then, Pinotage has gained a reputation among wine lovers.
With a double Dutch and English heritage, one expects to find good beer in the bars. If you can easily find Heineken, Guinness or Amstel, the most popular beers are South African. These include the light Castel Lager and the amber Black Label. Other Namibian beers are also consumed, such as Windhoek or Hansa. The particularity of these beers is their African heritage: they all contain corn, an ingredient that improves the taste of this beverage in hot countries. It has been used since the dawn of time by the Xhosa people to make a traditional sorghum-based beer, umqombothi, which is opaque, malty and consistent. It is consumed during traditional ceremonies but also in the sheebeens of the black townships of the Cape, which are predominantly Xhosa.
Amarula is the fruit of a tree that elephants love. Once it falls to the ground, it ferments and quickly reaches 17 degrees of alcohol. It sometimes happens to see elephants, warthogs, monkeys drunk following the ingestion of fermented fruits. Presented in a beautiful bottle flanked by an elephant, this creamy liqueur that reminds a bit of Bailey's embodies more than ever South Africa. Finally, the mampoer - which translates as "moonshine" - is an extremely strong fruit brandy - usually peach - that can reach up to 70 degrees. To emphasize the ultra-hard edge of this drink, the bottles are even surrounded by barbed wire.
