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Published: July 17th 2007
In all my travels (because they’ve been so vast), I’ve found that one of the best ways to get your finger on the pulse of the indigenous culture is to really experience the food of the place. And often, the snack foods really clue you in to what people like wherever you are.
First and foremost, I find it really important to mention that South Africans have a scary obsession with meat. All kinds of it, and in variant forms. Potato chips here come in flavors like smoked lamb, beef curry, and boerwors (a traditional South African sausage). I don’t think I’ve ever really experienced a meat flavored potato chip before, and I, one of the most carnivorous people you will meat (ha ha, get it? Meat? I’m so punny), am actually not a huge fan of the meat chip.
However, the traditional South African snack it seems is biltong, which is the Afrikaans word for “jerky”. We’re not talking traditional slim-jim beef jerky; no, we are discussing serious, exotic jerkies. EVERY STORE here, and even little snack huts on the streets, are stocked with ostrich, kudu (kind of like a deer), Eland (another kind of deer), beef and pork jerkies. Some are really tough (as in, it’s a 9-5 job to eat a strip), and some are tender. But people are obsessed with it. I think that cardiologists here must be very busy.
South Africans also seem to really enjoy pies. As in pot-pies, but they are far more imaginative than just chicken pot pie. We have steak and kidney (not beans, but organs), chicken and mushroom, boerwors, spinach and feta, pepper steak (not the Chinese version, but just steak with a lot of black pepper), and various other flavors. They’re sold in almost every gas station, convenience store, and snack shop. They also have cute little turnovers called “samoosas” which are filled with either ground beef or spiced vegetables. This, I think, is a result of the Indian influences on the country from the old days of the Spice Trade.
What makes me happiest, however, is the calamari industry in South Africa. You can buy calamari as fast food! I haven’t actually ventured to buy it in fast-food form, as it makes me slightly nervous, but it is on the menu in every single restaurant here. The calamari here is also much different than in the States; it’s far more tender, with less of a fishy flavor to it. However, you can’t find cocktail sauce here anywhere to save your life; so, I either eat it with ketchup or garlic butter.
Speaking of ketchup, I have to complain about the “tomato-sauce” here, as it is called. Ketchup here is infinitely sweeter than it is in the States, and often spiced with cinnamon or cloves. No restaurants carry Heinz, and some of the people on my trip have gotten so disgusted with the dearth of quality ketchup that they actually purchased small bottles in the grocery store of American ketchup and carry it with them to restaurants. I have taken to the alternative of using vinegar on my fries, which is actually not terrible. It’s important to bring this ketchup issue up, since it seems that every single meal is accompanied with French fries, or “chips” as they are called. Seriously. And it’s not worth it to ask for a salad instead, since they’ve seemed to never have heard of salad dressing here.
Other important notes: they love mayonnaise (again, on everything), avocado (also on everything), bacon (I would like this rule, but the bacon here is basically huge strips of lard), I haven’t seen hide no hair of anything ranch flavored, and curry is also a popular choice.
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jenny dreads!
non-member comment
what about the local produce? any interesting fruits and/or veggies? c'mon, you know your hippie roomie wants the details on those things... :) LOVE LOVE LOVE the safari pics by the way, i'd give up some locks to see a real life lion(ess). I bet danny pie would appreciate meat flavored chips. haha, with spicy mayo of course...