South African Food

A Taste of Africa

I travelled to Richards Bay in South Africa with the St Patrick High School Interact Club to visit the Grantleigh School and to help out in some orphanages and crèches. Of course while we were there we did a few tourist things as well and as always, I did my best to taste as much of the local food as possible!

My hosts for the first few days were Karen and Dudley and they started me off with a great meal of Bobote, rice and pumpkin, complemented by a Melktert for dessert. Very nicely done Karen! The Bobotie was made with nicely seasoned ground beef with raisins and a kind of custardy layer on top. Simply delicious! The squash and rice were great accompaniments for it.

Although was winter there and I missed the harvest season, I was able to taste some nice South African fruit. My day usually started with some of the best papaya (paw paw)  I have ever had! Perfectly ripe and nicely sweet, papaya has great taste and texture as well as some restorative properties. Pair that with melons and yogurt and you’ve got a great start to the day! I also tasted a couple varieties of oranges and apples as well as something that looked like a passion fruit. This we found on a walk with Pete through his son-in-law’s farm near the Grantleigh School. Pete spotted it on a vine that kind of curled through the other trees and picked it off. He pulled out his trusty Swiss Army knife, cut it open and we both had a taste. Although it wasn’t quite ripe, it was still delicious and only a bit sour. I think it would have great taste if it were fully ripe. I’ve seen people on the side of the road with fresh pineapple for sale, sometimes a whole pickup truck full. We were able to purchase some at a fruit stand in St. Lucia. One pineapple cost 5 rand. They sliced the peel off for you and handed it to you stem down so you could eat it like a popsicle.

 I get the impression that South Africans normally drink instant coffee, and although I’m not sure why, I quickly became used to it, especially if I had a Rusk to dip into it. A Rusk is sort of like a cookie as far as I can tell, completely hard and dry, sort of like an Italian Biscotti, but it quickly softens when dipped in your coffee and it also takes on the flavour of the coffee.  And speaking of coffee, I had a fabulous Cappuccino muffin at a little café at the boardwalk (mall) that was paired with a delicious cup of Red Tea Cappuccino! I’ve never had red tea or tea cappuccino but I must say it was delicious. There was a nice foam on top with a swirl of honey which really went well with the taste of the tea.

I was happy to see that the students we were travelling with got a taste of South Africa as well. They stayed with host families for the first few days so they had their evening meal with them and the hosts sent them off to school with some nice snacks and lunches as well. Jackson ate a wild boar and antelope pie and loved it. Wish I could have tasted that one!