South African Food

Modern South African Food is heavily influenced by northern European, especially Dutch cuisine, due to the colonization the country experienced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. One of the most famous examples of South African Food is Boerewors, which is a type of spiced sausage that was brought over from the Netherlands. There are many different variants on traditional Boerewors available today and it is a very popular type of South African Food.

 

Another very famous example of a South African Food is biltong, a special type of desiccated meat that is quite similar to beef jerky. It was original created by Dutch settlers as a method for preserving meat, as the hot South African climate caused meat to rot very quickly, so desiccation was the best method of preserving it. Biltong is made by marinating the meat in vinegar, flavouring it with spices and then drying it to an appropriate cure. Biltong is one of the first things to spring to mind when people think of South African food, and it is very popular either on its own as a snack, or used as an ingredient in cooking.

 

Indigenous South African food has faced a significant decline since the mass urbanisation brought about by colonisation. However there are still some people who prepare and eat indigenous South African food.

 

There are also a number of restaurants that specialise in South African food that have arisen in various cities around the world. Restaurants selling South African food are fairly common in London where a number of South Africans live.