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South Africa's many nationalities and cultures are
reflected in its cuisine. While meat and chicken form
the basis of many dishes, a wide variety of seafood
is also available at affordable prices. Regional specialities
include Cape Malay dishes such as bobotie
(minced meat topped with baked egg), sosaties
(spicy kebabs), smoorvis
(a fish kedgeree) and breyani
(lamb or chicken with baked rice or lentils) and, in
KwaZulu-Natal, hot and spicy curries
and delicacies such as samoosas,
deep-fried doughy triangles filled with meat or vegetables,
and roti,
a flat bread.
Traditional Afrikaans fare includes bredie
(a meat stew), potjiekos
(a slowly-cooked meat and vegetable stew), boerewors
(spiced sausage), biltong
(strips of dried meat), melktert
(milk tart) and koeksisters
(sweet, plaited dough). Putu,
a stiff, dry corn meal, is a staple of African diets,
together with amasi, a sour milk.
Traditional weekend fare for South Africans of all
races is the outdoor braaivleis
(barbecue) consisting of chops, sosaties, chicken, boerewors
and putu.
South Africa has a large variety of restaurants offering
everything from hamburgers to sushi. For more detailed
information, see Eat Out magazine's website at www.eat-out.co.za
or buy the magazine off the shelf in newsagents around
SA.
South Africans are prolific beer
drinkers, especially when eating outdoors or watching
sport. Best known brews are Castle and Black Label,
while maheu
, a sorghum-based beer, is widely drunk in shebeens
and beer halls
South Africa has been producing wine
for the past three centuries and is now exporting its
quality reds and whites in greater quantities than ever.
White wines are made principally from chenin blanc,
colombard, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, rhine riesling
and semillon varieties. Red wines include cabernet sauvignon,cinsaut,
merlot, shiraz, pinot noir and tinta barocca. Two local
specialities are muscat d'alexandrie (or hanepoot) a
sweet dessert wine and pinotage, a uniquely South African
cultivar developed from pinot noir and cinsaut (hermitage)
grapes.
The best way to discover the pleasures of wine-drinking
in South Africa is to visit one or more of the many
wine-producing estates in the Western Cape. There are
four major wine-routes to enjoy
, the oldest and
largest, 35 mins drive from Cape Town and one of the
Cape's biggest tourist attraction - See Western Cape
Winelands and www.routes.wine.co.za/stellenbosch
, in the Somerset West area, a 15
minute drive from Cape Town International Airport
- See Western Cape Winelands and www.helderbergwineroute.co.za
,
the world's first Red Route, 30 mins drive from Cape
Town, producers of some of South Africa's best cabernet
and shiraz. - See Western Cape Winelands and www.routes.co.za/paarl
,
an hour's drive from Cape Town, renowned for its dessert
wines and brandies. - See Western Cape Winelands &
Breede River Valley and www.worcesterwinelands.co.za
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What
to eat
Where
to eat
Where
to enjoy wine