South African Cuisine

A must try cuisine

The African cuisine is the widest spread of traditional fare and comprises a host of different subcultures under the "African" umbrella. These include Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and many more. Since these folk have been indigenous to Africa for centuries, their cuisine has evolved over the years, but has also retained many of its original ingredients and cooking methods, particularly in the more rural areas. Because the indigenous African tribes have lived off the produce of the land for generations, their food was (and, to some extent, still is) defined by what was locally grown and available. This includes filling staples; such as maize, rice and potatoes; that are easily cultivated and stretch far enough to feed large families.

Vegetables are important to the African communities and include a range of green, leafy varieties. In addition, meat is an important ingredient of African cooking. Traditionally, meat has come from their own livestock. Therefore, it had to be used sparingly and wisely (and often only for special occasions). This means that stews and similar one-pot dishes that are easily created over the fire are characteristic of this type of cuisine. Famous African dishes include tripe, mieliepap (corn-based porridge usually fortified with animal fat, beans and vegetables), samp and beans, sour milk porridge, dumplings and even more adventurous dishes like Mopane worms.

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