South African Cuisine - by food author Howard Hillman

South African Cuisine

Tips & insights on
South African cuisine for
diners and travelers

by an established authority

Click the buttons below to read my two other South African food & wine pages:

Why South African
cuisine is special

It is an exciting melting pot that incorporates cooking styles and ingredients of three continents - Africa, Asia and Europe. Some call it the rainbow cuisine.

Tips & insights on
South African cuisine

Culinary history in brief

South African cuisine as we know it today evolved over many centuries.

Pre-European
Before the Europeans arrived, the main sources of food for the indigenous peoples were hunting and gathering, shellfish retrieving, and basic herding.

Dutch and French
In the 1650s, Dutch settlers created farms and infused their homeland's cooking traditions into the culinary pot. So did the French Huguenots about a generation later.

Cape Malays
In the late 1600s, the Cape Malays became another major culinary influence - and some say the biggest of all. They were slaves brought by the Europeans from the Malaysian peninsula area to toil on the farms. The Cape Malays introduced spicy foods to the previously bland South African diet.

British
In the early 1800s, the British wrenched control of the land and, to some degree, added their input to the culinary mix.

Indians
Soon thereafter, the British imported Indians as indentured workers to tend sugarcane plantations. Indian cooking - which is richly complex like the Malays' but even spicier - became one of the crown jewels of South African cuisine.

A land of plenty

Although most of the nation is too arid and lacks sufficiently fertile soil to be agriculturally generous, some sizeable South African areas are cornucopias with thriving farms, orchards and ranches. And the sea yields an abundance of fish and shellfish.

Braai

This is South Africa's name for barbecuing, an entrenched outdoor "sport" that has become a national pastime. Neighbors compete among themselves for who's-best bragging rights.

The future

Following the California example, local chefs are launching a special cuisine that emphasizes fresh, local ingredients simply cooked to preserve natural flavors and nutrients.

Best city for gourmets

It's Cape Town, the creative capital of South Africa.

Also learn
about these exciting
world cuisines

My food & wine
credentials
My books have been critically acclaimed by major magazines and newspapers. Click the button below to read a sampling (in Acrobat format).