SOUTH AFRICAN CULINARY HERITAGE
The book South African Culinary Heritage by Eunice Rakhale, is about local food history and traditions interlaced with family conversations. It illustrates the culinary diversity of Southern African cuisine and some neighbouring countries, comparing the similarities and unique palatable heritages thereof. Written in a conversational style, the book is a handy culinary compilation which will bestow the reader with explorations regarding local African lifestyles history, art, clothing, music and perhaps even some song and dance. For tourists visiting these African countries – possessing a diversity of ethnic cultures, it is a worthy read regarding heritage and of-course African cuisine. A guide which should be included in any tourist’s travel pack and families. It is about a genuine story told with an extraordinary ability that draws parallel between the author’s struggle in the restaurant industry and in her personal life. Ultimately, her passion for food is where she finds solace to learn, heal and grow. Mother Daughter relationships can be extremely complex and Eunice is no exception. In the book, besides a plethora of authentic recipes and history, she shares candidly about her strained relationship with her daughter Mothei Makhetha. Being estranged for seven years, Mothei writes her mother a letter, in a desperate cry for help, which she hopes will begin the healing process. After receiving the letter, circumstances of her life took Eunice back home to her mother in Moletsane, Soweto. This happens while she is researching her culinary book authenticating the recipes through the help of her mother. This handing down of recipes from her mother gets them connected on a very deep level, thus, creating compassion and trust they never had. In desperation Eunice seeks counselling from her own mother to try and mend the relationship with her daughter. Their journey is one of true and sincere conversations handed down from one generation to another, around family meals and prayerful family meetings.
The book South African Culinary Heritage by Eunice Rakhale, is about local food history and traditions interlaced with family conversations. It illustrates the culinary diversity of Southern African cuisine and some neighbouring countries, comparing the similarities and unique palatable heritages thereof. Written in a conversational style, the book is a handy culinary compilation which will bestow the reader with explorations regarding local African lifestyles history, art, clothing, music and perhaps even some song and dance. For tourists visiting these African countries – possessing a diversity of ethnic cultures, it is a worthy read regarding heritage and of-course African cuisine. A guide which should be included in any tourist’s travel pack and families.
It is about a genuine story told with an extraordinary ability that draws parallel between the author’s struggle in the restaurant industry and in her personal life. Ultimately, her passion for food is where she finds solace to learn, heal and grow.
Mother Daughter relationships can be extremely complex and Eunice is no exception. In the book, besides a plethora of authentic recipes and history, she shares candidly about her strained relationship with her daughter Mothei Makhetha. Being estranged for seven years, Mothei writes her mother a letter, in a desperate cry for help, which she hopes will begin the healing process. After receiving the letter, circumstances of her life took Eunice back home to her mother in Moletsane, Soweto. This happens while she is researching her culinary book authenticating the recipes through the help of her mother. This handing down of recipes from her mother gets them connected on a very deep level, thus, creating compassion and trust they never had. In desperation Eunice seeks counselling from her own mother to try and mend the relationship with her daughter.
Their journey is one of true and sincere conversations handed down from one generation to another, around family meals and prayerful family meetings.
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South African Culinary Heritage
Couscous: This is a staple food in Algeria,
Tunisia and Morocco. It is a coarsely
grounded semolina that is moistened and
rolled out in flour. To prepare, pour 4
tablespoons of butter into 2 cups of couscous
and pour a cup of boiling water and leave
for 10 minutes. Separate the grains with a
fork and place in a colander (uncovered)
over a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.
Cassava – Mandioca :Like sweet potato,
Cassava is a tropical vegetable that has
brown skin with a starchy flesh. This can be
used in place of potatoes and is often
ground to make cassava flour or Gari
which may be used as Phutu to make a
variety of Pap. Cassava may be added to
maize meal to give it a smooth texture.
DESSERT
Early in the 60’ and 70’s, Soweto was a green city, with lots
of trees, and almost every next house had a fruit tree of
some sort or the other, but most of the homes boosted
peach trees. The harvested peaches were cooked and
preserved in sugar syrup, and my mother was an expert in
this. In addition to peaches in syrup, traditional dessert is
every granny’s treat, especially when accompanied by
custard and jelly, as well as a good flow of Gemere, ginger
beer. Gemere is a traditional ginger drink which is served with
traditional scones that are known as the Potchefstrooms. As
has already been mentioned in a related recipe, the method
of mixing traditional scones is different from the usual jam
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