Favourite South African delicacies and what it will cost you

South Africans love their delicacies, braai sauces, rusks and of course South African wine! Most of these products are available online these days and there are also numerous South African stores abroad in areas where South Africans live. One such store is Springbok Delights in Australia which was started in 2000 by Reon and Lyndie Wilsenach. The couple opened their first butchery and shop in Sydney and then started supplying up to 80 shops, delis and restaurants with biltong and boerewors. In 2003 they opened another store, African Delights, and in 2006 The Biltong Man. In 2007, they expanded so much that they converted almost an entire centre into a South African butchery, liquor store and grocery store with a fresh product department. This shows how big the demand for genuine South African products is! And their bestsellers? Koeksisters, Mrs. H.S. Ball’s Chutney, All Gold Tomato Sauce and Ouma Rusks!

Whether it’s a bottle of Marmite, a Nando’s sauce, Tennis biscuits, rooibos tea, a Bar One or even a Grand-Pa for the next morning, everyone misses the products that one so easily taken for granted in South Africa. Which South African products are most in demand abroad and how much do they cost? Here is a list:

• Zoo biscuits, 150 g – R65
• Eet-Sum-Mor biscuits – R50
• Aromat, 75 g – R39
• H.S. Ball’s Chutney, 1,1 kg – R98
• NikNaks, 150 g – R25
• Biltong, 1 kg sliced – R880
• Braaipap, 2 kg – R69
• Melrose cheese spread, 250 g – R76
• Jolly Jammers, 200 g – R47
• Rusks, 350 g – R99
• Chocolates like Tex, Bar One and Chocolate Log – R25
• Nando’s sauce – R31
• Disprin (24) – R90
• Marmite, 600 g – R350–R660
• Bovril, 125 g – R50
• Boerewors, 1 kg – R224
• All Gold apricot jam – R70
• All Gold tomato sauce, 700 ml – R85
• Amarula Cream liqueur, 750 ml – R587
• Black Cat peanut butter – R82
• Lyle’s Golden Syrup – R90
• Lucky Star Pilchard’s – R85

(Prices obtained from Springbok Delights and Expat Shop)

Prices vary, of course, from country to country; the above are mostly Australian prices. The list of products that is unique to South Africa sometimes surprises one. Did you know Monkey Gland Sauce and Dom Pedro’s are unique to South Africa and that there isn’t really anything similar in the rest of the world? South African desserts are of course tops: Cremora tart, Peppermint Crisp tart, Marmite tart, koeksisters, milk tart and malva pudding.

Here’s a recipe for an easy Peppermint Crisp tart:

Ingredients

• 1 tin of caramel condensed milk
• 250 ml thick/heavy cream (whipped)
• 1 packet of Tennis biscuits
• 2 slabs of peppermint chocolate of your choice (crushed)

Then follow these steps:

1. Beat cream until stiff peaks form.
2. Add the caramel and mix well.
3. Pack layers of Tennis Biscuits, cream mixture and crushed peppermint chocolate in a bowl of about 30 cm x 20 cm.
4. Finish with the chocolate crumbs.
5. Refrigerate (preferably overnight).

Products at Springbok Delights:

(Click here to visit Springbok Delights on Worldwide’s Worldguide)

Products at Expat Shop:

(Click here to visit Expat Shop on Worldwide’s Worldguide)