Food and Drink in South Africa

Hi everyone-

It has been a few days since my last post and there has been a very good reason for that.  I have had Zulu's Revenge (relative of Montezuma's Revenge) for the last 4 days.  Actually Jon and I have both had it-fever, chills, night sweats, visiting the "porcelain god" many times over.  Anyway, without too many more graphic details, we are both better and have joined the living.  

So let's start with the important stuff!  Diet Coke......No such thing here in South Africa.  It is called Coke Light.  The first night here I ordered it and it came in a can with a glass.  It didn't taste like Diet Coke.  I didn't have my reading glasses so I asked Jonathan (our son) to check the label.  Sure enough, no sugar.  But it still didn't taste right.  When I got home I went on the Coca Cola website and did some research.  Market studies determined that, in this market, the product needed to be sweeter. Thus, Coke Light was born. 

The other obvious difference with sodas is that in every restaurant drinks are brought out by the can.  There is no such thing here as free refills. In fact, Jonathan and I went to the pool at our hotel and he ordered a Castle Light (the local beer) and I ordered a Coke Light. The bill came and they were exactly the same price- R18.00.  That is the equivalent of US $3.00 per drink.  Jonathan was thrilled.  I was mortified.  I don't know if this has to do with the access to clean water that can be aerated or what. Later, Big Jon told us both to order tap water from now on......which might have resulted in the Zulu's Revenge we have been suffering from!

So far, food here is very similar to food in the US.  Chips (french fries) are served with just about everything. You can get hamburgers and chicken fingers, pizza, pasta, and steaks.  Prawns are more prevalent than shrimp and are served whole, with heads, tails, and legs. Little Jon saw a Hooter's restaurant as we were driving around and the banner ad was for Ribs, Prawns, and Wings. He wanted a picture of that sign to show his buds back home. The beef has a bit of a different flavor but not gamey. You can order baby chickens, lamb, pork belly, rump steak.....maybe not the cuts you are used to.

Test your translation skills here:

Vergeet Ham, eet lam!

That is Afrikaans for Forget Ham, Eat Lamb.  Both are very popular here.  A "rasher" of bacon is a slice of bacon.  Breakfast is usually several rashers of bacon with some eggs and grilled tomato slices and maybe some mushrooms.  Pancakes are often sold pre-cooked and available in the pastry aisle at the grocery store.

I bought some corn on the cob from a street vendor yesterday. No exaggeration-each ear was 12-14 inches long.  I bought five ears for R20.00, which is about $3.00 US.  It was beautiful in color, like white corn, but locals advised us to boil it a long time ( about 30 minutes) to soften it enough to eat.  It was also not as sweet as US white corn. However, it is a very important staple for the people here. They grind it and use it for corn meal.

The big thing here is to cook on the Braai.  That is the equivalent of grilling.  A lot of homes here have built-in braais for cooking. Some are gas-started, others are pure charcoal.  The weather here in Jo'burg is very conducive to eating outdoors so everyone grills.  We hope to find a permanent home (for the next two years) that has a braai for Jon to work on his grilling skills!

We are adjusting to other differences as well.  In the US, cookies are cookies.  In SA, cookies are biscuits.  A grilled ham and cheese in the US is a ham and cheese toastie in SA. If you want something "to go" in the US, it is a "take-away" in SA. 

Cheers to you (which is "have a good one"),

Jody and Jon