When traversing continents and cultures, one common ground reaches beyond language, class and race—food. There is no better way to explore a country than through its eating habits. With this in mind, I’d like to take you on a whirlwind journey of South Africa’s philosophy, people and history, through its wonderful snacks.

History in the making

Going on a long journey or ‘big trek’ has helped to form, not only South Africa’s cultural history, but its food history as well. Back in the days of ox-wagons and walking barefoot across mountains, there were no cooler boxes or ice-packs to keep travelling snacks—or ‘padkos’ as they’re fondly known—fresh.

This led to pioneers drying meat, fruit and baked goods, naturally preserving them in the process. Consequently, these snacks could survive turbulent climates, while also providing vital nutrients. The even more experimental Local African tribes consumed dried worms. Yes, that’s right, worms! More about that later…
Before we start our journey, let’s take a peek inside our ‘padkos’ basket. Most families heading on a holiday these days have the option of stopping off at a service station, but a few decades ago it was essential to have a basket packed with snacks. My family’s hamper always had a selection of small cold beef meatballs (frikkadelle), grapes, cashew nuts, hard boiled eggs, dried beef sausage (droë wors), fresh buttered rolls with dried beef slices (biltong) and rusks to accompany that other essential item of luggage—the coffee flask.

Now, if you’re sitting comfortably, let’s take a trip.

The snack highway

This brings me back to our pioneering forebears (Voortrekkers), who dried and salted game and beef to preserve it. This is known as Biltong (from the Dutch word). As dried meat is also lighter in weight and easy to transport it became the ideal protein to take on long journeys and is still one of the best loved snacks in South Africa. Now follow me up North to the Limpopo province.

Limpopo, home of Baobabs nature reserves and rich cultural heritage, is also home to the Mopane ‘worm’. This curious green and blue caterpillar is the larvae of the Emperor moth and feeds on the Mopane tree’s leaves. When they’ve grown fat and juicy they are harvested and the juices extracted (squeezed out by hand!) so they can be dried.  Once dried they are enjoyed as a high protein dry snack on the go—worm biltong, yum! Those who don’t like dry heat, endless bushveld or worms, should head for our national highway, the N1, to the Cape.  This route is important for our snacking journey as, along the way you, will pass numerous road stalls that offer a selection of quintessential snacks.

My personal favourite is the guava roll, consisting of a large sheet of minced and pressed fruit with a slightly leathery consistency. Tear off a piece and let the fruity flavours envelop your tastebuds as it softens. Another great fruit fix are dainties, a colourful mixture of minced fruit squares rolled in granulated sugar. A little warning though, these are seriously addictive and too much dried fruit on a long stretch of road could cause a problem or two…

As anyone that has made the long journey to the Cape can vouch, you drive and drive and then drive some more. Somewhere in the heart of the Karoo, with its endless stretches of arid landscape surrounding you, a coffee break essential and no coffee break is complete without a rusk. For anyone non South African, this is not a baby rusk, as most of my UK friends first assume. Made from bread type dough and twice-baked, these little beauties are great for rumbling tummies at any time of day or night. Most commonly available as buttermilk or aniseed rusks these crunchy, substantial snacks are a South African staple.

Again, our heartfelt gratitude goes to those stalwart pioneers.

Now we’ve made it over mountain passes and finally arrive in Cape Town. All that driving can work up a thirst, so time to unpack, grab a cold Castle beer and rustle up a Cape Malay favourite—chilli bites. These deep fried, spicy chickpea flour balls are a fantastic savoury snack and usually have sweetcorn or onion and tomato added for variation.

The night after the long drive you will be rewarded with a delicious breakfast snack to set you up for a day of sightseeing. A light cinnamon Cape koeksister rolled in coconut should is just the ticket. This is akin to a donut, but has warm syrup poured over it and has mixed spice, cinnamon and ginger aromas. If you decide to browse the local markets you will most likely come across another typical Cape snack called Mebos. Also a fruity snack, it consists of whole apricots soaked in brine and then dried in the sun. They are then tightly packed with thick layers of sugar in between, giving them a lovely sweet and sour taste.

And so on to the last leg of our whistle stop venture, in Kwazulu Natal. We’ll be flying for this journey, as it’s far quicker than driving, but don’t forget your snack. Salted cashews or chilli peanuts anyone? Say no more! Touching down on the tarmac in Durban humidity will hit you like a warm wet towel. The warm ocean and sticky heat lends itself perfectly to Indian inspired cuisine from the local Indian community. These snacks have become part and parcel of Kwazulu Natal and South Africa—no wonder this region is known as the ‘land of curry’.

Some of my favourite holiday memories include eating a spicy ‘vetkoek’ on the beach front in Amanzimtoti—a south coast town—in the early evening. ‘Vetkoek’ can roughly be translated as a fat cake, or deep fried dough ball, which is cut open and stuffed with savoury (usually curried mince) or sweet filling. Hot climates and spicy food go really well together and this brings me to the last spicy addition on the snack menu, the Samoosa. These filo pastry parcels are stuffed with a variety of fillings, before being fried, allowing a crispy outside with a warm gooey filling on the inside. Bliss!

I hope you’ve enjoyed our taste bud-tingling jaunt through South Africa’s compendium of culinary delights. Be sure to visit soon and try these timeless treats for yourself.