South African Food Facts

This area and in particular the Nation named South Africa is nicknamed the Rainbow Nation. The latter Rainbow pun in particular refers to the cooking of Southern Africa is sometimes called ‘rainbow cuisine’, as the food in this region is a blend of many cultures. The influences come from the indigenous African tribal societies, European and Asian migrant workers.

For those of us not from the region to understand local/indigenous cuisine, it is important first to digress to understand the various native peoples of southern Africa. The indigenous people of Southern Africa were roughly divided into two groups and several sub groups. The largest group consisted of the Bantu-speakers, whose descendants today may identify themselves by various sub-group names such as Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Pedi, Swazi, Shangaan and Tsonga. All of the groups maintained their own cultural slants on local cuisine and in particular the preparation methods. All are heavy meat eaters and consume various different types of meats compared to those from other areas of Africa. The spices and European influences together make an interesting food style

In regards to drink South Africa maintains one of the most robust and popular markets. There are several types of traditional and modern alcoholic beverages including many European-style beers consumed right access the region.