• Article Author: Martin Thomas
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Food Seasonability

2010 heralds the first World Cup to be held in South Africa. Even for those who are not really big sport fans the World Cup is always an event that everyone loves to watch and can get passionate about. The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is also a great time for getting together with family and friends and not only enjoy watching the sport but just spending some good quality time together with some great food. What could be better than adding a little taste of South Africa to your eats for guests to enjoy while watching the sport for an even more authentic experience. South African cuisine is actually much more varied than many imagine with influences not only coming from the settlers from countries like the Netherlands, England, Germany and Portugal but also from the slaves that they brought with them from India and Malaysia. This has resulted in a wide array of ingredients being used as well as styles of flavors including a high prominence of curry dishes, including Kota (also known as Bunny Chow) which is curry that is stuffed inside a hollowed out loaf of bread. However perhaps the most practical taste of South Africa for watching the sports event is having a braai. A braai is a barbecue much like you may have any other time, only try using lamb and sausage instead of the typical hot dogs and hamburgers that are seen at most sport events. South African's also love their biltong which can make for an easy snack during the games. Biltong is dried flavorful meat comparable to jerky that you may be used to. However if you really want to go all out and shock your guests, the men ought to love a skop which will add even more excitement to your sporting event. A skop is the head of a cow, sheep or goat that is boiled. This is a manly dish that will definitely be an ice breaker. Of course no South African sport event could possibly pass without plenty of beer and some great wine as well. Typical beer found in South Africa is much the same as in Europe including Amstel and Black Label and of course you should easily be able to find a great tasting South African wine locally to finish off the evening as well.