Stokkies AKA Snapsticks are biltong snacks for those busy folks who appreciate an ingestion of protein to keep them going. These delightful cured beef treats are made to South African recipes and contain our secret spice blend. Our more than two decades of culinary experience in the creation of these yummy stokkies will have you wanting more. Stokkies, snapsticks: A dried beef snack of protein full of flavour and energy. You can get them made with chilli, chakalaka, BBQ, Jack Daniels, and traditional spicing. Biltong snapsticks go down very well with beer and wine too. These low-fat beauties are a healthy snack for those who love to chew things over.

Little Sticks of Dried Biltong Beef

Stokkies means “little sticks” and are made from thin strips of beef biltong. Their chewy consistency is perfect for snacking whilst on the run or in front of the TV at home. Watching the Springboks beating the Wallabies with a stokkie in hand is what I call good living. Munching on these moreish morsels of mouth watering spiced dried beef makes life worth living. They are one of the reasons why we saffers always have a special smile denoting a deep contentment. Stokkies, snapstiicks: A dried beef snack of protein, which is ideal for sports, rest and play.

A Slow Release High Protein Snack

In my own experience, I find stokkies the perfect snack on the golf course to keep me performing over four hours. You want a slow release high protein snack that doesn’t weigh you down during digestion. High energy foods can assist you in making those booming drives and clutch putts coming down the stretch. Biltong snapsticks are ideal for sports of all sorts. Cricketers and footballers carry them in unsuspected spots on their persons during matches. Umpires have been known to spit out the whistle and insert a stokkie during a well-earned break from play.
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South Africa’s finest dried biltong is available in Sydney and right around Australia online. You may discover that a snapstick is the advantage that gets you over the line in your sport of choice. Whether you are snacking on a stokkie at home or out at play the delicious chewy flavours will pique your interest. You may store your stokkie in a boot or below the belt on field, but we guarantee the oral experience will stimulate your best. Will your stokkie be chilli, BBQ, chakalaka, Jack Daniels or traditional?

Rooibos means red bush and this herbal tea is a well-known wonder drink. This healthy plant-based tea comes from the Fabaceae family and has been drunk for hundreds of years. I had a friend who swore by its efficacy as a healthy warm drink and he would consume it day and night. Rooibos does not contain caffeine and has low levels of tannin, which makes it a healthy alternative to traditional tea and coffee. Rooibos tea: A South African healthy alternative for lovers of hot drinks. The thin needle like leaves were traditionally processed by being beaten on rocks with heavy wooden clubs.

Wild Rooibos & the Cederberg, Western Cape Region

Wild rooibos traditionally would grow on the mountains around the Cederberg, Western Cape region and locals would cut the leaves and bring them down in hessian sacks with the aid of donkeys. Rooibos was a cheaper local alternative to the more expensive imported Asian teas. The seed pods must be scarified for germination to take place and Rooibos seeds were at one time the most expensive seeds in the world. Dr Pieter Lefras Nortier is considered to be the father of the Rooibos tea industry in South Africa for his pioneering work in establishing processes necessary for the commercial production of Rooibos.

A Global Favourite with Health-Conscious Consumers

The enjoyable tea-like flavour of Rooibos has seen it become a global favourite with health-conscious consumers around the world. I suppose with so many habitually eaten and drunk things being bad for you it is rare to come across such a healthy alternative. My friend would carry a flask of Rooibos with him at all times and break out a cup whenever he could. Peter would bang on about this South African super drink till the cows came home. I will always remember this red bush tea forever more because of his passion for the stuff. Rooibos tea: A South African healthy alternative that pleased Peter no end. Rooibos tea is available from quality South African grocery stores in Sydney.

Rooibos comes in both fermented and green forms, with the reddish-brown fermented tea the more popular and cheaper. It is generally drunk black with no milk added. Its slightly grassy and malty flavour is popular with its proponents. One would describe it as a light tea in comparison with the tarrier teas traditionally consumed. Peter would tell me how each cup of Rooibos was doing wonders for his health. Its funny what you remember in this life.

What are the top-rated chocolates in South Africa? Well, according to the Sunday Times Top Brands Awards over the last 4 years it is the Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar. This mainstay of the candy store and sweets shop will be familiar to citizens of the member states of the Commonwealth. John Cadbury, began selling drinking chocolate in Birmingham in 1824, and his name is synonymous with British colonial expansion into its empire. In 1920, Cadbury opened a chocolate factory in Tasmania, Australia. In 1938, it began manufacturing chocolate products in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and continues to this day. Favourite South African chocolate: The sweet taste of home reminds many of their former roots in far flung places. 

I Visited the Cadbury Chocolate Factory

In fact, I visited the Cadbury chocolate factory as a youngster in short pants. In a stroke of rare good fortune my primary school travelled vast distances to the other side of the country and included a day outing to the home of delicious milk chocolate. In scenes reminiscent of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory troops of 10-year olds made their way around this temple of sweet delight. Nobody fell in a vat of liquid chocolate and I did not see a single Oompa Loompa but it was a memorable excursion. My favourite South African chocolate: The sweet taste of home remains on my tongue to this very day. What we encounter in our formative years forges an indelible impression and chocolate is no exception.

South African Cadbury Lunch Bar = A Picnic

Cadbury’s Lunch Bar is a close second in the favourite South African chocolate stakes. In Australia, we call this a Picnic Bar. Containing peanuts, nougat, caramel, puffed rice, biscuit and milk chocolate, the Lunch Bar is a perennial favourite with Saffers everywhere. Other highly regarded brands of chocolate are: Kit-Kat, Peppermint Crisp, Bar-One, Lindt, Ferrero Rocher, Tex Bar, Rolo and Chocolate Log. What are your favourite chocolate bar memories from your time in South Africa?
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We all have our own special experiences from the sweets shop filtering through our childhood memories. Children love their sugary hits and the smooth sweet taste of chocolate informs their passage through their formative years like the later taste of first love. Chocolate is a sensual story and deserves its place in our canon. The world would be much diminished without the advent of chocolate on the culinary stage. 

Baked rusks, for those not in the know, are dry, twice baked biscuits and they are big in South African culinary history. Rusks is the anglicised name for beskuit, which comes from the Dutch beschuit – referring to crisp baked breads and biscuits. The rusks form a traditional Afrikaner breakfast meal. They were, also, widely used as a way to preserve bread in pre-refrigeration times. Today, with the popularity of baked muesli bars I see a renaissance for this tasty snack. The return and rise of the rusks: A South African story to tell the world.

Rusks Are Making Their Presence Felt Globally

Soldiers have relied on rusks to feed them on the battlefield, as they can be stored on their person and don’t go off in a hurry. Hard tack biscuits have fed sailors and soldiers for centuries throughout Europe and into the New World. In the 21C, rusks have an opportunity to make their presence felt on supermarket shelves across the globe. The return and rise of the rusks: A South African story of culinary success awaits. Ouma Rusks come in a range of flavours including: Buttermilk; Muesli, Three Seeds; Poppy Seed and Blueberry; Raisin and Apple; and Condensed Milk.

You Can Purchase Rusks Online in Sydney

You can purchase rusks at your quality South African grocery store and online in Sydney. If you have not tried this typical South African treat, do yourself a favour and indulge in this delicious snack. Top quality rusks from South Africa are full of flavour and packed with a rich culinary history. Nothing reminds one of home as quickly and intensely as food from the old country. Expats usually keep a packet of rusks handy in case of emergencies. If home sickness and sentiment threaten to overwhelm them, they break open a packet to assuage these feelings.
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South Africans love their rusks, especially in the morning with a nice cup of tea or coffee. As they say, sometimes the simple things in life are the best and this is particularly true in the kitchen. The perfect rusks are as right as rain and just as sweet. This is a healthy treat for breakfast or a snack as well, with little fat and just the right amount of carbohydrate for the busy day ahead. The return and rise of the rusks: A South African story to be proud of.

In many ways, the whole Chakalaka story is a perfect illustration of the multicultural nature of South Africa. A bunch of Mozambican mineworkers in Johannesburg, coming off shift, whip up a spicy relish to accompany their maize pap. Feed the man chakalaka and pap! This dish is most often made from tinned tomatoes, beans, onion, garlic, chilli and curry powder. Its spicy quality represents a Portuguese influence and tells another strand of the migratory story of the genesis of South Africa. The Rainbow nation has so many unique fusion flavours created from the admixture of peoples from all over. The best chakalaka in Sydney sometimes comes out of a can, transporting the soul of South Africa to expats around the world.

South African Chakalaka is a Vegetable Relish

South African chakalaka is a vegetable relish with a thousand different faces, according to the creator and the many variations on a theme possible for this yummy soupy sauce. Some folks add carrot, capsicum, and you can use baked beans or another type of legume bean. The chakalaka is great with a braai, as a spicy pickle to accompany the meat. Traditionally served with maize pap, which is a stiff porridge made from ground maize meal. The best chakalaka in Sydney can be found in the homes of expat South Africans and in a good South African speciality grocery store.

Chakalaka Captures the Hearts of Many
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Chakalaka in a tin comes in extra hot, hot, and mild and spicy. You can also buy a bag of chakalaka spice mix premade. Chakalaka is, also, used as a spicy flavouring for cured and dried meats like Biltong and Wors. In Soweto, some call it a salad and chakalaka is one of those simple but true dishes born out of necessity and poverty. It is, however, often the simple things in life which capture the hearts of many and brandish staying power to boot.
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The best chakalaka in Sydney is available online; and this innocuous looking little tin can transform a meal into a tangy feast. It may not quite be the fishes and the loaves, but it does go very well with bread. Get a taste of the townships of South Africa and spice up your next repast. It goes down exceedingly well with lager on a warm day. It can, also, be matched with a zesty zinfandel or a Portuguese rose. Chakalaka it sounds like a dance move and tastes like a hot dream.