# Traditional foods in your country



## Snip 13 (Jun 19, 2011)

Since there are so many different people from all over on DC I thought it might be fun to see what all our traditional foods are 

So here goes South Africa!
Breakfast: Maize porridge with butter milk and sugar
Dinner: Boerewors with pap and  tomato and onion gravy or Samp and beans with Morogo (wild spinach) and Seswaa (beef on the bone cooked slowly with spices for a few hours and pulled into shreds)


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## Zhizara (Jun 19, 2011)

Good idea, but we Americans don't know many of your terms.  Would you explain what Boerewors with pap, and Samp are?


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## CraigC (Jun 19, 2011)

I bet you would find quite a few countries, like the US and Italy that have regional foods that are traditional. In the US most foods are representative of the cultures that immigrated here throughout our history as well as from native cultures. My ancestory is German and Irish.

Craig


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

Hi  Sure I'll explain. Pap is maizemeal made from white corn that is cooked either firm like polenta and served with meat and veg. Samp is dried white corn kernels that are beaten in a large mortar and pestle until the out husk comes off and then cooked and served like rice. Boerewors is a South African ground beef sausage spiced with things like coriander seed and cloves.


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

Hi CraigC  I was actually just curious to hear what dishes are eaten in all the different countries. I'm half South African and Half Irish myself and married to a German man. SA also has many dishes influenced by lots of cultures, I guess most countries do bur we do put our own spin on things. I prefer German and Italian food myself, nothing like a good Eisbein or Lasagna!


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## MSC (Jun 20, 2011)

Hi Snip, I see you're located in Botswana, and even though I've read the McCall-Smith books, not really acquainted with Botswana 'cuisine', if there is such a thing, or is it much like South African?
Please tell us about the differences between the two.


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

Hi there MSC
Yes, I'm South African and I've been living in Botswana for 7 years now. Both countries have similar traditional food but not exactly the same. Botswana's traditional dish is Seswaa (slow cooked, pulled beef) with pap(maize porridge) or samp(dried de-hulled white corn kernels) and beans served with wild spinach (morogo).
South Africa's tradional dish is Pap serevd with tomato and onion gravy. Beef slow cooked on the bones and Morogo.
I'm Afrikaans myself and we eat our pap with tomato and onion gravy and boerewors (beef sausage) our typical veg would be green beans cooked with onion and potatoes mashed together with butter salt and pepper, sweet pumpkin mashed or spinach.
Locals in Botswana also eat a lot of goat meat, fatcakes and sorghum. They prepare the whole sorghum as a starch with meat or make a soured porridge with milled sorghum for breakfast. I could go on for hours so I think it's better you ask if you want to know anything else. Odette


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## ChocolateFrosting (Jun 20, 2011)

Hello! Good question Snip

Traditional British food is always a bit hit and miss... here goes.

Scones (cream teas - clotted cream and jam) apparently there's a small riot going on that the moment because the various cream tea connoisseurs are fighting for protection and recognition of their traditional teas (Devonshire, Cornish, Yorkshire etc). Quite funny really.

Fish & Chips - Went to NZ a while back and they boast that they have better F&C then us. Honestly... ... they do, kinda (but theirs doesn't come in newspaper!) Plus their Cadburys isn't very nice and ours is lush - lol 

Roast dinners & Yorkshire puddings!  Yummy. 

Cheddar cheese!!

Marmite's ours too. Yum

(^^combine the two for a tasty sandwich!)

The Victoria Sponge
The Digestive biscuit is Scottish, as is the shortbread. 

That's a good start I think... 

Looking forward to all the posts to come!


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

Thanks Chocolate Frosting!
Finally someone that gets where I was going with this. What foreigners think is the traditional food isn't always. I knew about fish and chips and the yorkshire puds. Love Yorkshire puds, we have a few good fish a chip shops in SA too. They serve the fish in newspaper. And we eat our scones with Jam and Cream. Must be the european influence.  What exactly is clotted cream, heard of it but I'm not sure?
In SA there is also a big difference between african tradition and afrikaans.
Afrikaans TRaditional food also included skilpadtjies (minced and spiced lambs liver covered in Coldvat) grilled till crispy on the outside and eaten with relish. We also do Kaaings with maizemeal. Kaaings are the fatty bits of the lamb with a bit of meat on cooked till real crisp like crackling yum!!!
We eat melkkos too which is milk with small dough like crumbles added to it and cooked till the flour in the dough thickens the whole mixture and is cooked through. Then we serve it in bowls with cinnamon sugar and butter.


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## Zhizara (Jun 20, 2011)

There are also regional foods:  Here in Louisiana, we have cajun seasoning, blackened fish or chicken, gumbo, Andouille sausage, jambalaya.  

For definitions/recipes, there are others here at DC who can fill you in on these better than I can.


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

Sounds Yummy! I've heard of most of those dishes but I would really like to know what blakened fish is? And if anyone has a good Cajun spice blend for me that would be nice. Want to make Cajun style prawns


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## pacanis (Jun 20, 2011)

"green beans cooked with onion and potatoes mashed together with butter salt and pepper"

This sounds good. How do you make it? Do you mash everything together and how "mashed" is it?


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

It's really yummy! Just take about 500gr of greenbeans, chop them into about 1 and a half cm pieces, dice one large onion and 2 large potatoes. Put everything in a pot and boil till tender. Mash with a fork (a masher makes it too mushy) Add cracked black pepper, salt and plenty of butter and enjoy! We also eat swiss chard this way.


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## pacanis (Jun 20, 2011)

A lot of us make something similar, but tend to do it right there on our plates


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

I can't believe I forgot about biltong and drywors! and I call myself South african  LOL!


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## ChocolateFrosting (Jun 20, 2011)

Snip 13 said:


> Thanks Chocolate Frosting!
> Finally someone that gets where I was going with this. What foreigners think is the traditional food isn't always. [...] What exactly is clotted cream, heard of it but I'm not sure?


 
No problem! I love traveling and sampling different countries' food so I'm all up for hearing about some local grub!!

I think that's what is so nice about food, it's a truly global thing. Something that starts in one country travels all round and get changed or adapted and become part of the local life. It's a truly global enterprise!! 

As for clotted cream, it's essentially really thick cream. 

Apparently made by:
You heat up upasterised cow milk using steam or something similar like a water bath, then let it cool. The creamy bit that rises to the top is clotted cream. 

I must confess to not knowing how it was made, and having to have a quick check of wikipedia - I learnt something new today


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## ChocolateFrosting (Jun 20, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> There are also regional foods: Here in Louisiana, we have cajun seasoning, blackened fish or chicken, gumbo, Andouille sausage, jambalaya.
> 
> For definitions/recipes, there are others here at DC who can fill you in on these better than I can.


 
That sounds so yummy! It reminded me (guiltily) of the 'Princess and the Frog' Disney movie. I love cajun food and jambalaya! Although, I never get it quite as good as the authentic stuff. Clearly missing a trick there. 

"Just hit it with a couple a shots of tabasca and it's the bee's knees"


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## Snip 13 (Jun 20, 2011)

Clotted cream looks and sounds really yum! We just get double cream but it's not the same. Must make a point of finding some.
We have biltong and drywors but I'm sure you know that and Souskluitjies (a sweet soft almost custard like dumpling) boiled in a light sugar syrup with cinnamon served with custard. Mosbolletjies (a aniseed flavoured rusk that is baked in a loaf tin) we don't dry it out then pull the soft rusks off with your hands and dunk them in Moer koffie (Like filter coffee, just boiled in a pot with a muslin bag)
Beef wellington is that british?


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## Rocklobster (Jun 21, 2011)

French-Canadian. Is that French? Or, is that Canadian? 

Pea Soup
Sugar Pie
Smoked Meat
Pulled Toffee
Creton
Butter Tarts
Tourtiere
Poutine
Baked Beans


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## CWS4322 (Jun 21, 2011)

If you can get unpasturized cream, clotted cream is quite easy to make. I believe the recipe I used was in the Joy of Cooking. It is heavenly with stewed rhubarb. Another reason for getting a dairy cow...

RockLobster's list is a good start for French Canadian. There is also C-pie which is pasta, three types of meat (veal, pork, beef/chicken), and potatoes.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Jun 21, 2011)

I'm also in the US but I know in this region wild game is a big deal, especially venison of the white tail variety and fish caught in the local lakes, streams, and rivers (whitefish, pike, walleye, small mouth bass, perch, lake trout, brook trout, smelt, salmon). Smoked lake trout and smoked whitefish are really popular. We also have wild raspberries, apples, chokecherries (they make excellent jelly) and blueberries (you haven't had blueberries until you've had wild blueberries). Some lucky folk know where the morels grow. Cherries are also pretty common, but most of them get brought up from down state, especially around Traverse City's cherry festival. Oh, and maple is huge in this area. Maple syrup, maple candy, maple fudge and ice cream, maple in baked beans and on baked hams, even a few who put maple in their chili. And of course, you can't leave out the pasty. You can find evidence of this here Pasties: The Meaty Center Of 'Yooper' Food : NPR and here » Real Michigan Food: The Pasty » Absolute Michigan.  Common ingredients for U.P. pasties are pork, beef or turkey, onion, worcestershire sauce, potatoes, black pepper, and of course rutabaga. Sprout informed me that carrots are controversial. Some people love them with the rutabaga and others think it's an abomination.


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## Snip 13 (Jun 22, 2011)

All this food talk is making me hungry!!! As I thought, local people do eat different things to what we see on TV. I've never been to the US but any country that is home to good old Tabasco sounds good to me. Can't live without it..lol! We only hear about Americans eating burgers and blueberry pancakes. I've been to Barcelona but Spanish cuisine doesn't excite me that much, just loved the pealla! It's always nice to hear about cultures and tradition.


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## MSC (Jun 22, 2011)

Re Cajun spice blends--the 2 most well-known chefs with spice blends are Emeril Lagasse & PaulPrudhomme.  If they're not available in Botswana, they can be bought online, or if that isn't possible, google each of them as all of Emeril's spice blend recipes are online, and some of Prudhomme's.  Also Prudhomme is credited with "inventing" blackening, so plenty of recipes and techniques accessible on the net, probably videos too on youtube.


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## purple.alien.giraffe (Jun 22, 2011)

@Snip, mmmm, hamburgers and blueberry pancakes.  I'll only eat homemade  blueberry pancakes anymore. I've been spoiled for way to long with my  dad's (Goodweed) recipe. I think buckwheat blueberry pancakes with just a  tiny drizzle of honey on top are my favorite. Blueberry pancakes in  general are a regional favorite especially when the wild blueberries are in season. The favorite hamburger in this area  seems to be the grilled hockey puck, aka a burger so burnt on the grill  you might as well be eating a hockey puck and could use them to play street hockey with. I've heard people swear they  are the best way to eat a burger and complain that properly cooked ones  aren't done enough.  Personally, I think black and crunchy enough on the outside to chip a tooth on while rubbery or sawdusty on the inside is gross, but I seem to be in the minority in this town.


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## Hoot (Jun 22, 2011)

Here in northeastern  N.C., pit cooked pork barbecue is a traditional favorite. Collard greens,, butterbeans cooked slow with a piece of side meat or ham hock, brunswick stew, fish muddle, cornbread(generally fried as opposed to baked), well... this list could grow quite long. and as it is nearly suppertime...I reckon I will let that do.


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## pacanis (Jun 22, 2011)

I always wondered where the edge of the great dismal swamp was located, Hoot.


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## spork (Jun 22, 2011)

eggs, scrambled with thin slices of bitter melon, crumbled tofu and meat stripped from fish bones.  braised pig's ears.  purple sweet potato buried in a smoldering pile of leaves.  sugar cane from irate, machete-wielding farmers.  wild onion crepe.

... breakfast menudo stew of hominy beans and cow tripe.


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## Saphellae (Jun 22, 2011)

French Canadian here too Rock - I'm Acadian - the cajuns are deported Acadians, who the queen deported when they refused to fight in the war.
I'd have to add seafood to your list.  Lobster, crab, shellfish, seafood soup
Dandelion wine! My grandpa would make my mom and her siblings go out to the fields and pick dandelions for this.
Anything molasses.. molasses pie.. molasses pancakes...


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## Hoot (Jun 22, 2011)

spork said:


> ... breakfast menudo stew of hominy beans and cow tripe.


This is wonderful stuff!!......I learned about it from the owner of a mexican restaurant in town.


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## Dawgluver (Jun 22, 2011)

From the Upper Midwest of US, lefse (like tortillas from riced potatoes),  hotdish (cream of anything with noodles or rice, some sort of protein, chopped celery, etc.), beef and pork.  Horseradish, rhubarb.  Lutefisk (blech - nasty stuff cured in lye).


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 22, 2011)

We eat everything, from Italian to Japanese, Cajun to English.  I can't think of anything traditional, my paternal Grandmother was Czech, but never taught us any recipes.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 22, 2011)

Regional Favorites for U.P. Michigan Fruit pies, especially blueberry and raspberry, cherry, and rhubarb, but includes apple (transparent apples), pumpkin, Pecan pie made with maple syrup instead of corn syrup, cream pies of all types, pudding pies, etc.  

Boiled dinner made with meat, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, and cabbage is a favorite.  Meats for this dish include a choice of ham, venison, ham hocks, corned beef, chuck roast, or ground beef.  The traditional pasty is made with a 3-2-1 pastry dough, and filled with ground beef, diced rutabaga, diced potato, chopped onion, and seasoned simply with garlic, salt, and pepper.  The filling is placed in the center of an 8 inch round of rolled dough which is folded from one side to the other, making a half-moon shape.  The pasty is usually served with gravy or ketchup.  Some pasty makers (a few of us anyway) like to place a dough divider in the pasty and place the above filling on one side, and a fruit filling on the other, providing both the savory main course, and the desert in one wonderful pasty.  Enough dough must be left on the pinched edge to roll toward the center to make a handle by which the pasty is picked up and eaten.

Pizza pasties are a local favorite.  The household I grew up in was not typical.  We ate a lot of spaghetti, goulash (macaroni with ground beef , bell pepper, onion, and herbs), pot roast, beef stew, meat pies, fried, roasted, or grilled chicken, rabbit, fresh brook trout, fresh Rainbow trout, yellow perch, venison, lots of root veggies, pancakes and waffles, eggs and bacon, breakfast sausage, wonderful baked beans, wonderful chili with lots of kidney beans, onions, celery, chili powder, and ground beef, in a tomato base.  

Regional sandwiches include bacon-lettuce & tomato, liverwurst, open faced roast beef, open faced pork, and open faced turkey each with appropriate gravy.  Americans everywhere love peanut butter and jelly (provided there are no peanut allergies).

Corn on the cob with hamburgers are common.  Local favorites are the Paul Bunyan and Big C hamburgers, both exceeding 1/2 lb. in weight.  Most people prefer their fish dipped in beer batter and deep-fried.  I like mine dredged in flour and pan-fried.  Smoked fish of all kinds are common to this area, smoked with maple or alder wood.

Pulled pork isn't common except at my house.  Pork ribs are a favorite.  However, most folks around here overcook them, and cook them with a sugary barbecue sauce, that usually is burnt by the time the ribs are removed from the grill.  They also grill them over heat with no lid, or cook them in a slow cooker, heavy sigh.  

Our restaurants are nothing to brag about.  But there are a few great cooks around these parts, especially with game or fish.  None of them cook professionally.  Well, that's all I can think of for now.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

P.S. West Pier has the best burgers and fries in town.


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## Zhizara (Jun 22, 2011)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Regional Favorites for U.P. Michigan Fruit pies, especially blueberry and raspberry, cherry, and rhubarb, but includes apple (transparent apples), pumpkin, Pecan pie made with maple syrup instead of corn syrup, cream pies of all types, pudding pies, etc.
> 
> Boiled dinner made with meat, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, and cabbage is a favorite.  Meats for this dish include a choice of ham, venison, ham hocks, corned beef, chuck roast, or ground beef.  The traditional pasty is made with a 3-2-1 pastry dough, and filled with ground beef, diced rutabaga, diced potato, chopped onion, and seasoned simply with garlic, salt, and pepper.  The filling is placed in the center of an 8 inch round of rolled dough which is folded from one side to the other, making a half-moon shape.  The pasty is usually served with gravy or ketchup.  Some pasty makers (a few of us anyway) like to place a dough divider in the pasty and place the above filling on one side, and a fruit filling on the other, providing both the savory main course, and the desert in one wonderful pasty.  Enough dough must be left on the pinched edge to roll toward the center to make a handle by which the pasty is picked up and eaten.
> 
> ...



What's a 3-2-1 pastry dough, GW?

I love burnt sugary BBQ sauce!


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## CWS4322 (Jun 22, 2011)

Saphellae said:


> French Canadian here too Rock - I'm Acadian - the cajuns are deported Acadians, who the queen deported when they refused to fight in the war.
> I'd have to add seafood to your list. Lobster, crab, shellfish, seafood soup
> Dandelion wine! My grandpa would make my mom and her siblings go out to the fields and pick dandelions for this.
> Anything molasses.. molasses pie.. molasses pancakes...


 
And fiddleheads! When I was in grad school in New Brunswick, my roommate was from Quebec--she and I went out and harvested fiddleheads. And, don't forget cod cheeks!


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## Snip 13 (Jun 23, 2011)

Lol! I like my burgers made with good quality beef and still a bit pink in the middle.  Add some relish, some pickles and a fried egg and I'm a happy girl!


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## Snip 13 (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks guys! I've learned a lot just from the few replies  We don't have many fancy restaurants in SA but I prefer it that way. We have great food, great people and lots of atmosphere. Nothing beats being able to put on some shorts and a t-shirt and still being able to get a good meal have some local beer and not having to worry about a stuffy crowd!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 23, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> What's a 3-2-1 pastry dough, GW?
> 
> I love burnt sugary BBQ sauce!



3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, 1 part water, by weight.  It isn't as flaky as a traditional pice crust made from 3 cups flour, enough shortening cut in to make it look like pea gravel, and 1/8 cup ice water.  But it is still tender and great for pasties, fry pies, and such.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## CookingMamaof2 (Jun 23, 2011)

Hoot said:


> Here in northeastern N.C., pit cooked pork barbecue is a traditional favorite. Collard greens,, butterbeans cooked slow with a piece of side meat or ham hock, brunswick stew, fish muddle, cornbread(generally fried as opposed to baked), well... this list could grow quite long. and as it is nearly suppertime...I reckon I will let that do.


 

I grew up in NC...I miss southern food.

In Pittsburgh, traditional foods are pierogies, french fries on everything, eben salads, Primantis sandwiches, which are meat, slaw, fries


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## Snip 13 (Jun 23, 2011)

My sister inlaw comes from Poland and she makes the best Pierogies ever! Darn I'm so craving some right now


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## texherp (Jun 23, 2011)

Texas is so regional, it really depends on where in Texas you grew up.  I am from Southeast Texas which is more akin to Cajun country just across the Sabine river than anything else.  Crawfish boils are pretty staple for celebrations.  We had rice farms just down the road from us and rice pretty much went with everything.  

East Texas is very much like the Deep South, but they don't really eat grits and butterbeans like other parts of the South. 

My godmother is from South Texas and makes awesome Mexican food.  There's something called "migas" which is a mix of leftover bits of corn tortillas, tomatoes, onions, and bellpeppers sauted together with scrambled eggs.  There's something else she makes with cut up dried beef but I can't remember the name.  Then there's this one dish that's basically fresh Mexican cheese fried slightly in a skillet which you eat with tortilla chips.

I think it's funny how people from the Carolinas argue about what sauce is the best for barbeque.  Personally, from a Texan, I think good barbeque doesn't need sauce at all.  We mostly cook brisket so its a little different scenario than a pork shoulder, but on a good brisket, every slice will have a lining of fat on one side that is extremely flavorful and just melts in your mouth.  That's the best sauce of all!


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## Snip 13 (Jun 23, 2011)

texherp said:


> I think it's funny how people from the Carolinas argue about what sauce is the best for barbeque. Personally, from a Texan, I think good barbeque doesn't need sauce at all. We mostly cook brisket so its a little different scenario than a pork shoulder, but on a good brisket, every slice will have a lining of fat on one side that is extremely flavorful and just melts in your mouth. That's the best sauce of all!


 
It all sounds good and I agree about the "no barbeque sauce"
We braai (bbq) in SA a lot and we don't really put sauces on our meat. We grill lamb chops, pork chops, lamb or pork ribs and boerewors etc.  Just add a few spices and you're good to go. Won't see a South African sticking a burger or hotdog on the grill either, we do that indoors. As for sides, we usually make pap and relish, potato salad, green salad on the side. Another tradition in SA is a bring and braai, one person hosts and everyone brings their own meat and alchohol while the host makes all the side dishes.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 23, 2011)

Why do folks in SA cook burgers and hotdogs in the house?


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## chopper (Jun 23, 2011)

I grew up in Southern Michigan, and ate some of the things that Goodweed ate, with the addition of the Pennslyvania Dutch dishes we ate because Dad was from PA.  Those were chicken pot pie, chicken corn soup, apple butter, etc.  Now...for most of my life...I live in Colorado.  What food do you go to Colorado for???  All cuts of beef are good here if you buy local, or let's see, buffalo is popular.  Lots of places make jerky (beef or buffalo).  I have had Rocky Mountain Oysters too, and they were good.  I was tricked into trying them, but in the end they were good. There is a "pie lady" at a place near the entrance to the Sand Dunes National Park that makes pies as good as what I remember having at the Kalamazoo County Fair!  What people have here varies from house to house, I guess because people have not lived in Colorado as long as some other places (historically).


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## Snip 13 (Jun 23, 2011)

We don't really eat burgers and hotdogs often here, it's more of a junkfood item. Usually just grill what we would consider real meat. Guess it's just our way of doing it.


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## chopper (Jun 23, 2011)

Snip 13 said:


> We don't really eat burgers and hotdogs often here, it's more of a junkfood item. Usually just grill what we would consider real meat. Guess it's just our way of doing it.


 In the summer, if I can grill it, it gets grilled!  I really enjoy cooking outside.  In the winter, when we have a nice day, I grill out too.  Sometimes I end up grilling in the garage!


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## Snip 13 (Jun 23, 2011)

Love cooking outside too  we do give the kids hotdogs sometimes but we make it at home since it's usually so late when the braai is done that the kids can't wait. If you go to an SA braai for lunch you end up getting dinner..lol!


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## Saphellae (Jun 23, 2011)

Chopper, here too, sometimes we bbq right into the winter but in the garage


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 23, 2011)

I dig a path through the snow to the middle of my front yard.  Then, I remove the snow in a circle large enough to hold my Webber Grill, and to be able to walk all the way around it comfortably.  I bank the snow on the west side of the circle, about 6 foot tall, and ten foot long, to shelter me from any winds.  I grill all year long, sunshine, rain, snow, I don't care, though in inclement weather, I grill with the lid on exclusively.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 23, 2011)

chopper said:


> I grew up in Southern Michigan, and ate some of the things that Goodweed ate, with the addition of the Pennslyvania Dutch dishes we ate because Dad was from PA.  Those were chicken pot pie, chicken corn soup, apple butter, etc.  Now...for most of my life...I live in Colorado.  What food do you go to Colorado for???  All cuts of beef are good here if you buy local, or let's see, buffalo is popular.  Lots of places make jerky (beef or buffalo).  I have had Rocky Mountain Oysters too, and they were good.  I was tricked into trying them, but in the end they were good. There is a "pie lady" at a place near the entrance to the Sand Dunes National Park that makes pies as good as what I remember having at the Kalamazoo County Fair!  What people have here varies from house to house, I guess because people have not lived in Colorado as long as some other places (historically).



It's the same in Wyoming and Montana...not much tradition, but what happens in each house.  Even at work, during lunchtime I can cadge just about any cuisine out there.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 24, 2011)

At the farm, the BBQ is in the sawmill shed. We use it year 'round. At the house in the city, it is on the deck. We also use it year 'round.


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## chopper (Jun 24, 2011)

Goodweed of the North said:


> I dig a path through the snow to the middle of my front yard. Then, I remove the snow in a circle large enough to hold my Webber Grill, and to be able to walk all the way around it comfortably. I bank the snow on the west side of the circle, about 6 foot tall, and ten foot long, to shelter me from any winds. I grill all year long, sunshine, rain, snow, I don't care, though in inclement weather, I grill with the lid on exclusively.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


 
OK, but why dig in the snow when there is a garage?  If I didn't have a garage, I would dig in the snow.  It is worth it to grill!  Gotta love it!!!


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## Claire (Jun 24, 2011)

Rocklobster, you made my day.  I really don't make all those dishes all that often, but agree with those who say that in the U.S., we pretty much eat what our ancestors ate as a "native" dish.  For me it's tourtiere at Christmas time and an occaisional new England boiled dinner.  But, in fact my father (and most of his brothers) was in the U.S. Air Force, as I was, and my husband was in the U.S. Army.  In sum it means we learned to eat Internationally.  My husband's people were Eastern European in origins, so I learned to cook some of my Slovak/Slovene in-laws' dishes.  But most of our cooking came from our coworkers, who were a very international lot.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jun 24, 2011)

chopper said:


> OK, but why dig in the snow when there is a garage?  If I didn't have a garage, I would dig in the snow.  It is worth it to grill!  Gotta love it!!!



Because it shows I'm hardcore crazy, through and through.  I refuse to let old man winter slow me down.  I used to snowmobile in jeans and a T-shirt, as well as ski behind cars in hard-sole shoes.  And then there were the barefoot races when the fish weren't biting out on the ice.

If you think I'm going to let 5 feet of snow keep me from grillin' in my yard, you don't know me very well.  Notice that - "of the North" part of my title?

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## chopper (Jun 24, 2011)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Because it shows I'm hardcore crazy, through and through. I refuse to let old man winter slow me down. I used to snowmobile in jeans and a T-shirt, as well as ski behind cars in hard-sole shoes. And then there were the barefoot races when the fish weren't biting out on the ice.
> 
> If you think I'm going to let 5 feet of snow keep me from grillin' in my yard, you don't know me very well. Notice that - "of the North" part of my title?
> 
> Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


 I believe I have become soft.  When I was growing up in Michigan, the snow was fantastic.  I have several pictures of the snow banks and us kids always in them!  I too remember snowmobiling in all kinds of weather!  I miss those days.  Thanks for the trip down memory lane.  Maybe I should shovel some snow this winter, plop that grill in the hole, and barbeque away!  I'll let you know how it goes!


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## Rocklobster (Jun 24, 2011)

I hate the snow. But,having to shovel it, keeps me from having a beer belly.


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