Food Notes: Jerky and Boer Ethnic Pride

You can find it at convenience shops in the airport, at stands in local outdoor markets, and even in the larger supermarkets around here.  It's meat jerky - called biltung here - and it may be made from ostrich, wildebeest, springbok, other game meats, beef, or a blend of several of these meats.  The jerky is also inextricably connected to Boer ethnic pride.  During the "Great Trek" of the 1830s and 40s, a group of about 12,000 Boers, later called Voortrekkers (Pioneers), migrated from the Cape Colony to the areas now known as the Natal, Free State, and Transvaal regions.  For the most part, historians suggest this group was fleeing from recently imposed British rule but population pressures and constant border wars with Xhosa-speaking African groups along the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony may also have contributed to the move.  Along the way, the voortrekkers relied heavily on dried meat jerky to sustain them.  I sampled an "ostrich chunk" that I purchased from major food retailer, Woolworth's, and can't say that I was particularly fond of ostrich.  The flavor struck me as somewhat heavy or "gamy," but it is a flavor that many find very enjoyable. 

Comments

[Mark]

Mmmm... ostrich chunk! Glad to hear you're getting the full food experience over there ;)

[Gwen]

I'm really enjoying the meat-blogging! It's fascinating.