It’s an age-old tradition that’s either adored or despised! Christmas fruitcake is known for its dense, heavy consistency and rich aromatic flavour that is always enjoyed during the festive period. Whether you love it or hate it, we decided to explore the history of Christmas cake with you this week, as well as a delicious bonus recipe!

By Taryn Wilson

Believe it or not, it started as a porridge. The idea first began in England. People would fast before Christmas so that when the big day finally came, they could enjoy a massive feast freely. However, on Christmas Eve it was standard practice to eat a plum porridge, intended to line the stomach in preparation for the festivities of Christmas Day.

Slowly but surely, people began to add spices and other sweet fruit to the original porridge recipe, until eventually the oatmeal itself was replaced with eggs, flour and butter. It became a thicker consistency, resembling a boiled cake.

Wealthier families began experimenting with luxurious and exotic ingredients and spices from the Middle East, making the once plain-and-hearty Christmas Eve porridge even more decadent, until it finally evolved into what we know it as today.

This traditional dish is made in a variety of ways all over the world, with each nationality putting own spin on the base recipe. But one thing is always certain: It’s always filled with tart dried fruit and exotic flavours from the East.

If you didn’t make your Christmas cake 2 months ago, it’s too late to start lovingly feeding it with spiced brandy now. But not to worry, try our very own quick and easy last minute granadilla fruit cake or our caramel chocolate Christmas cake and enjoy it on Christmas Eve in preparation for your big Christmas Day lunch as of old.

The post Love it or hate it, the history of Christmas cake is a must-read! appeared first on MyKitchen.

The use of bitters dates back to hundreds of years ago, where it was first used by monks for medicinal purposes. The popularity of bitters soon grew in Europe in the 1600s where they were used as appetite stimulators before a meal. It was only later in 1824 that Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert created the world famous recipe of aromatic bitters for Angostura.

By Taryn Wilson

Bitters receives its flavour from herbs, roots, flowers, seeds, fruit and leaves, which are then dissolved in a clear flavourless alcohol. This is what gives it its great medicinal properties. Angostura aromatic bitters has select ingredients that are imported from across the globe to make the finest range. The recipe is kept secret, and is known by only five people.

The production of bitters is a lengthy process. After blending and sieving the ingredients, extracting the flavour, and being placed into a sugar, caramel-colouring and spring water mixture, it sits for three months for the flavours to completely blend, before being packaged and sold.

While favoured in cocktails, bitters also works to add depth to meals by emphasizing certain tastes. Not at all bitter, they only increase the appeal and flavour of drinks and foods.

Aside from having a lovely taste, bitters also has many health benefits. It works well to assist digestive health and act as a palate cleanser. It soothes bloating and nausea, and helps to prevent sugar cravings. Honestly, what’s not to love?

With such a long history, Angosture has continued to provide quality products renowned for their popularity and flavour. They offer a range of bitters available for purchase, as well as interesting information on the history of bitters and fun recipes to try at home.

For more information check out their website angosturabitters.com, or find them on social media:

Facebook: @AngosturaZA
Instagram: @angosturaza

You can also download the House of Angostura Cocktail app for 80 incredible recipes. Available on Android and iOS.

The post The amazing health benefits of bitters appeared first on MyKitchen.

South African cuisine has a rich history of mixing cultures and interesting food discoveries. A Durban-original dish, the bunny chow is a delicious local curry traditionally placed in the hulled-out centre of a half loaf of bread.

By Taryn Wilson

There was a large number of Indian migrants arriving on the Durban coast during the Apartheid era and they brought with them a wide range of Indian dishes, which included their traditional curry. A particular favourite was bean curry with roti, which is a flat round bread that can be wrapped around the curry.

During this time many people began selling food on the streets in their local communities. Despite being a favourite, the roti could not hold the curry properly as it became soft and fell apart. Since they didn’t have takeout containers, they decided to use the cut-out loaves of bread as ‘containers’ for the curry takeout orders.

An alternative view suggests that the idea of the bunny chow originated from Indian caddies working at the Royal Durban Golf Course, whose lunch times were too short to eat their food. The story goes that they would ask friends to buy curry from local Indian sellers, and would bring it in cut-out bread loaves because of the lack of takeout containers.

The name ‘bunny chow’ is an adaptation of ‘bania’, the caste of the Indian men who sold curry, while ‘chow’ refers to food.

Many years later, the deliciousness of the bunny chow has spread to other parts of South Africa and is still a popular option for lunch.

Try out our mutton-curry bunny chow for a taste of something local

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