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Category: News
April 2011

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DISCLAIMER The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen April 2011 ![]() Vijfstraten is a small one-lane road meandering through the leafy little village of Keerbergen where we live. It was still early in the morning and my red bull had not yet had the desired effect. But, driving along I felt something was not right, something had changed somewhere. I stopped, reversed, looked …. And there it was! A brand-new traffic sign that had not been there yesterday? I sat there looking at it and could not quite make out what it was that I had to heed or watch out for but then I looked closely at the picture on the sign and it dawned! Frogs! I had to watch out for frogs crossing the road!! Frogs? So, no sooner back home and onto old faithful and onto Wikipedia. Mmmm .. that makes a lot of sense. It’s more about having some fun really, I think. To be quite honest, if there were so many frogs crossing I should have seen at least one cropped body (or a live one) the past month or so. But no. Not even one! Ah well, this is Belgium and this is the country where we stop for ducks and squirrels and doves and chickens and so on and so on. It’s all very nice I think. You can sometimes sit in a queue on the road simply because some car, way up front, in front is waiting for a couple of Donalds and Minnies to get to the other side. As you probably gathered, it’s spring in our part of the world (hence the frog warnings) and you can just feel and see the whole world coming back to life. The gardens are full of crocuses, hyacinths, tulips and bluebells and too many other spring flowers to even mention. Everywhere it is just one kaleidoscope of colours. Winter is over (again)! Lucky for us we had a whole month break in December when we went to South Africa ….. December was the first time we went back in 9 years. The first week we were in Jo’burg meeting up with old friends and I spent some time meeting with some our suppliers and customers. Being in Jo’burg it was like we had never left. Everything was just the same! Especially the braais! We soon winged our way down to Cape Town and, via the Klipdrift distillery at Robertson (of course), drove down to Knysna to spend the rest of our holidays there with our eldest son Derek and his family at their magnificent place right on top of the “Heads” on the Pezula Golf estate. I am not going to bore you with my thoughts about the country. Whether it has changed or not changed or waffle on about the security situation etc. etc. I could not believe the prices in the restaurants and supermarkets. Even the house rents and prices. If you’re ever in Knysna please visit the Swing Café, Derek’s restaurant/nightclub. Good vibes, good food and good music! Well, it has been a long time! A lot of water has gone under the bridge and life has changed for many of us. Why the long absence? Well, I am not going to make any excuses. Priorities changed and something had to give. I must be quite honest in saying that I missed putting it together every month; it was always such a lot of fun. Somehow I feel that Biltong is a kind of universal “language/link (whatever you want to call it)” that binds most South Africans together. This is the one reason I have done this newsletter. The other reason is that I just had to listen to the many, many people who are still writing to us asking for a new newsletter. We even get calls at all odd hours (perhaps they’re forgetting the time zones ;-)) People send us their email addresses just wanting to make sure that we have the correct one because they are worried that they had not received a newsletter for a while. Well, here it is. I hope that you get as much fun out of it as you did all those years ago and as I have had doing it. I would love to do another one after this. It’s been so much fun. But, I would need some help and input. So, if you have enjoyed this one why not put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard and let’s hear from you! Hopefully till a next time! Take care,
A woman is sitting at home on the patio with her husband drinking a glass of wine and she says: “I love you”.
Remember……………..? Remember……. Way, way back……….
Can you still taste and smell……….
Didn’t that feel good…..just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!!! If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!! Pass this on to anyone who grew up in South Africa who may need a break from their “grown up” life! Take care,
The Daffodil Principle Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. “I will come next Tuesday, “I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!”
“I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car.” “How far will we have to drive?” “Just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used to this.” After several minutes, I had to ask, “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the garage!” “We’re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn smiled, “by way of the daffodils.” “Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.” “It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.” After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, “Daffodil Garden.” We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns — great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers. “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. “It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster:
There it was….”The Daffodil Principle.” For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun — one bulb at a time — to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time — often just one baby-step at a time –and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world! “It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve! “My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said. It’s so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask…. “How can I put this to use today?” We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are. After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.
There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like no one’s watching.
The South African Meat Industry Company,
Samic has very nice meat cutting charts. Just click on the banner below for lots of interesting information.
I must compliment whoever does the SAMIC newsletter for their lovely sayings! Have look, they are amazing!
This month sees the launch of our brand-new Biltong Buddy MK-VI!
We have often wondered about the length and trouble they go through on those biltong making videos your get. Cut the meat in slabs resembling pieces of biltong, spice it, let stand overnight, hang and voila!! Superb biltong! With the Rugby WorldCup on the horizon you’ll be the envy of your friends! Do a deal with them … you supply the “stukkies” Biltong and they bring the beer!!! Some of the advantages and features of the New Mark-VI Biltong Buddy:
The new Biltong Buddy Mark-VI is now available from our on-line store at www.biltongmakers.com
An interesting fact! Did you know that there are customers all over the world who are still using the old Mk-II Biltong Buddy! This is just one of many, many mails we receive every day from all over the world. My little biltong maker has kept me sane and smiling …… For years, my little biltong maker has kept me sane and smiling. Even my husband wonders how such a small thing can produce so much happiness. It works like a charm, is really easy to use, and makes the best biltong ever. I first bought my baby Biltong Maker in late 2002 after six months of living in Amsterdam with no biltong. The cravings were just too much and I decided to make it a Christmas gift to myself. I actually found a supplier of biltong in The Netherlands where I could order online, but the complicated Dutch payment system was too much for a poor girl from Mafikeng. So the hunt was on. Thanks to the Internet, I discovered The Biltong Maker. It arrived a few weeks after Christmas, thanks to a short stop with Dutch customs. Luckily I had a wonderful butcher nearby who helped select and slice the meat, even though he shook his head in doubt when I described what I was doing. But he was very expensive, so I learned to buy the right cuts of meat in wholesale stores and markets. Now I could make the best biltong, and cheaply too! The guidance and recipes on the Biltong Maker site are amazing – you’re up and running in no time at all. Erica Harper
And yes, Rockey’s new 5kg Turbo Home Biltong maker has been an incredible success. So much so that we cannot possibly keep up with the orders that come in at the moment. The order processing time is therefore around 7 working days at the moment. One incredible thing about the Turbo Model is that you don’t have to use the light. We found this out by accident when a customer called and said that it works perfectly without the heat from the globe. This proves once again that it is not so much the heat but airflow that is the main factor in drying meat. Rockey’s New Age Home Biltong Maker The RNA-5 (as we call it) is exactly the same as its brother the “Turbo” model except that it does not have a fan. It is perfect to dry up to 5kg of wet meat and makes incredible biltong but in larger quantities than the Buddy. Special new features:
You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time. Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker as well as the new Turbo Model can be found by clicking on this link.
This month it is 16 years ago that we made our very first Home Biltong Maker. Now, sixteen years later, thousands of people all over the world are making their own Biltong! We could tell you some stories about some other products that we have shipped across the world but we will leave that for another newsletter! So, it’s April and it’s our birthday and we thought we had to do something special for our customers. Since no-one will send us a present (he-he) we will give you something to celebrate about. Here we go: From date of publication of this newsletter till the end of May this is what will happen!
Get rid of mosquitoes …!
I was at a garden party a while back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and patio floor with Listerine, and the little blighters disappeared. The next year I filled a 1/2 liter spray bottle and used it around my seat whenever I saw mosquitoes. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children’s swing area, and the standing water nearby. During the summer, I don’t leave home without it. Pass it on. One of our friend’s comments: Johan says:
An idea for Potjiekos lovers This comes from Barry in South Africa. Give it a try and let us know what you think about his idea .. Hi Guys, Here is something that your readers may find interesting. I had gotten myself a pipe and stand which stands at the bottom of the pot with your food around the pipe, and works similar to the old coffee peculator. But you must make sure that all the onion bits are all removed before you place the stand at the bottom and before you place your ‘sealed’ meat around the pipe. The onion bits quickly clog up the pipe if they are left in there. The onions go in much later after you have placed your potatoes and carrots in. During this time, I also pour almost a liter Coke into the pot (size 3 pot) and this really tenderizes the ox tail and gives it a some what sweeter taste to it. My mouth is actually watering just talking about it.) Contact me if you wish for more info. Barry
We are not sure why it is so effective but just try this method when it rains heavily.
During a heavy downpour most motorists turn on the HIGH or FASTEST SPEED of the windshield wipers. Yet the visibility in front of the windshield is still bad……
Make sure you always have a pair of SUN GLASSES in your car. You are not only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision, but also might save your friend’s life by giving him this idea. Try it yourself and share it with your friends!!!! Amazingly, you still see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet of rain falling. You can see where the rain bounces off the road. It works to eliminate the “blindness” from passing cars. Or the “kickup” if you are following a car in the rain. They ought to teach this little tip in driver’s training. It really does work. This is a good warning. I wonder how many people know about this???
It will certainly interest our Jewish readers that our biltong spices are certified as being kosher by the Beth Din of Johannesburg. Anyone interested can mail us for a copy of the certification. (new 2011 certification is now available)
South African Meat Cutting Charts
Below you will find three excellent meat cutting charts. These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
Welcome to Apartment Oberholzer in Vienna, Austria
For further information please see our website www.netland.at/wien/oberholzer
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them? (Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future)
QUESTIONS ON SAUSAGE CASINGS
Sausages are made in one form or another in almost every country in the world. It’s the way butchers use the bits and pieces that fall of the meat when trimming (off-cuts). If your butcher or supermarket has sausages, the casings for these are available. The easiest way to find out where to get them is to ask your butcher! As to what size to use? You know how thick boerewors and droëwors is. Just ask the butcher for the size you see in his display cabinet or get the phone number of the people who he buys them from. We do not ship sausage casings. Not because they would not survive the trip. They certainly will. But simply because they are available right there where you are!
PLEASE GIVE ME A PRICE FOR A BILTONGMAKER AND THE SHIPPING THE ANSWER Instead of emailing us for a price just use the ‘PRICING AND SHIPPING’ link on our home page www.biltongmakers.com. It is much quicker and easier and you’ll even find a currency converter to see what it will cost you in your own money. You will find this link on the left-hand side of our home page.
Gas bottle adapter? Jason Stoner
My biltong is hard on the outside and still pink on the inside Edgar Gregan
Kalahari Boerewors Recipe Jan Adrian Venter
What is the Dragon herb? ANSWER The herb called DRAGON is Tarragon and available from all good food stores and super markets. Here is an extract from what we found on the web.
How do I cook boerewors? David Fishbein OUR COMMENT TO THIS QUESTION Dear David, Thank you for your email. THE BILTONG TEAM
In reply to the many questions we get regarding a sausage maker the following feedback. Kenwood (as in Kenwood mixer) produces a sausage attachment for their Kenwood Chef kitchen appliance. I believe they also make a mincer on its own with sausage spout. Cheers
Taxiing to a dead stop!
By James Clarke ![]() He is a confident man of high spirits, as evidenced by the stickers on his rear window: “God loves Taxi Drivers” and “Defeat Constipation – Travel by Taxi”. On the front of his taxi, above a dent which, ominously, is in the shape of a large traffic cop with his arms akimbo, is a placard reading: Northern Suburbs Express – Inaugural Flight. Using the word “flight” is Togetherness’ little joke. He could well have used the word “fright” for such is his sense of humour. We are witnessing (dear reader) the inaugural journey of a township taxi which hopes to establish a daily service between the quiet, leafy, mainly white northern suburb of Jukskei Park and Johannesburg city centre. It is a 25km journey that takes Togetherness 8.5 minutes if it’s not too busy and assuming he can occasionally drive on the pavements to avoid queuing in traffic. The percussion waves from Togetherness’ powerful radio cause the vehicle’s sides to rhythmically flex. He hoots as he drives. Togetherness hoots at anything he sees – including trees and pretty girls – as is the custom of township taxi drivers. Aboard the taxi are a dozen white people. They do not come whiter. Their whiteness is not due to fear; it is due to stark terror. Take John Hilton. Never in his life has he experienced zero to 100 km/h in six seconds – not in heavy traffic. Denise Smith’s colour had changed to green-white as quickly as the last traffic light changed to red – a colour which, as is traditional among taxi drivers, Togetherness ignores. He looks over his shoulder – for a full minute – asking passengers their destinations. Elsbeth Brown, sitting right at the back, says. “Randburg centre!” She really wants to go all the way to Johannesburg centre but, suddenly, Randburg seems preferable.
Now everybody is in front in a warm, intimate heap. Elsbeth alights as gracefully as anybody can with one knee locked behind the other. She is vaguely aware of passers-by loosening her clothing and shouting: “Give her air!” Togetherness bowls happily along Jan Smuts Avenue overtaking a police car that is chasing a getaway car. Then he overtakes the getaway car, exchanging boisterous greetings with the driver whom he appears to know. Togetherness is steering with his elbows because he needs his hands free to check the morning’s takings and to wave to girls. He announces: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. We will shortly be landing in Johannesburg. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened and your seats are in the upright position. Thank you.” Piet Smit is chewing on a seatbelt that is made of leather. Togetherness had them specially made because he felt first-time passengers would need to bite on something. Togetherness now merges with the mainstream of in-bound traffic. He merges with it in much the same way his Zulu ancestors merged with the British at the battle of Isandlwana. He stops at his usual disembarkation point in the middle of a busy intersection and picks his teeth, patiently, while people sort out their legs and teeth before groping their way towards a street pole around which they can throw their arms. By the time his passengers’ eyeballs have settled back in their sockets, Togetherness is halfway back to the northern suburbs.
Pork Belly Roast A Pork belly roast is such a fun and easy thing to do and it takes no time at all. Your shopping list
The next day
Enjoy and don’t tell your doctor about it ;-))
Kan jy sê super-hot-gepekelde-eiers … ? Nie met een van hierdie in jou mond nie! Bestanddele
So maak mens .. Hard kook die eiers en steek ‘n paar keer duidelik deur die wit aan die dooier
geniet dit! (Die gepekelde eiers sal vir ewig hou as niemand hulle eet nie ;-))
Hello everyone, No, I am still here. However I am retired now. I went off on early retirement in May 2008 (at 59) due to medical reasons ie: acute heart problems, constant heart-fibrillation, diabetes, thrombosis, depression etc, etc. Guess my days are numbered.
My strong points are language; English/Afrikaans and I would like to do translations for an income as one of my family members does, but he lives in Germany. He speaks of a Euro per word for translation work. My German is not nearly good enough for German translation work. However, as an unknown, it is difficult to get a break. Depending on which side of the fence you stand on, the general feeling here in S.A. is either that of euphoria or of utter despondency. The euphoria referring to those who commit fraud and corruption here on a daily basis and manage to get away with it. The government have just announced that they are thinking of abolishing TV licenses, but in its place, they want to add a 1% or 2% surcharge to every taxpayer, which really means that 7-million people will pay and the remaining 38-million will not. There is also a National “free” Medical Aid on the cards in the future which will also be added to our tax responsibility on an annual basis. The free housing supply to all who are needy (3-million so far) is still on schedule according to the minister of housing Tokyo Sexwale, but they have lost billions to shady building contractors who build sub-standard HOP-houses and flee once they have been (handsomely) paid. Apparently, corruption does not differentiate on skin-color. However, he seems very keen to apprehend the perpetrators. Add to that the constant black cars with black windows (sic) that scream through busy intersections with wailing sirens and with blue lights flashing, just before impacting with an innocent citizens car at a traffic light and the typical “Banana Republic” vision really starts to take place. Some cabinet ministers are allowed to “buy” personal vehicles of up to R1.2 million while the people who voted for them, rummage through rubbish-bins to look for something to eat. The new President, Jay Zee, seems to have the right objective in mind in striving to provide decent service delivery, mostly from lackluster municipalities who do exactly as they please, but it is still early days. We’ll see! Clean water supply is a major developing problem and nothing is done by anyone to stop contamination and seepage from nefarious origins which in turn poisons the underground water table. The share-prices on the JSE fluctuate daily due to the world crisis and a return on investment that was adequate some years ago is no longer sustainable. We all are making an extra hole in our belts, literally and figuratively. The constant dropping of the repo-rate by the reserve bank leads to a vicious circle as only the people who live beyond their means benefit from it. The rest of us who actually have savings, lose out as our income rate is cut accordingly. Its a case of heads you lose, tails you lose! Survival is paramount and I really feel sorry for the really poor. The daily murder rate here will put the American/Afghanistan war deaths to shame yet no-one seems to really care for South Africans. No-one here has the guts to bring back the death penalty to serve as a deterrent to violent crime. Perhaps the U.N. will one day send-in a peace-keeping force to protect the innocent citizens here? However, so far they have done absolutely nothing to assist innocent citizens in Zimbabwe and the head clown still reigns there quite happily and he still commits his despicable atrocities daily. So I wont hold my breath! However, as long as we still have Johnny Walker whiskey to block-out the daily shocking thoughts and visions, we can (must) hold on and survive. Second on my list is biltong and the occasional (expensive) braai, third. I cannot understand it, but I am developing a vegetarian approach to life lately with meat taking a lower priority. Yes I know, terrible outlook, but curiously true. I am curious now as to who was looking for me with you. Was the enquiry from S.A.? Please see if you can remember. In conclusion, a joke; Koos and his wife were on holiday in Pattaya and they stayed at a beachfront hotel. As an early riser, Koos snuck out of the hotel at 6 in the morning and took a stroll, but a pretty street-whore saw him and offered her horizontal refreshment to him at $200. All the very best to all of you. Regards, Ben Schulz
Commercial farmers leaving SA The Times newspaper has reported that South African farmers are leaving the country in large numbers for a variety of reasons, including unbearable working conditions. Farmers are leaving the country because of poor working conditions for neighbouring states, such as Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Soviet State of Georgia among others. The country was now starting to import grains such as wheat. It was also on the brink of importing meat and poultry, which was being produced less and less in the country. Farmers cited new laws, unionisation of farm workers, expensive water, electricity and other necessities, a shrinking supply of arable land, and the threat of land reform as reasons for farming in South Africa becoming unsustainable. Many farmers believe that the latest threat, the New Security of Tenure Bill, will be the last straw driving farmers from the country, as it allows workers to plant crops, keep livestock and build houses on the farm on which they work. Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti’s spokesman Mthobeli Mxotwa said the New Security of Tenure Bill was meant to “stop cruelty against farm workers.” “We decided to tighten the new bill in order to give farm workers rights. By the way, we also extended those rights to land owners.” Sapa
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We all miss things about South Africa. It may be great to be an Expat and some of us live in some of the most idyllic parts of the world. We have all the safety we longed for while still at home. Our children can play in the street without fear, we don’t have to call the security people when we want to go out at night … and yet …. Here is a start: The 10 things I miss most about South Africa
Hallo there all expats and Saffies around the world! This is how I make MY biltong! Hope you guys are doing well, I really enjoy the news letter and hearing from expats all over the world making biltong. For about 25 years in South Africa, we hunted every year in June, bagged a Kudu and a couple of Impala and would cut everything up for biltong. We would then hang it up in the garage and dry it with fans I moved to the USA 6 years ago and after initially struggling a bit, we found what we needed to make really nice biltong. We normally buy 6 to 8 rump steaks, specially if Safeway (local supermarket) has a deal on the meat. I then take a big enough container, sprinkle vinegar, salt and spices, and put one layer of cut meat, sprinkle all 3 again and then put a layer of meat and so on. This is then put in the fridge for 2 days, then hang it in the garage on wires and dry it with a good fan. Hopes this helps somebody, any expats in the US are most welcome to connect if they need help. Take care and keep up the good work. Deon Pretorius
A little known fact …
and the first helmet was used in 1974 It obviously took men 100 years to find out they also had brains ;-))
Indian Cab Driver
On the subject of Colonoscopies… Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous….. A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:
And the best one of all…. Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?
The power of advertising … Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter. The man at the counter asked the older boy, “Son, how old are you?” We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now, he can’t do either.”
Nudity Opinions Ketchup More Nudity Police
Where to now for the Proteas? Lions to employ kicking coach White up for Brumbies interview Plenty at stake at Augusta Sharks “desperate” to bounce back
Wie Ondersteun JY?!?
Competitions are always fun and I remember from the past (I go back to 2005 now!) that we used to have a new competition every month! But we have had to move with the times and when things became busier in other areas we had to let something go. I am very grateful that all the hard work we put into the newsletter since 2002 has had its rewards in the unbelievable feedback we always had and are still getting!! Our 16th birthday seemed to be a good occasion as any to have another competition. Just click here to go to the competition page or follow the competition link on our web site www.biltongmakers.com The prize? …. Now, isn’t that smart!!
FACEBOOK Competition
The prize for this competion? One of our Rocky’s all time favourite Home Biltong makers complete with instruction booklet, hooks, sample spices and dowels to hang the hooks on! It is so easy to make your own Biltong with this incredible invention and it’s fun too. And the best part is that you can make your own Biltong just the way YOU like it and at a fraction of the cost! Biltong is the universal language of all South Africans and we help them “talking” to each other wherever they may find themselves in this world! So, to all of you who have been asking for this I can only say one thing … get going!!
Dear BILTONG TEAM, Wow…..I’m blown away. This is the first time I have ever won anything. I’m looking forward to receiving my MP3 Player. Many thanks,
You can enter right now by clicking on the competition link on our home page.
You are probably sitting at the computer right now so how about a small (or big) contribution? It does not have to be about Biltong or such. We’d love to hear where you live and how you have adapted yourself to your new life style and surroundings. You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips. Share it with other people around the world! Click right here to start now or you can mail us at the webmaster@biltongmakers.com
Summer is well on its way and our boerewors has once again proven to be a hit with South Africans and local people alike for the 10th year in a row! This is the first year we actually ran out twice! All our customers in Holland, Belgium and in fact, all over Europe are raving about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived at their doorsteps. Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. Our normal price at the moment is € 10.25 per kg but for the time being we will keep it at only € 8.45 per kg!! You can also place your order by simply clicking here.
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. Fresh droëwors is available right now and we normally have ample stock. The price is € 40.00 € 29.00 per 1kg pack or € 4.50 € 4.00 per 100 gram packet (at 08-04-2011). Droëwors (like biltong) travels well and posting is an ideal option. You can place your order now by going to www.boerewors.be, give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us.
Biltong is without doubt the snack most associated with South Africa! Biltongmakers.Com has for more than 16 years supplied their Home Biltong Makers to South African expats all over the world so they could make their own biltong away from home.
The price is € 50.00 39.00 per 1kg pack or € 5.50 4.95 per 75 gram packet. Biltong travels well and posting is an ideal option. To place your order please go to www.biltongmakers.be and click on one of the order form links. You can also call us on +32 (16) 53.96.25 We will get right back to you with how much the postage will be.
(For countries outside the EU we must mention that we are not responsible for packets confiscated by customs.
Well, last summer certainly saw some lambs and piglets on the spit! In October we did our last one for a while. We needed a rest!! It is almost summer again and the right time to start thinking about a spit braai this Spring or Summer. Lamb or pig on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so! Together with the meat we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes, a tomato/salsa salad as well as an incredible Tzatziki (cucumber, yoghurt and mint) salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well. And, don’t forget the mint sauce with the lamb and the apple sauce with the piggy! Start planning now for those special occasions! Just keep in mind that quite a number of dates up to October are already booked!
Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us. (A Lamb or pig on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)
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October 2008
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April 2008

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You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
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DISCLAIMER The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen
Belgium ![]() Everybody ran outside for cover and to get away from the horrendous smell of rotten egg. I had just tried to open one of those thousand year old eggs I brought back from Singapore in December 2006! It exploded in my face. (talk about egg on your face!) I am always one for bringing back absolutely useless and strange things from far away countries. This time it was one of those raw duck eggs wrapped in gray clay and I was going to show Hans and Joan (who were there for lunch) how nice it was to eat one of those things! I don’t know what was worse, the smell, my guests retching outside or the look I got from June! Anyway, that was another one to write off to experience. Never again! But, then ….. I had to see what a thousand year old egg is really all about. Surely, I could not have made such a mistake out of total ignorance. This is what I found. Preserved duck eggs are a traditional Chinese delicacy, and although known as “1000-year-old eggs” they are rarely more than 100 days old. (So mine was a rarity at almost 500 days!) (Needless to say that I did none of the above of course. Just left it in an egg cup on a kitchen shelf looking pretty) The preserved duck egg is smooth and creamy like an avocado, with a greenish yolk, and a no-longer-white white that is compared to the color of blackish amber or black opal, with hints of yellow, blue, and green hues. The flavor is “rich, pungent and cheese-like.” Or, as the old Latin adage says: “de gustibus non est disputandum” (there’s no accounting for taste)! Much better were Joan’s vetkoeke. I had not had any of those for yonks and when we went around there a couple of weeks ago she was busy making these vetkoeke the size of rugby balls. It’s been a couple of months since our last newsletter and if it wasn’t for the hundreds of emails we keep on getting, asking where the next one is, I would still be procrastinating. So here we are. It’s April already and the first quarter of the year is behind us. How time flies. Just the other day we were on holiday in Turkey. But, that is the life we lead. We rush around not counting those precious seconds, minutes, hours and days we sometimes just throw away by ignoring how precious they really are and doing something more than let them just pass by. This month it will be 13 years since Biltongmakers started going. I can’t believe it sometimes. Those early days when Kel designed his first Biltong Maker and we started playing around with a little web design program to see if we could make ourselves famous! How little did we know and how much has been learned. But, here we are. Needless to say, it also makes us happy. Happy to be able to provide a service that gives a little of “the home country” to those so far away. And so we, in the northern hemisphere go into our summer and our friends “Down South” into their winter. I hope you will have a good one, whichever it may be. Till the next time, Lo
” The biggest mistake people make in life is not making a living at doing what they most enjoy.”
-Malcolm S. Forbes When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!!
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a high school graduation in the US. His advice is as follows:
To many of us Daylight Saving Time is a way of life. But have you ever stood still by what it is and, more important, the funny and strange things that can happen when you add or remove an hour to your day? For example, Roman water clocks had different scales for different months of the year: at Rome’s latitude the third hour from sunrise, hora tertia, started by modern standards at 09:02 solar time and lasted 44 minutes at the winter solstice, but at the summer solstice it started at 06:58 and lasted 75 minutes. Benjamin Franklin (below) suggested firing cannons at sunrise to waken Parisians.
This 1784 satire proposed taxing shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise. It was William Willett who invented DST and advocated it tirelessly. This prominent English builder and outdoorsman invented DST in 1905 during one of his pre-breakfast horseback rides, when he observed with dismay how many Londoners slept through the best part of a summer day. Germany, its World War I allies, and their occupied zones were the first European nations to use Willett’s invention, starting April 30, 1916. When do we change our clocks? Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time. In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). It begins the last Sunday in March and ends the last Sunday in October. During DST clocks are turned forward an hour, effectively moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. This year the change over date for Europe was March 30th. For the US it was on March 9th. When in the morning? In the EU clocks change at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time. In spring clocks spring forward from 12:59 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. In the autumn clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Incidents and Anecdotes Throughout its long and fascinating history, daylight saving time has had a remarkable impact on a wide variety of unexpected areas–from Middle East terrorism to feuding twin cities, voter turnout to time-change riots, radio stations to trick-or-treaters, and opera performances to manslaughter charges. Draft Status, Vietnam War Bombing Thwarted Time Change Riots Radio Stations Violent Crime Oil Conservation Births and Birthdays
The South African Meat Industry Company,
Samic has very nice meat cutting charts. Just click on the banner below for lots of interesting information.
I must compliment whoever does the SAMIC newsletter for their lovely sayings! Have look, they are amazing!
And so the success story continues ….. The introduction of Rockey’s new TURBO Home Biltong Maker has taken the Biltong making world by storm. We have just not been able to keep up! Everytime a new batch arrives from the factory it has already been pre-sold. The new Turbo model is basically Rockey’s New Age Biltong Maker with a fan added at the bottom. More slots were added for improved airflow and the whole unit looks AND works very smart! All in all a good investment for those people who make a lot of Biltong! Of course we must not forget the standard RNA-5 model and the ever popular Biltong Buddy! Both are excellent machines, something to which thousands of satisfied customers will testify! Special new features:
Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker as well as the new Turbo Model can be found by clicking on this link. You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.
[These special offers are for a limited period only, as long as present stocks last and can be changed without prior notice!]
Hang-over Hay fever Headache Eat 10-12 almonds, the equivalent of two aspirins, for a migraine headache. Almonds are far less likely to upset the stomach. Hiccups
This is a remedy only feasible when sitting at a bar. Have the bartender fill a small glass with club soda. Light a match and drop it, then drink the water quickly (being careful not to drink the match). It works, but I don’t know why! Drink 1/2 glass water, slowly. Keep a tsp. of sugar in your mouth and suck slowly. Take a large mouthful of water with out swallowing, plug both ears, and slowly begin to swallow the water. Unplug your ears and you’re hiccup free! (Submitted by Mrs T. Falkmann) Eat a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter all at once. (Submitted by Tracy Pletcher) Hickey Why it works:
Insect bites
It will certainly interest our Jewish readers that our biltong spices are certified as being kosher by the Beth Din of Johannesburg. Anyone interested can mail us for a copy of the certification. (new 2007 certification is now available)
South African Meat Cutting Charts
Below you will find three excellent meat cutting charts. These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
Welcome to Apartment Oberholzer in Vienna, Austria
The Vienna city center is within 10 minutes walking distance. Public transport is right at the Guest house. Our well-kept, 54 m² newly renovated non-smoking holiday flat is suitable for 1-4 people. It is central, quiet, charming and very reasonably priced. For further information please see our website www.netland.at/wien/oberholzer
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them? (Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future) QUESTION Can you help with a recipe for a Russian sausage please? – we live in Oz. Leon van der Linde
What is Saltpeter in Biltong used for? Answer Saltpeter or Sodium Nitrate is a salt used to keep the red colour in the meat and as a preservative as well Most people don’t use it any more as too much could cause a problem. It has to be used in minute quantities.
Does anyone have a Chicken Biltong recipe? Answer I use the same method for chicken as I do for beef, and it tastes nearly as good! David Elvey
When meat is dried in a biltong cabinet by means of heat/warmth what temperature is it done at? Answer I have had this out with the local government in our country. There is no real temperature that is required. The heat from an ordinary bulb is enough to heat the meat required but air MUST circulate around the Meat. Andrew Grover
We all have had to do with mould at some stage in our biltong making efforts. Here are a couple of feed backs from readers on how mould can be prevented. What to do about mould I believe the problem lies in the lack of circulation and/or a lack of heat. As another option you could add a little more salt but only as a last resort. Andrew Grover
Leon,
the spices help to preserve the meat and also help to dry it. Since i corrected these two problems, I have not had any problems. Brain Ridley
In this case, a dog’s life wouldn’t be so bad …
By James Clarke ![]() Trouble. Now I happen to know Maltese terriers because, by default, I became custodian to two of them in succession – both now deceased. They are useless little animals, strictly designed for women. But how would my attitude change if I were introduced to Trouble, who, after all, has done far better in life than me (or even I. Or maybe both of us)? More important, as a more successful animal, what would Trouble’s reaction be to me? He would probably rush up and pee against my leg. The London Daily Telegraph reports that Gunther inherited the money from his dad, Gunther III. His dad died in 1992 after being left R400-million by his owner, Countess Karlotta Libenstein.
Apparently there’s a chimpanzee in Cape Town named Kalu who was rescued from a tree by Patricia O’Neill. Patricia, in her will, has left her Cape Town estate to Kalu. It’s difficult to know how the chimp will treat the estate. What would happen if Kalu didn’t pay the electricity bills – after all he won’t need electricity because chimps, being strictly diurnal, never read at night and are not terribly keen on cooking or using power tools. Would Eskom sue? And how would the chimp defend himself in court? I suppose by biting the prosecutor and witnesses who displeased him. The same might apply to canine defendants. Not long ago a New York poodle inherited around R220-million, which is quite serious money for a dog who needs little more than dog biscuits and an occasional change of collar. And who administers these inheritances? Apparently trustees who are sometimes related – related to the deceased, not to the animal. “Hi Fred, who’d you work for these days?” “Got a real nice job, working for a Dalmatian. He’s a multi-multi millionaire.” “Really? I knew a Dalmatian once – Guzitsa Valdivastiniskozich. Nice guy. Dalmatia’s on the Croatian coast y’know? What are they like to work for?” “This one’s okay. He whines a bit if I don’t take him for a walk. Sometimes he pees in my kitchen and he goes around sniffing dogs’ behinds. That sort of thing.” “You’re kidding! Mind you, if you’re a multi millionaire you can be as eccentric as you like I suppose. Is he old?” “About 11 I think.” “Fred? Are you okay? You don’t need some sort of help do you?” “I’m fine – just have to get back to give the blighter his new flea collar.” “See you around Fred. Must hurry.” GOING CUCKOO Last Wednesday Ros Mitchell in Bryanston heard this year’s first Piet-my-vrou cuckoo. A day later, Robert Couperthwaite, on the family’s farm in the Magaliesberg near Nooitgedacht, heard a single call before the rain fell. Oddly enough, his sister, Joan D’Arcy of Ruimsig, now living in Singapore, regularly heard the first cuckoo of the season.
So many readers have been asking again and again for a good Koeksuster recipe. Well, Annie Sieber from Crown National in Johannesburg obliged. Annie reckons this is the best and easiest Koeksuster recipe ever. Here we go …. Annie’s Koeksusters The Syrup What to get
Annie’s cooking tip The Dough Your shopping list
This recipe makes about 36 koeksusters. Enjoy it! Annie Sieber
If Eskom could generate a watt for every laugh at its expense it would solve the energy crisis and sell surplus power to meet China’s demand. South Africans can’t be accused of having no sense of humour if the “Eishkom” e-mails and cartoons are anything to go by: Do you know what the difference is between South Africa and the Titanic? The Titanic went down with its lights on. Madam & Eve have had a dig at the power utility as has Zapiro, while Nandos has started a new print campaign. “Eish kom nou,” the ad reads with a picture of a bottle of Nandos peri-peri sauce with a candle burning on its lid. “When the lights go out you can still enjoy a saucy night in.” But Escom managers don’t share the same funny bone. An e-mail sent to employees states: “In terms of the Escom Information Security Policy users shall not use any electronic communication facilities provided by Escom to create, send, forward, store or display material that is fraudulent, sexually explicit, obscene, defamatory, racially or sexually harassing, threatening, unlawful, contrary to the rules of Escom, the regulations of the appropriate Escom ethics body or otherwise illegal. “This is a request for Escom employees that receive these jokes to forward them to group communications and under no circumstances should these jokes be circulated,” it read.
Cape Town stands a chance of being placed on the map, or board, as one of the 22 greatest cities in a world version of property board game Monopoly. Monopoly has initiated a competition to find the greatest cities in the world, which will replace the street name’s on the game’s conventional version. Fans from across the globe can cast their votes online and be part of creating the first worldwide Monopoly.
Potential voters can vote for 10 great cities daily, while the 20 cities with the most votes will be selected to be placed on the World Edition game board. The city with the highest votes will be placed as the highest rent property. Amsterdam, London, Cape Town, Cairo and Buenos Aires are among the cities up for votes, while additional space will be reserved for two cities nominated through a wild card vote. The wild card vote is open to any city. Voting opened this week and closes on February 28. Voting can be cast through the SA Goodnews website www.monopolyworldvote.com
Why I am fleeing South Africa I am leaving South Africa . I have lived here for 35 years, and I shall leave with anguish. My home and my friends are here, but I am terrified. I know I shall be in trouble for saying so, because I am the widow of Alan Paton.
I am tired of driving with my car windows closed and the doors locked, tired of being afraid of stopping at red lights. I am tired of being constantly on the alert, having that sudden frisson of fear at the sight of a shadow by the gate, of a group of youths approaching – although nine times out of 10 they are innocent of harmful intent. Among my friends and the friends of my friends, I know of nine people who have been murdered in the past four years. An old friend, an elderly lady, was raped and murdered by someone who broke into her home for no reason at all; another was shot at a garage. We have a saying, “Don’t fire the gardener”, because of the belief that it is so often an inside job – the gardener who comes back and does you in. All this may sound like paranoia, but it is not without reason. I have been hijacked, mugged and terrorised. On May 1 last year I was mugged in my home at three in the afternoon. I used to live in a community of big houses with big grounds in the countryside. That afternoon I came home and omitted to close the security door. I went upstairs to lie down. After a while I thought I’d heard a noise, perhaps a bird or something. A few weeks later my new car was locked up in my fenced carport when I was woken by its alarm in the early hours of the morning. The thieves had removed the radio, having cut through the padlocks in order to bypass the electric control on the gates. The last straw came a a while later, shortly before my 71st birthday. Recently I telephoned to ask the magistrate when I would be called as a witness. She told me she had let him off for lack of evidence. I have been careless in the past – razor wire and electric gates give one a feeling of security. Or at least, they did. But I am careless no longer. A character in Cry, The Beloved Country says: “I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving they will find we are turned to hating.” And so it has come to pass. There is now more racial tension in this country than I have ever known. But it is not just about black-on-white crime. It is about general lawlessness. Black people suffer more than the whites. They do not have access to private security firms, and there are no police stations near them in the townships and rural areas. They are the victims of most of the hijackings, rapes and murders. They cannot run away like the whites, who are streaming out of this country in their thousands. President Mandela has referred to us who leave as “cowards” and says the country can do without us. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that criminals know that their chances of being caught are negligible; and if they are caught they will be free almost at once. So what is the answer Recently there was a robbery at a shopping centre in the afternoon. A call to the police station elicited the reply: “We have no transport.” “Just walk then,” said the caller; the police station is about a two-minute sprint from the shop in question. “We have no transport,” came the reply again. There is a quote from my husband’s book: “Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. What has changed in half a century? A lot of people who were convinced that everything would be all right are disillusioned, though they don’t want to admit it. The government has many excellent schemes for improving the lot of the black man, who has been disadvantaged for so long. A great deal of money is spent in this direction. However, nothing can succeed while people live in such fear. As I prepare to return to England , a young man asked me the other day, in all innocence, if things were more peaceful there. “Because the white man has power, we too want power,” says Msimangu. “But when a black man gets power, when he gets money, he is a great man if he is not corrupted. I have seen it often. He seeks power and money to put right what is wrong, and when he gets them, why, he enjoys the power and the money. I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find we are turned to hating.
Crime News Update Some of our readers have asked us why they must read about blood and gore and all the bad things happening in South Africa in-between our lovely recipes and other nice stories. We agree. We all know how bad it is in our beloved country and that it is going from bad to worse. But, why should we be reminded about that in a newsletter that is trying to give some cheer.
The British Solution to Save Petrol Brown wants us to cut the amount of petrol we use…… I have a great idea. Let’s do the following:
This option will probably deter illegal immigration and provide a solution for the troops in Iraq and the aliens trying to make a better life for themselves. Problem solved!
The United Kingdom is “likely” to strip SA of its “visa-free” status this year because of rampant corruption in the Department of Home Affairs, the Sunday Times reported.
“The door is being shut because corrupt Home Affairs officials have been dishing out genuine passports to people smugglers, foreign asylum seekers and — allegedly — suspected terrorists wanting to enter Britain”, the report said. As a result, British immigration experts said, the South African passport was “no longer worth the paper it’s written on”. South Africa leapt to the top of the British government’s visa “hit list” last month following a British trial that heard that at least 6000 illegal Asian immigrants had been smuggled into Britain on South African passports. British immigration authorities are currently subjecting South Africa, with other countries, to a “Visa Waiver Test”, expected to end this year. Experts said South Africa was almost certain to fail on three of the six key criteria due to crime and Home Affairs corruption. On Friday, the British Home Office insisted a decision had not been made but admitted that the issues raised by a recent police operation “will be of concern to both governments”. Cleo Mosana, spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, acknowledged on Friday that there were “major issues about the integrity and credibility” of South African passports, the Sunday Times said. She said South Africa had met Britain to discuss the review. South Africa was attempting to deal with the passport corruption.
Die Boer en die Prokureur ‘n Boer, Piet, was in ‘n motor ongeluk. In die hof, is die vervoermaatskappy se hot shot prokureur besig om hom te ondervra. Het jy, op die ongelukstoneel, gesê: “Ek’s orraait!” vra die prokureur. Teen hierdie tyd is die regter al redelik geintresseerd in Piet se storie oor Bessie, en sê vir die prokureur: “Ek wil graag sy storie oor die koei hoor”. Ou Piet bedank die regter en gaan voort met sy storie. “Wel, soos ek gesê het, ek het net vir Bessie op die sleepwa gelaai en was op die pad toe daar skielik ‘n moerse trok van die kant af kom, ‘n stop straat skip en my bakkie en sleepwa in hulle moer in ry.
“Toe kom die spietkop oor die pad na my kant toe, sy pistool nogsteeds in sy hand, en hy vra: Hoe voel jy?” “Nou vertel vir my, meneer prokureur, wat de F…. sou jy vir hom gesê het?”
Van der Merwe jokes are not dead – they’ve merely been hibernating… Every Friday evening after work Van der Merwe would braai a big, fat juicy steak. They persuaded their priest to try to convert Van. Everybody was delighted. But when Friday night came the wonderful aroma of grilled steak again wafted over the neighbourhood. The priest rushed into Van’s garden just in time to see him clutching a small bottle of holy water and sprinkling it over the grilling meat and chanting, “You was born a cow, you was raised as a cow, but now you’s a kabeljou!” Exercise for over 40’s (or those nearing it…) Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 2kg potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax. Each day, you’ll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 5kg potato bag. Then 25kg potato bag and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 50kg potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute (I’m at this level). After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the bags.
Lekker slaap om die wêreld/Goodnight around the world: South Africa: Is die deure gesluit, die vensters toegemaak
‘2010 won’t be canceled’ Local lads will have inside edge Polly a truly class act SA’s 2010 organisers take on critics, cynics
Our regular readers (like Annie and her comrades at Crown National) may have noticed that I have gone from a monthly issue to a bi-monthly one and even worse! The reason is simple. It is impossible to do a newsletter of this size on my own. I am an editor and rely on you the readers for input! You are probably sitting at the computer right now so how about it. Let our readers enjoy your story! You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask? You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips. Share it with other people around the world! Click right here to start now or you can mail us at webmaster@biltongmakers.com
It’s almost Spring and now is the time for you guys in Europe and the UK to start stocking up for that first warm day when you haul out the braai for the first time this year! All our customers in Holland, Belgium and in fact, all over Europe are raving about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived at their doorsteps. Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. You can also place your order by simply clicking here.
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. Fresh droëwors is available right now and we normally have ample stock. The price is € 40.00 € 30.00 per kilogram vacuum pack or € 4.50 € 4.00 per 100 gram packet. Droëwors (like biltong) travels well and posting is an ideal option.
Now also available at DE WIJN KRAAL
Biltong is without doubt the snack most associated with South Africa! Biltongmakers.Com has for more than 12 years supplied their Home Biltong Makers to the South African expat so they could make their own biltong away from home.
So, from now on you will be able to get your biltong directly from us. The price is Euro 40.00 per 1kg vacuum pack or Euro 5.00 per 100 gram packet. Biltong travels well and posting is an ideal option. To place your order please go to www.biltongmakers.be and click on one of the order form links. You can also call us on +32 (16) 53.96.25 We will get right back to you with how much the postage will be.
(For outside the EU we must mention that we are not responsible for packets confiscated by customs in your country. Now also available at DE WIJN KRAAL
Well, some people are verrrrrrrrrry quick of the mark! And no wonder because they know what it is like to have a party or function with a lamb on the spit! Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so!
Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes, a tomato/salsa salad as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well. Start planning now for those special occasions! Just keep in mind that quite a number of dates up to September are already booked! In fact, there are only three dates left between May and the end of July. June is fully booked.
Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us. (A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter! Unsubscribe me please. |
November 2007
The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!
You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested. If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link. Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!
The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen The “Aegean Jet” was skimming the waters at a fast pace. The spray of the wake thrown up by the catamaran’s twin turbo diesel engines sometimes shooting as high as 10 feet into the air. The sky was deep blue and the breeze coming from the Aegean sea cooling on the skin. We got up at 5.30 to be at the harbour on time to catch the boat. The trip to Rhodes was relaxing. A lovely boat with airplane-like seating and a speed to almost match it! I stood outside at the bow for most of the 50 minute trip. We arrived in the little harbour of Rhodes at around 10.30 and were soon through customs. Outside taxi drivers were vying for our custom. They were all offering an hour long guided tour around the town. We haggled a bit (even June is getting quite good at it!) and were soon shown the most important sights around the small town. I did not know that this is the best preserved and fully operational medieval village in the world. Complete with walls and the original houses and buildings. The trip to Rhodes Island in Greece was one of the things we promised ourselves during our trip to Turkey. Just days before ….. We were coming from the theater and were walking down Curetes street. The afternoon sun was beating down on my capless bald patch and we were hot. Walking down towards the library on the square at the end of the road, we passed the Memmius Monument and Domitian Place and we were talking amongst ourselves how incredible well this whole town was kept. Just past the public lavatories on the right, were the terraced houses of the rich and famous and just ahead of us was Hadrian’s temple. We were in Ephesus the ancient town in western Turkey. Ephesus was first heard of over 4000 years ago but the town we walked through was from the Roman time – around 30-100 AD. I always wanted to see Ephesus because it has such an incredible history. Not only biblical but long before that as well. We arrived there on Sunday afternoon after a harrowing journey during which June found out that our driver of our small 16 seater bus was dozing off behind the wheel. Needless to say he was fired with full support of all. A new driver was installed and although he was wide awake and did not fall asleep behind the wheel he only knew one speed up and down the mountain passes. And his hooter of course! Even I was worried – which says a lot!! But let me start at the beginning …. We were on holiday in Turkey. We stayed in a little village called Icmeler, a lovely small place on a beautiful bay. We needed to get some sun in and on our bodies and this was the place to do it. It was quiet. The tourists had mostly left with only a few remaining. It was the middle of October and soon most holiday places would close down completely not to open again till next April. One of the things, apart from lazing by the pool or on the tiny beach was a trip to Ephesus and Hierapolis with its beautiful terraced baths. It turned out to be the highlight of our holiday. I cannot even start to explain how incredible well preserved Ephesus is. And till today only 30% has been unearthed! I also cannot even start to talk about the history of the town. Artimus was their goddess and both the apostles John and Paul spent time there. Just little away from the town is the house where Mary spent the last days of her life To put it in a nutshell, if that is at all possible, you cannot possibly do all of this in one day . There are so many buildings to see and read up on. From the library built by Celsus (see top left, that’s our little group in the front), the Grand Theater that could seat 25000 people, the terrace houses of the rich to the plague of Nike, the goddess of victory. Can you see where Nike took their emblem from? We left walking down harbour street with in the distance the prison [where Paul was held for three years] looking down on us from it’s mountain perch. From there we went to Hierapolis but I cannot go in to that as well unfortunately. I would need another 10 pages! If you are interested in this type of history please click on the link for Ephesus and Hierapolis. Enjoy it! For the rest it was a sun break.. We soaked up the sun, para-sailed, went on a trip to Rhodes Island in Greece and visited the small little markets in Icmeler and Marmaris. We needed the break! The last Saturday we watched South Africa win the Worldcup sitting in a small road side restaurant. We were the only South Africans amongst the dozens of England supporters! I felt good when we won. We cheered every move, English or Bokke. Do you think for one moment that even one of the UK supporters would cheer a good move by us? No Sirree! Well, winter has really hit us early. When June went to work early this morning (at 6.30) it was -4C! When I got myself out of bed eventually and looked out of the upstairs windows, all I could see was white frost. Brrrrrr! Sitting here looking out of the study window it looks nice and sunny but believe me, there is a bite in the air. The gardener came this morning to clear up some of the leaves. He is standing outside right now with the leave blower. Poor chap. I feel sorry for him. But, he needs the work. I think he is Albanian and does not speak a word of anything that I speak so communication is by means of showing him what to do and how to do it and through a complicated system of hand signals we have developed between the two of us! His name is Ashok and he is the husband of our “poetsvrouw” or cleaning lady (that’s what they call them here). I can’t believe that there are just 24 days to go before it is Christmas again. June and I have decided to stay home this year. But, last year was her turn when she took three weeks off to go to Singapore. Now it’s one of her colleagues! One last little story At the end of October it was little Caitlyn’s birthday. We went to Den Haag to be at her little party. She turned four. Towards the end of the afternoon she was quietly dressing her playmate. One of the presents she got was a little box of a kind of rhinestone stickers. The kind that you can stick on paper or your dolly or yourself for that matter. Very carefully she put another star on its back and then a couple of coloured buttons It crawled slowly across the table having to carry this extra load seemed a bit difficult. The little eyes on their stalks turning around to see what is was on its back. Eventually she was told to go and put it back in the garden which she dutifully did, complete with adornments. Soon afterward we heard a splat and a crunch. Tony had gone outside for a smoke …….. At least it went looking beautiful! Well, that leaves me to say cheers. If you don’t hear from me before the time please have a lovely time over Christmas with your friends and family and may the New Year bring some peace and quiet in this world for a change. We all need that! Lo Where there is hope,there is light.
Flanders’ Poppies Ever Ask the Question……… What have Red Poppies have to do with Veterans Day? For many years I have found myself asking what the significance of the red poppies were in relation to Veterans or Armistice Day. I just had to find out the story behind the symbol and what a lot of interesting information I found! Here it is, put together as well as I could from all kinds of bits and pieces I read ….. Throughout history is has been noted that after most major wars poppies popped up in the battlefields and on soldiers graves. It seems that poppy seeds can lay dormant in the soil but when the soil is heavily turned or dug up they start to grow! The most detailed of this event took place in World War One in Flanders, Belgium. In the craters where bombs fell and on the mounds of rubble, poppies bloomed everywhere. The heavily churned earth and the high concentration of lime from the limestone buildings made the perfect catalyst for the poppies to grow. Near Ypres (Ieper), where the fighting was at it’s fiercest, the soldiers were greeted by an amazing sight as they ventured out of the trenches in early Spring. This, and perhaps the death of his close friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helme, in the second week of fighting during the Second Battle of Ypres (Ieper), was the inspiration for Canadian artillery officer and military doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, to pen his now famous poem on a scrap piece of paper on May 2nd, 1915: – McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields” remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres (Ieper) salient in the spring of 1915. “The poem was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it, McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected it, but Punch published it on December 8th, 1915, where it was seen as an invitation for recruits. In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow We are the Dead. Short days ago Take up our quarrel with the foe: John McRae’s commanding officer records that ‘this poem was born of fire and blood during the hottest phase of the second battle of Ypres’. This battle began on April 22 1915 and lasted 17 days. Total casualties have been estimated at 100,000 on either side. Half the Canadian brigade to which John McRae was attached were killed. Shortly afterwards a profoundly weary McRae was posted away from the front line to a hospital in Boulogne. Friends were worried by the change in him. He worked at the hospital until January 1918, and was about to take up a post with the British army when he fell ill with double pneumonia and meningitis, and died on January 28. He is buried in the cemetery at Wimereux, France. After its publication in Punch the poem soon became the unofficial anthem of the soldiers in the trenches where it was memorised and passed on by word of mouth. One of the many readers moved by it was Moina Michael, the American War Secretary of the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association). In November 1918, Moina Michael penned a response to McCrae’s poem entitled “We shall keep the faith” where she promised to wear a red poppy each year in remembrance. We Shall Keep the Faith Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields, We cherish, too, the poppy red And now the Torch and Poppy Red The Tradition grows In 1918, on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 o’clock in the morning the Germans signed the armistice and World War One was officially over. That day is now remembered as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. The idea of wearing silk Poppies caught on and soon became a tradition amongst those wishing to remember the soldiers who had not returned. Wearing a poppy in November is a way of remembering those who gave their lives for their country. The first Poppy Day was held on November 11 1921 and John McRae’s poem has been associated with the Poppy Appeal ever since. On Armistice Day in Ieper (Ypres) in Flanders, the idea for The Poppy Umbrella was inspired by the powerful image of poppies growing amongst the soldiers’ graves in John McCrae’s poem. Note by the editor: Some years ago when I went to Ieper (Ypres) for the first time I came back and said to June that the whole trip had been kind of eerie. The old bunkers, the abandoned airfields and the tank defenses still there make you feel that it could still be war. [Footnote: Did you know that more than 3000 years ago Poppies were taken to the graves of the dead as a sign of respect!]
A happy and a sad story ….. It is said that a picture paints a thousand words. This is particularly true with the picture Neil Rossister from England sent us. He reckons that even the lady at the Post Office has staked a claim! Good luck and happy Biltong Making Neil. It’s so nice to see a smiling face! Please email us if you need any help. And then …. there is the sad story about Bill, an ex-Rhodie from Canada. He runs a little chat web site. Bill ordered his biltong maker at the end of September to be delivered by surface mail from South Africa. He paid with PayPal. Needless to say that Bill did not send us his picture.:-(( Exciting News about Rockey’s Home Biltong Maker! All of our products are constantly being upgraded in order to maintain the high standard of workmanship we have become known for over the last 12 years. However, it is not often that we can announce a major development! At last, after months of testing and preparing we can announce that Rockey’s new Age Home Biltong Maker will be supplied with a fan option. A fan will assist with the drying of the meat especially in areas where high humidity is experienced at times. Although not necessary, the fan will certainly reduce the drying time giving those people who make Biltong on a small commercial basis a chance to increase their output! Talking about small industrial manufacturers I must think about one of our customers in England who makes Biltong at home and then sells it on EBay! Apart from making money out of it he also keeps himself supplied with Biltong free of charge! The fan option will be available as an accessory in our on-line shop and will cost only R 155.00 fitted or It will be available from the middle of January. As an additional improvement all Rockey’s Biltong Makers will be fitted with an on/off switch and both Home Biltong Makers will be fitted with a standard EU cable with a moulded two-pin plug. And so, once again, we have improved on previous models and have made it easier and quicker than ever before for you to make your Biltong. Not convinced yet? Just read about what people are saying (we only started keeping records in 2001) on our customers comments page. So, to all of you who have not tried it yet, now is the time! ESPECIALLY WITH SOME VERY NICE SPECIAL PRICING WE HAVE UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR! (SEE BELOW!) You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time. Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link. You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.
Special Christmas Pricing for Special Customers!
Free with all Biltong Maker orders placed
Click here to go to our on-line shop. [These special offers are for a limited period only and can be changed without prior notice!]
Some months ago whilst watching a cookery program on DSTV, I came across a visually pleasing potato tip which I tried immediately and I found it immensely satisfying to prepare potatoes in this way and I would now like to share it with everyone who reads this. This works best with small roundish potatoes. Start by peeling them and try to improve the roundness when peeling. Cut the potato in half. Take an apple-corer [usually a stainless steel circle shaped utensil with serrated teeth at the end] and shove/turn it into the middle of the flat surface that you have just cut, about half-way. Leave it there and take a knife and cut a 10mm “skirt” horizontal to the flat surface into and towards the corer which is still in the potato, whilst turning. The “skirt” is now loose and can be broken off or slid down the corer shaft, to be used elsewhere. This may sound like hard work, but I found that after a few minutes I could churn them out at a rapid rate and they look so good! They look and taste so good and everyone is very perplexed as to the taste and as to what they really are. Everyone loves them as we all “eat with our eyes”, don’t we? Enjoy! Our spices are Kosher and Halaal! It will certainly interest our Jewish readers that our biltong spices are certified as being kosher by the Beth Din of Johannesburg. Anyone interested can mail us for a copy of the certification. (new 2007 certification is now available) South African Meat Cutting Charts
These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
Welcome to Apartment Oberholzer in Vienna, Austria The Vienna city center is within 10 minutes walking distance. Public transport is right at the Guest house. Our well-kept, 54 m² newly renovated non-smoking holiday flat is suitable for 1-4 people. It is central, quiet, charming and very reasonably priced. For further information please see our website www.netland.at/wien/oberholzer
As in every newsletter, here is our regular section with some of the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world. QUESTION Hi there, Saw your website and am looking for a Kudu Potjie recipe. Please could you send me one or does anybody have one? Thanks, QUESTION Hello all, I am interested in an old fashioned biltong drying cupboard. Thanks a lot QUESTION Hi Team Can you perhaps tell me how do I make biltong wheels and biltong chips. I bought my own equipment to make wors and I want to sell droëwors and biltong on a small scale. Do I give some potential buyers a taste first or where do I begin .I also got myself a scale ,packages and a sealer. Your soonest reply will be appreciated. Cheers QUESTION I am still looking for a cheese wors recipe. Can anybody help please???? Kevin Hayes
Pampoens weren’t impressed with the celery … I used to be a keen gardener, especially when it came to growing vegetables. Not long ago I was asked to address a garden club in the next street to where my fame as a gardener had spread. The subject: “Gardening as a therapy”. When I sat down to think about the subject, I realised most of my gardening was pure therapy anyway, because most of what I grew was thrown away. My family was unable to keep up with production. You cannot plant one cabbage just as you cannot plant one potato or a single bunch of carrots. So, in midsummer you end up with a dozen full-grown cabbages, kilograms of beans, clouds of cauliflower, brinjals by the bag and tomatoes enough to stock Woolworths. My wife would say: “We cannot possibly eat a cabbage a day.”
I think there’s a by-law. There are exceptions. For instance, in the event of a fire next door one is allowed to call out “Fire!” three times; and again, in the event of an earthquake registering 9 on the Richter Scale, or, say, in the event of a catastrophic flood such as we had in 1994 when I last had cause to address a neighbour. There was a howling gale, I recall. The rain was lashing down and my neighbour was frantically smashing a hole though the back wall of his garage. Flood water was damming up against the back of his house and the pressure had to be relieved. “Having a spot of bother, are we?” I called over the fence. “Yes,” he shouted over the roar of the water. I clucked – loudly, in the hope he could hear that I was concerned. But neither of us went on and on about it. Eventually the wall burst and he was washed away, probably ending up in the mainstream Jukskei. I kept meaning to ask our maid to ask their maid if they found him. Anyway, these particular neighbours were wary of me because they once saw me talking to my vegetables. Talking to vegetables provides excellent mental therapy. I have often wondered what would have happened had my neighbours learned that when they were out I peeped over the wall and talked to their vegetables, too. (I just said “Howzit?” and things like that.) My modest success in growing vegetables was not due to any innate farming genius within the Clarke family. In fact the Clarkes, right back to the time of Ethelred the Unsteady, have been intensely urban people who mostly ended their days by being run over by buses or falling down manholes. My success with beans and things was, I am convinced, because I talked to them as equals. Many people do not believe me but, sometimes, vegetables talk back. I have recorded elsewhere (see Annals of the Cruciferous Soc., Nat Arch. Vol III 8673:1 op cit. sit op.) how cabbages enjoy talking politics. Pumpkins, too. The latter sometimes get into parliament. Onions can be so emotional they bring tears to one’s eyes; turnips can be hilarious. When I suggested to a particularly healthy lettuce that she went into politics with the pumpkins she said the celery… wasn’t good enough. Oh how we laughed.
In the last newsletter (August) we had several bread recipes. This month something different from long, long ago. Here we go …. Ron Warren’s biltong recipe This is a Biltong recipe sent in by Ron Warren from South Africa in November 2003. Ingredients for the spice mix
How to use the spice mix and make the Biltong
I have lines in my pantry above my fridge and deep freezes with a fan mounted to one side and this works like a dream especially in muggy damp weather. For my dry wors I use a dry wors premix but add 1/3 chili-bite biltong mix to it and even my kids love it. All the best George Wolvaardt se Potjiekos This recipe was sent to us by George Wolvaardt in July 2003 Hierdie potjie is altyd lekkerrrr!! Dit kan binneshuis op die stoof gemaak word as die weer baie sleg is, gebruik platboom potjie vir die stoof. Wat om the gebruik
Metode:
Moenie vergeet om ‘n lekker wyntjie saam voor te sit nie. George Wolvaardt Click below for our handy cooking converter
Is South Africa on the brink of a total blackout? Escom’s system of rotating existing power supplies – known as load shedding – will be with the country for between five to seven years while systems are upgraded to cope with increased demand, the company said on Thursday. “We expect the reserve margin to continue on a downward trend for the next five to seven years until (a) new base-load power plant is built,” the company’s media desk said. Over the last decade, South Africa had experienced a steady growth in the demand for electricity linked to increased economic growth. This had exhausted Escom’s surplus electricity generation capacity and reduced the reserve margin progressively. In response, it accelerated the implementation of its capacity expansion program and would invest R150-billion in the upgrading of the country’s power supply infra-structure. The biggest percentage of that expenditure would go towards improving generation capacity and would include the construction of new power stations. Meanwhile, to cope with the reduced reserve capacity, the company had introduced load shedding, rotating power supplies nationally, to avoid a total blackout. On Thursday morning supplies were powering ahead, but customers were urged to continue conserving energy by switching off non-essential equipment and geysers to reduce demand. Businesses were asked to switch off non-essential lighting and office equipment during peak usage periods between 7am and 10am and 6pm and 9pm. Escom thanked customers already carrying out these measures. Prepare for seven years of blackouts! Blackouts are here to stay – for up to seven years, says Escom. An Escom spokesperson said demand and supply for electricity was “tight”, and that load-shedding was “not short-term”. His comments came as South Africans endured another cycle of load shedding across the country, the result of unplanned outages and equipment repairs at a number of Escom’s power station units. Load shedding was stopped temporarily on Wednesday afternoon, but was likely to resume towards evening, said Escom. Escom spokesperson Tony Stott said load shedding would begin again “as we move into peak hours… probably at around 5pm or 6pm”. Stott said power stations hit by unplanned outages “usually” took between half a day and three days to repair. The need for repairs arose from “normal wear and tear” at mechanical power stations. “We have been running them hard for the past few days to meet demand for electricity because there is not enough spare capacity.” On Wednesday morning about 10 percent of plants were undergoing planned maintenance and about seven percent unplanned maintenance, Stott said. This was an improvement on Tuesday night, when about 11 percent of units were undergoing unplanned maintenance. “We were able to bring back some units last night. Load shedding could be expected (today), but may be prevented towards the weekend as demand for electricity decreases.” Stott said South Africans should be aware that load shedding was a reality to deal with for the next few years. Crime News Update And you thought that crime only happens in the big cities and not in the small coastal towns? 79-year-old ‘hero’ recovering La Lucia, November 15 2007 Roger Wright will forever be his family’s biggest hero. And as he celebrated his 79th birthday on Wednesday, he was surrounded by his loving wife, Myra, his children, Julia Paterson, Simon Wright and Diane Whittaker, as well as most of his 10 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. They described him as a great man with a strong will and fighting power. Wright and his wife Myra were attacked in La Lucia on Monday night, when an intruder armed with a knife broke into their home on Wilden Place and attempted to rob the couple. Wright’s sheer determination and love for his family helped him fight off the armed attacker, who fled the scene. However, Wright was seriously wounded in the chest and at the back of his neck as the intruder stabbed him several times. He is now in ICU at St Augustine’s Hospital, where he is recovering. Myra is traumatized and will receive counseling. On Wednesday, with a traumatized Myra by her side, Whittaker said her dad was everyone’s biggest hero. “He’s the greatest father ever. Our parents are the best, they’re wonderful, loving and the most supportive parents,” she said. She said on the night they were attacked, her parents, who celebrated 55 years of marriage this year, were having a romantic candle-lit dinner when the intruder walked into their home. “My mum said the evening started off so beautifully. She and my dad were enjoying their meal when my mom noticed the intruder, but because she couldn’t do anything, my father got up and looked for him. “The intruder then attacked my father from behind and a huge scuffle ensued. The intruder stabbed my father many times and he was bleeding profusely.” Whittaker said her mother then began screaming and the intruder went into the kitchen, picked her mother up and threw her across the room. “The intruder flung my mother so hard that she hit her head on the fridge. He then tried to throttle her, but my father, although he was seriously injured, came back into the kitchen and pulled the man off my mother. I don’t know what happened, but the man then ran away.” She said she was also thankful to her parents’ neighbour, Anton Lailvaux. “He saved my dad’s life. He helped by trying to stop the bleeding and by calling the necessary emergency officials.” She said although the entire family was traumatized, they were grateful that her parents’ lives were spared. “They loved their home, I mean they lived in it for 35 years and I would have really hated it if their lives ended in a place that’s so special to them. Whittaker described her family as just another victim of crime in South Africa. Friday, November 2, 2007 “They are hurting her, they are hurting her……” These were the anguished words a Pretoria man heard as his domestic worker described to him over her cell phone how his wife was being attack by armed thugs who had broken into their home in Lynnwood Manor. Gideon Odendaal, who was in Cape Town on business, listened as Fransiena Majadibodu described the attack in a whisper while hiding under a bed. The men – three of whom were arrested within hours of allegedly torturing, sexually assaulting and killing Cathy Odendaal on Tuesday – are believed to have overpowered Odendaal while she was walking through the garden of her home in Farnham Road. It is believed the men may be linked to a spate of house attacks in the area, including the shooting of the three-year-old child of Musa Ebrahim’s domestic worker during an attack on his home, also in Farnham Road, on Sunday. It is believed that Odendaal, who ran a raw material trading business, surprised the men when she returned after going shopping. They overpowered her as she tried to run into the house. It is believed she was killed when, after being tortured and left for dead, she managed to press a panic button. The security company then called Gideon to inquire if the family was all right. He frantically called their home and her cell phone. He then called Majadibodu. Whispering, she told him how she was hiding under the bed and there were men in the house attacking his wife. “She kept saying that Cathy was calling for help. “She kept saying: ‘She is crying, she is crying.’ She said Cathy was calling her and that her killers were hurting her. “She kept saying: ‘They are hurting her, they are hurting her, they are hurting her,'” he said. He called the police, his security company and the neighbourhood watch. “I did not know what to do. I did not how I could help my wife. I did not know what was happening to her. “All I wanted to do was protect her,” he said. He said it was clear from the state the property was in that his wife had put up a fight. Her body was found in a washroom. “It is terrible. I do not want to know what she went through. I cannot bear to go inside.” “My wife is dead. What am I going to do? What am I going to do now?” he asked, adding that their children no longer wanted to live in the house. “We cannot bear to be in the house. It is just too awful,” he said. He said it was not known how the killers got into the house. “There is no sign of forced entry. It is a complete mystery”. Police spokesperson Inspector Paul Ramaloko said that three people who had been arrested in connection with Odendaal’s murder, would appear in court soon. He said a gun as well as jewelry believed to belong to Odendaal had been recovered. So, consider the following: The USA has been at war in Iraq for some 4 years, approx 3500 soldiers killed in action. The scale of this conflict has resulted in effectively a regime change with both the US Senate and House changing from Republican to Democrat. The scale of the conflict in South Africa is that every year, some 30 000 people are killed, someone raped every 2 minutes (our government seeks to withhold accurate crime statistics from us, probably due to the scale of the slaughter) and one of our ministers calls those who question and criticize him “WHINGERS” who should leave the country! Our President must agree with him, since there has been no public retraction, let alone rebuke.
Bits and Bobs from people around the world Has anyone seen or heard from David Lewis from Whakatane in New Zealand?? Hi, My name is Stephen Coote and I live in Nelson, New Zealand. This afternoon I made some sausages based on your Whakatane Wors recipe. I used the meat from an Australian Brushtailed Opossum, and the casings were the intestines of the same animal. I have a question. Can droe wors be eaten without cooking (like biltong)? Many thanks in advance Hi Lo Trust everything is OK on your side. I say this, because I notice you are depriving me of my monthly “fix” of your excellent newsletter. You have no idea how much everyone I know looks forward to your newsletters. I hope that it is merely pressure of business keeping you too busy for the newsletters and not something more serious. Anyway, hope to hear from you soon! Annie Sieber That’s nice Annie and all the others at Crown National! Your mail will keep me going again for a while. You talk about your monthly “fix”. Well, your mail was a good “fix” for me! PS. I wonder if Liekie and Fernando read it (get it)? Hello, Thank you once again for a great newsletter. Here are a few things that you may like to use as contributions…. The first is an answer to Moira Cochrane who asked for a good Milktart recipe – here is mine and it is REALLY good. I don’t bake too well but this seems to work every time and I have even been brave enough to make it as a Christmas gift for various locals. Traditional Melktert Pastry Ingredients
What to do
Filling Ingredients
How to do it
My second contribution is a joke I read in the 5th of July edition of You magazine – my husband brings them back to me when he travels home for work so that I can catch up on the general skinner. Men Megastore: There are six floors and the men get better as the shopper ascends the building. Women may choose a man from any floor but may not go down again except to exit the building. A woman goes to the store and on the first floor finds a sign that reads, “These men have jobs and love the Lord.” The sign on the second floor reads, “These men have jobs, love the Lord and love kids.” The sign on the third floor reads, “These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids and are extremely good-looking.” “Wow,” she thinks but feels compelled to keep going. “I can’t stand it!” she exclaims and rushes up to the fifth floor where the sign reads, “These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead gorgeous, help with the housework and have a strong romantic streak.” The woman is tempted to stay but eventually goes up to the sixth floor where the sign reads, “There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building and have a nice day!” Finally a response or question for Chris who wrote in your August newsletter; “Has the penny finally dropped”? I so wish that I were back in South Africa to somehow be part of the solution, any ideas of how I might be able to play any small part while stuck here? Looking forward to next month’s edition. [Thank your for putting in the effort and giving us a lovely contribution. Wish there were more of you! – Ed] The following is a contribution from Carol James from Worthing in the UK. HANDBAGS… Have you ever noticed gals who sit their handbags on public toilet floors – then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot! It’s not always the ‘restaurant food’ that causes stomach distress. Sometimes “what you don’t know ‘will’ hurt you”! While we may know what’s inside our handbags, do you have any idea what’s on the outside? Shauna Lake put handbags to the test – for bacteria – with surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your handbag. Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won’t be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day? “I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot,” says one woman. “On the floor of my car, and in toilets.” “I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts, on the floor of the toilet while changing a nappy,” says another woman “and of course in my home which should be clean.” We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake. Most women told us they didn’t stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared. It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked. Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick. In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that’s not the worst of it. “There is fecal contamination on the handbags,” says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. So the moral of this story – your handbag won’t kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don’t put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. “If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that’s the same thing you’re doing when you put your handbag on the counter-tops” – your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? [Thank you Carol – never thought of that really -Ed]
You will have seen this before, it’s been around for ages in one form or another, but it always makes for a good read, especially if you are a cat lover!
HOW TO GIVE A DOG A PILL: Nursery Rhymes? Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall It’s Raining, It’s Pouring. Mary had a little lamb Simple Simon met a pie man going to the fair. Mary had a little lamb Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie Jack and Jill Mary had a little lamb
Why the Springboks deserve to be champions Two weeks on from the World Cup and still I keep hearing idiots say that the Springboks are somehow not worthy champions because they did not play New Zealand or Australia along the way. This makes no sense. New Zealand never got to play South Africa at the World Cup because they weren’t good enough to beat France in a quarter-final played on neutral territory. That same French team then returned to French soil and were beaten by England. England, already hammered 36-0 by South Africa in a pool game, were then comprehensively outplayed again by the Springboks, who always seemed to have something in hand, in the final. The French who beat the All Blacks were also outplayed twice by Argentina, who in turn were beaten by 23 points by the Boks in the semi-final, again in a match where John Smit’s team never really appeared to raise a sweat. In the case of Australia, they lost to England in the quarter-final in Marseilles, and the ease with which the England forwards destroyed the Wallaby pack suggests the Boks probably would have done the same. The Boks have a lot more skill at the back than England do, and would have put the Wallabies away given the same forward dominance. If Australia were not good enough to beat England and New Zealand were not good enough to beat a weak French team, then they didn’t deserve to win the World Cup, and to their credit, most Kiwis and Aussies of my acquaintance agree with this assessment. Most of them reckon the Boks were the best team at the World Cup because they were best equipped to alternate between the various types of game strategy required to win the tournament. And ultimately, Bob Skinstad is right – the only way to become world champions is to win the World Cup. The All Blacks haven’t done that since 1987 so they are not world champions. In athletics it is all about who wins the Olympic gold medal every four years, and it has become the same in rugby, just as it is in soccer and cricket. I did feel a bit cheated by not seeing the Boks and All Blacks clash at the World Cup. It was the clash everyone was waiting for. I would like to have seen them play because I am convinced that, given the type of rugby that prevails in the knock-out stages of the World Cup, as well as the brainless rugby the All Blacks play when the pressure is on, South Africa would have won. In the only full-strength meeting between the two teams this year the dice was loaded against the Boks, who were feeling the effects of fatigue after several months of non-stop rugby because of South Africa’s success in the Super 14. For those who forget, the Boks were also that day without Bryan Habana, Fourie du Preez, a first choice No 8, Juan Smith and skipper John Smit. Most of those players were hugely influential at the World Cup. It was also before Graham Henry had his brain explosion by dropping backline playmaker Aaron Mauger, so the All Blacks were arguably also a much better team in that Durban Test than they were at the World Cup. And yet the Boks led the All Blacks most of the way, and it was only the Kiwi depth on the bench that got them home as they came from behind. I doubt they would be capable of coming from behind in a high pressured World Cup final for the simple reason that over and over again they have proved they just don’t have the temperament to handle the massive expectation of their nation. That is why they are perennial also-rans in the tournament that matters and why they are not world champions. Those who disagree should just go and look at the names inscribed on the Webb Ellis trophy, and then go buy a couple of sacks of lemons that they can suck on for the next four years. Snippets from the papers ‘New coach must choose his assistants’ England felt like a pub team – Dallaglio Smit overjoyed to be at Clermont Proteas ready to devour NZ top order Third World realities weigh on 2010 World Cup -How to watch Rugby from your armchair-
Let’s make the next issue a Bumper one! Our regular readers (like Annie and her comrades at Crown National) may have noticed that I have gone from a monthly issue to a bi-monthly one and even worse! The reason is simple. It is impossible to do a newsletter of this size on my own. I am an editor and rely on you the readers for input! You are probably sitting at the computer right now so how about it. Let our readers enjoy your story! You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask? You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips. Share it with other people around the world! Click right here to start now or you can mail us at webmaster@biltongmakers.com
Next Tuesday (November 20th) it will be up at 5 am again and freezing my fingers off mixing and spicing meat for our wors. I never want to be a butcher. Perhaps I should teach someone to do this for me! Thank goodness I don’t have to do the whole job myself! Ever seen a Springbok enjoying one of our boerie rolls (in Montpellier, France – the Fuji game)? All you do is to go to www.boerewors.be and fill out the order form. You can either collect or we can mail it to you. All our customers in Holland, Belgium and in fact, all over Europe are raving about the packing of and the condition in which the wors arrived at their doorsteps. Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. You can also place your order by simply clicking here. Now also available at STONEMANOR DIE WERF
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. Fresh droëwors is available right now and we normally have ample stock. The price is € 40.00 € 30.00 per kilogram vacuum pack or € 4.50 € 4.00 per 100 gram packet. Droëwors (like biltong) travels well and posting is an ideal option. We are not responsible for packets confiscated by customs in your country. Now also available at STONEMANOR DE WIJN KRAAL DIE WERF
Biltong is without doubt the snack most associated with South Africa! Biltongmakers.Com has for more than 12 years supplied their Home Biltong Makers to the South African expat so they could make their own biltong away from home. We were often asked why we don’t make Biltong ourselves and then make it available to the poor and deprived ex-South Africans! So, from now on you will be able to get your biltong directly from us. The price is Euro 40.00 per 1kg vacuum pack or Euro 5.00 per 100 gram packet. Biltong travels well and posting is an ideal option. To place your order please go to www.biltongmakers.be and click on one of the order form links. You can also call us on +32 (16) 53.96.25 We will get right back to you with how much the postage will be. (For outside the EU we must mention that we are not responsible for packets confiscated by customs in your country. Now also available at STONEMANOR DE WIJN KRAAL DIE WERF
Keep this in mind for next summer but book early! Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so! We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of between 30 and 50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively. Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes, a tomato/salsa salad as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well. Start planning now for those special occasions! Just keep in mind that quite a number of dates up to September are already booked! Booking early is essential and you can do so on
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July 2004
The home of Biltong, Boerewors, Potjiekos and much, much more!
You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested. If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link. Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!
The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen Henry watched from the shoreline at Portsmouth as the pride of his fleet turned to go into battle. Then, as she turned, there was a sudden gust of wind or perhaps she turned too sharply taking on water through her port holes. Whatever the cause, as she turned, she capsized and sank! Nothing was ever seen of her again until …. It was another quiet morning. It was October 11th, 1982. There was a large crowd gathered along the shore at Portsmouth and, as they looked out over the Solent, just like Henry VIII had done so many years ago, they were the first to see the Mary Rose rise from her watery grave where she had lain for almost 437 years! Today she lies in a large hall, behind glass walls, at the historic dockyard in Portsmouth, constantly being sprayed with a solution that, it is hoped, will preserve her for ever. That is where I saw her a couple of weeks ago. Now, I am sure that most of us have heard about the Mary Rose. Some of us may remember the day she was brought back to the surface from the waters just of the shores of Portsmouth, that October day back in 1982. But, nothing prepares one for the breathtaking and eerie beauty of what is left of her when you walk into that hall. There is a deathly silence all around. She is so delicate that, even though she is behind glass you cannot take flash photographs for fear of doing harm to her. Looking at her lying there you are transported back to that day, almost 437 years ago, when she sunk. You can almost hear the gasps of the crowds on the shore and see the look of shock and credulity on the face of Henry VIII. Whenever you have a chance you should go and see her. It is certainly worth the trip. In the mean time, click here to read her story and see all the pictures! Now, after this (to me at least) fascinating bit of history let’s get back to the present. To me there is nothing better than the smell of a braai! I can just hang over the fire and inhale those incredible fumes and smells of wood burning and meat cooking. When June and I are on our own we now use one of these “throwaway” little braais. They work like a charm for just two people and you don’t have the hassle of cleaning up afterwards! The big advantage is that you can have a braai every single day providing you have a bit of good weather of course. And that is something we have not seen much of in Belgium this year so far. Mind you, last weekend was great. Blazing sun with absolutely no wind and temperatures at the back of the house went up as high as 36C!! We hope to get away towards the end of September for a couple of weeks. Apart from it being too busy at Biltongmakers.Com at the moment it will also be nice and quiet then in most holiday places because the schools will have started again. I can’t stand full beaches. Anyway, until such time we’ll just have the occasional weekend away. Next week Paris and the weekend after that the yearly Mussels fest at Yerseke in Holland. We went there last year and that was good fun. But more about that the next time. Till then, take care, Lo “I have learnt my lesson, I asked God to make me a millionaire, but I forgot to state the currency!” “You can’t have everything! Where would you put it?”
Do yourself a favour and read this to the bottom. This is actually really freaky!! (Mainly the end part, but read it first)
This could be a mere coincidence, but this gets interesting
Sheer coincidence? Read on and make up your own mind!
Now this is where things get totally eerie The most recognized symbol for the US, after the Stars & Stripes, is the Eagle. The following verse is taken from the Koran, the Islamic holy book: “For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced: for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah and there was peace.” That verse is number 9.11 of the Koran. Unconvinced about all of this Still? Try this and see how you feel afterwards, it made my hair stand on end.
What do you think now?!!
You know what? I have traveled the world and am always on the look-out for some really nice bacon and pork sausages to take back home. And I promise you I did NOT get paid to say this! Anyone who traveled the road from Johannesburg to Durban knows the ESKORT butcher there, next to the road between Johannesburg and Durban. We have never traveled that road without stopping for a nice pork belly, some bacon and, of course, the famous pork sausages! Well, ESKORT is 90 years old this year and I thought it worth a mention. Certainly my Sunday mornings have never been the same without a rashers or two, or six of ESKORT bacon and some of their sausages. Here is their story in short …… In mid 1917 a group of nine people gathered in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, to discuss the establishment of a Bacon curing factory in the area. By August 1917 the Farmer’s Co-operative Bacon Factory Limited was founded and building started on the banks of the Bushman’s River in Estcourt. The factory was officially opened on 6 June 1918 by General Louis Botha. Thrupps of Johannesburg became one of the Co-operative’s first large clients to whom bacon was sold. In June 1919 the S.S. Saxon carried the first Bacon exports to the United Kingdom which were excellently received by that market. In 1920 the fledgling Co-operative was awarded a Gold and Silver Medal from the British Dairy Farmers Association at the London Dairy Show (the acknowledged Bacon Show of the World). That same year the manufacture of the now famous ESKORT Gold Medal Pork Sausages commenced and the Co-operatives’ continued marketing of excellent products were rewarded with the third successive wins in the Export Hams and Bacon categories at the 1922 Rand Easter Show. Tragedy struck in 1925 when a fire caused extensive damage to the factory and production was temporarily relocated to Nel’s Rust Dairy Limited in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Despite the setback the Company gained the high honour of winning the top three prizes at the 1926 London Dairy Show. During the Second World War over 1 million tins of sausages were supplied to the Allied forces all over the world and over 12 tonnes of bacon per week was supplied to convoys calling at Durban Harbour.
Early in 1948 plans for a factory in Heidelberg, Gauteng were drawn up. This factory commenced production in September 1954. The retail Eskort butchery, a favourite shopping stop for travelers between the Reef and Durban was opened in 1951. The Eskort product portfolio has recently been extended into the fresh pork market with products such as Spare Ribs, Bacon Cherry sticks, Marinated Rashers and Smoked Eisbein. Many of these products including Gammons are packed under the labels of South Africa’s leading retailers. Eskort is also a supplier to Wimpy, the historic Mount Nelson hotel in Cape Town and produces a range of products endorsed by Weigh-less. Eskort is also actively involved in the local communities supporting the Shalom Children’s Ministries in Heidelberg, the Bhekuzulu Self Sufficient Project that cares for HIV sufferers, orphans and displaced children in the Estcourt community. Eskort is also the proud sponsor of the Eskort Cavanaugh Marathon. The staff complement at both Estcourt and Heidelberg is in excess of 600 people. As Eskort prepares to celebrate ninety years of providing South Africans with a range of top quality nutritional products focus will remain firmly in ensuring that the needs of our consumers will be met in every way possible.
Nothing compares with out Home Biltong Makers …… Our Home Biltong makers have given many of our customers much joy and happiness and have brought many of them a little of “South Africa back” in their homes. It is so easy to make your own Biltong and it is ever so cost effective. In fact it only costs you just a fraction of the price you pay in the shop and, what is more important, you can make it just the way YOU like it. Please read what these people had to say. COMMENTS FROM BILTONG LOVERS AROUND THE WORLD! My mother-in-law, Jenny Winters (an old customer of ours-Ed), brought me a Biltong Buddy last Christmas and I just wanted to say that it has not stood still for even one day! Laurie Allsworth
Jupiter, Florida, USA
Brisbane, Australia
Coldwater, Ontario, Canada
alandawn70@yahoo.co.uk So, to all of you who have not tried it yet, now is the time! ESPECIALLY WITH A VERY NICE SPECIAL SURPRISE WE HAVE HIS MONTH! (SEE BELOW!) You too could be making your own Biltong in a very short space of time. Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link. You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.
Special discounts for Special customers!!
Free with all Biltong Maker orders placed
Click here to go to our on-line shop. [These special offers are for a limited period only and can be changed without prior notice!]
WHO WOULD OF THUNK IT
If all else fails, just turn the bottle upside-down and drink it. Then nothing else will matter anyway!Anyway keep up the good work! Graham Ferreira (Thank you Graham – I’m gonna try all of them! – Ed) Our spices are kosher It will certainly interest our Jewish readers that our biltong spices are certified as being kosher by the Beth Din of Johannesburg. Anyone interested can mail us for a copy of the certification. (new 2007 certification are now available) South African Meat Cutting Charts
These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
Welcome to Apartment Oberholzer in Vienna, Austria The Vienna city center is within 10 minutes walking distance. Public transport is right at the Guest house. Our well-kept, 54 m² newly renovated non-smoking holiday flat is suitable for 1-4 people. It is central, quiet, charming and very reasonably priced. For further information please see our website www.netland.at/wien/oberholzer
Like every month, here is our regular section on the many questions we receive from our readers all over the world. QUESTION Hi Guys, I now live in New Zealand – love this newsletter – and long for a good melktert! Moira Cochrane Good Morning! Please could you find out for me the correct way to make chicken stixs. I have a little biltong shop in PE and customers always ask me for chicken stixs. Margaret Goodwin QUESTION Thanks for a great website! Lionel QUESTION I would like to know if giraffe biltong is any good. Barney QUESTION Enige wilds resepte vir wors en droëwors sal waardeer word. Tony de Beer QUESTION I was wondering if you had a cheese wors recipe Kevin Hayes
When reminiscence rears its nostalgic head … I try not to reminisce too often in this column for fear of boring the children. But sometimes I can’t help it. Like today when I received via Stella Nosic, formerly of Johannesburg, now living in Toronto, a cascade of nostalgia from South Africans living there. Another ex-Johannesburger in Canada, Barbara Durlacher, apparently instigated the flurry of e-mails about “old Joeys” from South Africans living in Canada. The reminiscences are, unfortunately, distinctly white-orientated, and it would be an interesting exercise to collate some black-orientated memories of yesterday’s Johannesburg. The Canadian list includes:
And that’s only a fifth of the list Barbara compiled! (If you get to read this Barbara, please send us some more – magic! – Ed)
Last month we had a Neck of Mutton Potjie. In this section you will find a recipe for the Pot Bread you serve with the mutton. But first …. Dave’s Boerewors Burgers Dave writes … I was passing through South Africa in 1979 with the Transglobe Expedition on my way to the Antarctic. This is what you need …
I have just discovered a new store here in Victoria, British Columbia that is owned by a South African and imports a lot of South African produce. He also makes his own Boerwors, droewors and biltong. Dave Peck Potbroodwiele Hierdie potbroodwiele word gemaak van gekoopte brooddeeg wat per kg by die meeste winkels se bakkerye beskikbaar is. Uit die spens:
Nardus van der Merwe Mieliebrood Hi daar! Dit is ‘n mieliebrood resep wat ek by my ma gekry het, ek het dit altyd by die huis gebak, maar toe gaan kamp ons en ek probeer dit, en ja dit is lekkerder om die kampvuur met lekker plaasbotter en korrelkonfyt … Bestanddele:
Vetkoek in Skottelbraai Uit die spens:
(Lewer omtrent 15 vetkoekies) Marlene Badenhorst Click below for our handy cooking converter
Britain bans biltong Johannesburg The habit of packing some biltong in your suitcase as a gift for homesick friends and family in the UK will have to stop, if the British government has its way, The Star reported on Friday. Many a concerned mother has sent a package of South African goodies, inevitably including some biltong and dry wors, to London. South Africans who live and work in the UK generally stock their bags with local favourites during visits home. But UK customs want to put a stop to this. They have launched a media campaign to warn visitors that it is illegal to bring meat and animal products into the UK and that those who do get caught could be fined up to £1 000 (about R14 000) or even be liable for prosecution. “They actually have ‘meat patrols’ when flights from South Africa arrive at Heathrow,” says Will Boscawen, who is helping to run the “If In Doubt – Leave It Out” marketing campaign for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Boscawen said many South Africans believed they could take biltong if it was vacuum-packed, but all meat products are banned. “The UK, being an island, has to be sensitive about possible pests that could be brought into the country via food parcels,” he said. Crime News Update By: Lugisani Mulaudzi Please keep the following in mind and NEVER think you are safe! Palisade fencing Electric fencing It’s simple. Take a length of wood with two nails attached, push it through two wires, and voila, the current is re-directed causing no harm to the criminal but does in fact damage and disable your electric fence which inevitably still costs you in repairs. Another method of deactivation is by jumper cables. To disable a motorized gate The best part is this It is important that we know how these crimes are committed. Remember crime is very big business in South Africa Forewarned is forearmed. The latest hijack hotspots in Johannesburg and Pretoria as supplied by eBlockwatch and SAPS are: Johannesburg:
Pretoria:
Please be very careful when traveling alone! A woman was pushed off the road on Saturday at 10:00 am on Parkland drive in Esther Park road. A white taxi full of men followed her for about 5 minutes and then moved in next to her car and slowly pushed her towards the pavement. This morning another lady stopped at a traffic light on Jan Smuts Avenue Kempton Park. It seems that this is a new type of intimidation, victimizing mainly women drivers. Another favourite way to hijack you is by bumping you softly and as you get out the car to see what had happened they hijack you! PLEASE BE CAREFUL! Managing Director Guard Force International
Bits and Bobs from people around the world Zimbabwean ISPs* to spy on users Johannesburg “Zimbabwe had already given itself one of the world’s most repressive legislative arsenals as regards press freedom. Now all forms of communication have been placed under surveillance,” the Paris-based body said in a statement. “RSF regrets that the Interception of Communications Act was finally signed into law by President Robert Mugabe on 3 August. The promulgation of this law is further evidence of Mugabe’s desire to keep news and information under close control.” The law provides for the setting up of an interception centre to listen into telephone conversations, open mail and intercept emails and faxes. ISP’s do the dirty work The law also compels Internet service providers to install equipment to facilitate interception “at all times or when so required” and ensure that its equipment allows full-time monitoring of communications. “A service provider who fails to give assistance in terms of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine… or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years or to both,” reads part of the new law. The law came under a barrage of criticism while it was still being debated, with media groups saying it was a major step backwards. The government in Harare defended the new law saying it was necessary to protect the country from international terrorism and espionage *Internet Service Providers The following was sent to us by Meryl Roets from Belgium. Meryl is a regular contributor to our newsletter. Meryl had a small spine operation earlier in the year. We hope you are feeling much better now Meryl! SOUTH AFRICA BULLETIN from the headquarters of
HAS THE PENNY FINALLY DROPPED? Things started to wobble a while back – foreign governments warned of crime as tourists were killed and mugged, corruption reared its ubiquitous head, the Black Economic Empowerment syndrome curtailed foreign investment, and the collapse of the police force, the swamping of our cities by millions of aliens, and a general discernment that South Africa’s looming modus vivendi was not to be that much different from the rest of the continent became an undeniable reality, even among the most ardent believers in the new dispensation … The gloves have come off, both here and abroad. A July 2006 report by British insurance company Norwich Union, in which the company investigated traffic accidents, food poisoning, violent crime, theft and lost baggage across the world, rated South Africa number one in the categories violent crime and lost baggage, and fifth in the category food poisoning Crime has become a catalyst – it has focused and concentrated a rising anger and frustration at the ANC government’s gross incompetence, arrogance and lack of accountability. Celebrity murders have riveted South Africa. The cold-blooded shooting of world famous naturalist and historian David Rattray shocked people around the world, including the Prince of Wales, a personal friend. Local singers, actors, businessmen and ordinary people have gathered to protest. HONEYMOON The rose-coloured glasses have disappeared, and the crime travesty is worsened by the apparent lack of shame and culpability. The attitude that whatever we do, we’ll be in power forever is manifest in, for example, the behaviour of our police chief who rides around in a stolen 4 x 4 vehicle, by the rousing send-off to jail given by ANC big wigs and ministers to convicted MP Tony Yengeni, and the couldn’t-care-less attitude to the breaking of his parole rules. A serious defect in the country’s overseas image has been the brazen crimes committed against foreign government representatives in South Africa. Ironically, while President Mbeki was very publicly welcoming the Chinese president in Pretoria this month, a huge wall was being constructed at the Chinese ambassador’s residence in Waterkloof because of a recent robbery at the house. KLEPTOCRACY Because violent crime is rampant, citizens must protect themselves. Internet circulars tell us of the latest hijacking trick – spraying acid into a driver’s face. We are urged to cooperate with the police. We are warned at street crossings about hi-jack and robbery hot spots. We are forming self-help groups, residents’ associations, concerned taxpayers’ organizations. The monthly average of cash in transit robberies increased to 27 for the first half of 2005. Armed supermarket robberies are easy money for the gangs who storm these stores. South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world – 51 murders per 100 000 people in 2003 (possibly higher now) compared to 4,6 persons in the United States, India’s 3,7 and China’s 2,1. Nigeria reported only 1,5 murders per 100 000 people in 1994, while Egypt’s figure stood at 0,4 for the same year. Serious crime has moved into the urban areas – it has been endemic within the commercial farming sector for years. SA’s farmers are the most murdered group anywhere in the world outside a war zone. Businesses that backed the ANC before they came to power are now spending millions on newspaper ads calling for the government to stop crime. It’s a bit late. The only real solution is self-protection, and this is a business which has grown exponentially as crime exploded. If you have read this far, then maybe you are left wondering too! This is my home, I’m not leaving! Chris.
Sex education!
Try to achieve a look that is welcoming without being obvious. I he feels he needs to sleep immediately then so be it. In all things in bed be led by your husband’s wishes; do not pressure him in any way to stimulate intimacy. Should your husband suggest congress then agree humbly all the while being mindful that a man’s satisfaction is more important than a woman’s! Should your husband suggest any of the more unusual practices, be obedient and uncomplaining but register any reluctance by remaining silent. You may then set the alarm so that you can arise shortly before him in the morning. Wrong spelling! He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand. He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. The head monk, says, “We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son.” He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn’t been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot. So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing, “We missed the “R”, we missed the “R” !” His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably. The young monk asks the old abbot, “What’s wrong, father?” With A choking voice, the old abbot replies, “The word was CELEBRATE.” –>
Snippets from the papers Saru bans overseas-based Boks ‘Black doesn’t equal coloured’ Seven blacks in 2011 Bok XV Jake blows the whistle on French referee SA women cricket team take Netherlands to the cleaners -How to watch all the World Cup games-
Let’s make the next issue a Bumper one! Our regular readers may have noticed that I have gone from a monthly issue to a bi-monthly one. The reason is simple. It is impossible to do a newsletter of this size on my own. We need regular input from our readers. You are probably sitting at the computer right now so how about it. Let our readers enjoy your story! You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask? You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips. Share it with other people around the world! Click right here to start now or you can mail us at webmaster@biltongmakers.com
Still getting up at all hours to make wors. Perhaps I should have become a butcher! And still we can hardly keep up. So if you need Boerewors just email us or call. You can either collect or we can mail it to you. Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram. You can also place your order by simply clicking here. Now also available at – STONEMANOR – The British Store – in Everberg, Belgium
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. Fresh droëwors is available right now and we normally have ample stock. The price is € 40.00 € 30.00 per kilogram vacuum pack or € 4.00 € 3.50 per 100 gram packet. Droëwors (like biltong) travels well and posting is an ideal option. Interested? Give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email.
We are not responsible for packets confiscated by customs in your country. Now also available at STONEMANOR – The British Store – in Everberg, Belgium
Biltong is without doubt the snack most associated with South Africa! Biltongmakers.Com has for more than 12 years supplied their Home Biltong Makers to the South African expat so they could make their own biltong away from home. We were often asked why we don’t make Biltong ourselves and then make it available to the poor and deprived ex-South Africans! So, from now you will be able to get your biltong directly from us. The INTRODUCTORY price is € 3.50 per 100 gram packet. Biltong travels well and posting is an ideal option. To place your order please email us at info@biltongmakers.be or call us on +32 (16) 53.96.25 We will then get back to you with how much the postage will be. We are not responsible for packets confiscated by customs in your country. Now also available at STONEMANOR – The British Store – in Everberg, Belgium
Summer is in full swing (you could have fooled some us here in Belgium) and we have several spit braais under our belt this year. Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so! We will do a lamb on the Spit for parties of between 30 and 50 people for just € 18.00 and € 15.00 a head respectively. Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes, a tomato/salsa salad as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well. Start planning now for those special occasions! Just keep in mind that quite a number of dates up to September are already booked! Booking early is essential and you can do so on
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April 2007

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DISCLAIMER The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen
Belgium April 2007Outside it can still be somber and cold. The noise of a windy April rain shower and the hail stones against the window don’t exactly point to the fact that spring is on the way. And still! When we, in between the rain showers, take a nice long walk, we can hear the happy “wietoewiet” from a couple of Kiewiten. Hearing that we know that spring can’t be far away! The coming back of the Kiewit heralds the start of the spring in the Low Lands.
Well, it is so far! The egg has been found and handed over, the trees and bushes are full of blossoms and the tulips, crocuses and a host of other flowers are adorning every garden you see. Our alarm clock is packed away because we are once again woken up with the birds singing in the trees outside our bedroom window. This morning when I woke up at around 2 (like I normally do) I looked out of one of the upstairs front windows. There were Mr and Mrs Duck waddling across the road with their brood! It is amazing sometimes. You can be driving on a major road and all the traffic will come to a halt. When you get out of your car you see that some ducks are crossing the road. And they can take their time!! With the incredible weather we have had most of our garden is ready for the summer! Most of the winter rubbish has been cleared, compost heap moved (to the neighbour’s garden with his kind permission) and the patios cleaned with the high pressure hose. As you can see on the right June certainly did her bit! A couple of weekends ago Tony, Catherine and the kids came to stay. It was a long time ago that I almost saw the sun rise and my head is still sore! June made a “Pap en Vleis”. Excellent as usual and so were the “smoothies”! So, here we are, all ready to enjoy a bit of warm weather. I know that a couple of years back we could not get enough of the winters here. I suppose it was the sun in our blood that made us yearn for snow and rain and nice cozy evenings by the open fire. We still love that but a bit of warm weather will be very welcome right now! And then …. It’s our birthday this month. We are all of 12 years old! So, have a look a bit further on what we have in store for you! How time flies. I can still remember those early days when we first started with the web site and the biltong makers. We knew absolutely nothing and learned through making mistake after mistake. In the end it worked out not too bad I hope! April promises to be a good month. The Boerewors and Droëwors orders are flying out of the door and …… very shortly we will have biltong as well! Yep, believe it or not but after all these years we finally took the plunge and imported a pucker biltong drying cabinet. So, all you people in Europe, you can start emailing your orders through. There won’t be endless stock and we will have to restrict people to 2kg each in the beginning. The biltong will be packed in vacuum packs of 200 gram which will cost € 7.00 each. Let me end on a little more serious note and make a a request for all of you to support a very worthwhile cause. In 1980, Morne du Plessis, the then captain of the Western Province rugby team created a fund to support and take care of all rugby injuries from school age right up to professional players. Morne started this fund after two wellknown rugby players, Chris Burger and Petro Jackson died of their injuries sustained while playing rugby.
Rugby coaches are trained at school and club levels. Workshops on prevention are held all the time, all year round to create a safer rugby. You can read more on the great work of the Players Fund on their web site www.playersfund.org.za To generate an additional income for the Players Fund a fluffy toy Springbok called the “Teddybok” was created. The “Teddybok” became the official mascot of the Chris Burger/Petro Jackson Fund two years ago. Come on people, stick your hands in your pockets and order a “Teddybok”. It is available in small, medium and large and it can be ordered from www.villagers.co.za Well, that was it for this month. Keep well, have a good April and we’ll speak again in May! Take care, Lo
There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but there is always enough time to do it over.
[Anonymous] “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
[Helen Keller]
Remember
Way, way back ….
Wait …. can you still remember ….
Can you still taste and smell ….
Didn’t that feel good…..just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!!! If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!! Pass this on to anyone who grew up in South Africa who may need a break from their “grown up” life! Take care,
Suzie (my GPS) was showing me a shortcut through the Black Forest that would save about an hour in driving time. After a while on the small winding roads of the hills in the the Black Forest I saw a small little sign on my left saying “Cuckoo Clocks”. It was still early in the morning and, with most of the mist gone and a with a bright wintry sun trying to penetrate the dense pine forests on the hills around me, I thought, why not, I don’t come here often so let’s go and have a look. I remember that in an earlier life we always had a Cuckoo Clock hanging on the wall in the lounge. You surely know what I am talking about. These clocks with a rabbit and bird on the front, a deer head with horns on the top and two pine cones on the chains below to wind the clock. Every so often a little bird would appear from a little door in the front to let out a happy sound similar to what the cuckoo birds makes.
The road got narrower winding itself in between the mountains towards the little town of Triberg. On both sides of the road signs started to appear advertising cuckoo clocks. The area was literally littered with places making cuckoo clocks. And then, without warning there was the little town of Triberg and right in front of me the largest Cuckoo clock in the world in the shape of a little house. Triberg im Schwarzwald is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in the Black Forest. It is a small little town of only about 5000 souls. I have included some pictures I took of this clock. The mechanism is incredible and almost entirely made of wood. Do yourself a favour and click on the pictures to see them big. It’s worth the trouble to wait for them to download if you have a slow internet line. So, there and then I though that this would make a nice bit of reading and after a little research came up with the following. The History of the Cuckoo Clock The first cuckoo clock dates back to around 1730. It was a product of the almost 100 years of clock making in the Black Forest of Germany that started sometime in the mid 17th century. The first cuckoo clocks were primitive compared to those made later. Their movements were made with wooden plates and gears. Many of the clocks had square faces painted with water color paints.
The many themes decorating the clocks were only limited to the imagination of the painters of the faces for the clocks. They included scenes of family, hunting, military motifs and more. Some of the more famous early cuckoo clock makers in the Black Forest were Theodore Ketterer, Johann Baptist Beha and Fidel Hepting. By the late 1800s the cuckoo industry was some what industrialized. I saw this clearly all along the roads leading to and from Triberg. The miriad of signs pointing not to factories but to homesteads and small homes where till today the cuckoo clocks are made by small home industries. The Cuckoo Bird The Cuckoo can be found in Africa, Asia and Northern Europe. They are slim bodied and are about 13 inches in length. They have a blue-grey head, breast and upper parts, and horizontal barring on the under parts.
The South African Meat Industry Company,
Samic has BRAND-NEW meat cutting charts. Just scroll down to tips of the month to access them. Do yourself a favour and click on the banner below for lots of interesting information.
Our Home Biltong makers have given many of our customers much joy and happiness and have brought many of them “a little of South Africa” back in their homes. It is so easy to make your own Biltong and it is ever so cost effective. In fact it only costs you just a fraction of the price you pay in the shop and, what is more important, you can make it just the way YOU like it. Please read what these people have to say. COMMENTS FROM BILTONG LOVERS AROUND THE WORLD! WOW ….. our first batch of biltong was great !!!!! We have a butcher here in Canada who had a shop in Toronto in a prominent South African area, so he started making wors and biltong, not bad, but not like ours!! Rockey’s Biltongmaker has a permanent place in the kitchen as is working all the time!! Alles van die beste,
Dubai, UAE(20-02-2007) And so more and more people keep on telling us how fantastic it is to make your own biltong! So, to all of you who have not tried it yet, now is the time! ESPECIALLY WITH THE BIRTHDAY SPECIALS WE HAVE FOR YOU THIS MONTH! (SEE BELOW!)
Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link. You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.
Before we carry on we must mention that although we have ample stock on hand at the moment, we may run into trouble towards the end of the month and there might be a delay in shipping. So be quick and make use of this absolutely ONCE-OFF opportunity to start making your own biltong! From the publication of this newsletter until the last day of this month or for as long as our present stocks last here are your prices …..
Click here to go to our on-line shop.
South African Meat Cutting Charts
Below you will find three BRAND-NEW meat cutting charts. These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
These charts you find here are very detailed also showing what you can do with the different cuts. They come from EBLEX They have a fun web site at www.beefyandlamby.co.uk with loads of excellent recipes to boot!
South African Musical and other Events in Europe
Amongst those are;
To see all upcoming events please click on South African Events in Europe web site. There are loads of things happening!
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them? (Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future) QUESTION I have clients coming to hunt a rhino with us and would like to know if I can use the meat to eat and make biltong. Jessie Bird
When meat is dried what temperature is it done at and are there any enzymes destroyed in the meat? Dan Kremer
Please can somebody help with regard to the salt. Penny Mcloughlin
ive made some biltong and some of its gone mouldy. i have mad sure that there not toucchinng but it continues to mould wats going on???? chris Chris
Is it possible to use mouton/sheep to make biltong and what part is the best to use. Philip Celen
Beware the attack of the Twinkletonians ….
By James Clarke ![]() It is now 15-billion kilometers from Earth. It sent its last faint signal five years ago – a signal that took almost 24 hours to reach Earth. It carries a gold plaque engraved with a message of goodwill and a map showing the Earth’s location in the solar system. That gold plaque continues to worry me. It could represent the most stupid thing mankind has ever done. The idea is that some “Thing” out there might find our spacecraft and immediately realize there is something akin to intelligent life on a distant planet. There is even a drawing on the plaque of a nude man and woman standing against the outline of Pioneer 10. Thus, whatever finds Pioneer 10 will have an idea of the size and shape of humans. I have conjectured before about what could happen after that. Imagine if the finder is the size of a cooling tower and has six heads and 36 arms and poor under-arm hygiene, and it views the naked couple as jelly babies. THINKS: Wow! A planet full of living, wriggling jelly babies! It persuades King Zog of the planet Twinkle to mount an expedition to our planet and they begin harvesting us and popping us into sweet jars for little Twinkletonians to squabble over. “Ooh, more jelly babies! Bags I the black ones!” yell the kids. “Naah, you ate all the black ones last time. “Ma! Boogle’s being selfish again!” “If you kids don’t shut up I’ll put you both in the pot with your sister for dinner tonight!” Or what if these giants serve us up in bowls as snacks at cocktail parties – with cheese dip? Or serve as with custard? Or in aspic? What if they are like the Chinese and treat us like seals snipping off what they want and drying them for aphrodisiacs and discarding the rest? Or like Westerners and raise us for meat in pigsties with troughs full of their kitchen waste? What if they pop us into blenders? The trouble is that on the gold plaque NASA has clearly identified our solar system and our precise location within it. To the Aliens, our solar system might be what Kyalami Race Track is to us and we’ll have them tearing around at night landing willy-nilly – like on top of the Free State, flattening Bloemfontein. Well, that’s all right I suppose. But what if it’s Gauteng? By the same token, of course, the Twinkletonians could be our size and terribly friendly and swarm here in their millions. They might like us so much they’ll climb into our beds and silently snuggle up – which might be fine except what if they are slimy and cold and smell like yesterday’s nappy? But then again they could be really humongous giants who scoop up our tiny little planet, along with Mars and Venus and the rest, to play marbles with. Whatever – it is too late now to recall Pioneer 10. The die is cast. Sleep well. POTES’ CORNER I have a pome from Glen Parnall of Auckland Park – derived from a series of verses he recalls as a child. A cow stood on the railway track Boerewors! And aspirant pote, Derek Rubidge, with a hint of despair, wrote: I sit mainly at home
The Syrup Ingredients
Ingredients
When its time to dunk the fried koeksisters in the syrup, place the pot with the syrup, into a large basin with ice cubes to the prevent the syrup from becoming too warm, the syrup has to be kept cold. Add the remaining syrup over them once finished, they taste better. Makes about 5 to 6 dozen and you can packet and put them in the freezer. They keep better that way and won’t freeze. Happy baking from Lorraine Austin
The effects of the “scare factor” of the new tobacco Bill – setting fines of up to R50 000 for owners of clubs, bars and restaurants who allow patrons to light up illegally – will be eagerly watched by anti-smoking campaigners. The Bill was passed by parliament this week and campaigners hope it will become law before the end of June. It will impose heavy fines on errant club, bar and restaurant owners who previously faced only a R 200.00 “smack on the wrist”. “We are hoping there will be a high degree of voluntary compliance once it becomes law,” said the Director of the Campaign Against Smoking, Peter Ucko. ‘We are hoping there will be a high degree of voluntary compliance’ “We don’t want to use the big stick, but we will press for the prosecution of those who fail to comply.” Ucko hoped the big fines would act as a strong deterrent to those clubs and bars which had thus far ignored the ban on smoking in public places. “We already have a high degree of compliance in shopping centers. Let’s hope the same thing now happens in clubs and bars.” He said press reports this week that referred to “clubs and bars where smoking is permitted” had been very misleading. “Smoking is not permitted in any clubs and bars. It is only permitted in a section of a club or bar that has been specially set aside in accordance with the regulations.”
“But if I go to a policeman with an offense that carries a fine of R 50 000.00, it is worth his while to do some leg work and take it to a prosecutor.” Ucko said the new amendment that allowed the minister of health to regulate the ingredients, additives and emissions of tobacco was very important. “Some producers have been adding chocolate and liquorice to make their cigarettes more attractive,” he said. “Cigarette smoke is harsh, but it is less so if you add liquorice. And this encourages children to take up smoking.” He said the amendments would allow the minister to limit the amount of addictive nicotine in tobacco. The amendments would also allow the minister to regulate cigarettes’ ignition propensity, those additives that made them burn right down to the filter “when left alone”. This ignition propensity, he said, started fires that cost South Africa a “fortune” each year. “Without the additives South Africa would have what we like to call self-extinguishing cigarettes.” Ucko said the Bill would now go to the National Council of Provinces for approval. “It will then go to the president to sign and finally to the printer of the Government Gazette. “It is a total guess, but I would say it is reasonable to expect the Bill to become law before the end of June.”
Support the Teddy bok South African Musical and other Events in Europe
Dear Lo, I need your help, The response from the banner, on Biltong makers, is very poor. 3 sales in one month. I think , if you the creator of this formidable web site could put a good word for Teddybok and its mission It will make a big difference. You are the good old friend and the reporter and let’s face it : THE BILTONG PROVIDER for all the expats. The Super Fourteen Rugby season has started. If you news letter can carry the Teddybok story in its editorial It would reach your readers. Story for your inspiration. Teddybok is the Mascot of the Players Fund. The Fund was created in 1980 by Morne du Plessis the then captain of the Western Province Team. Rugby players. Chris Burger and Petro Jackson. Both died of their injuries while playing this wonderful game we all love to follow. The fund benefits immediately from your purchase of a TeddyBok. The Fund takes care of all rugby injuries from school age right up to professional players. It also has a mission to instruct all the children at many schools as possible how to prevent neck damages. Rugby coaches are trained at school and club levels. Workshops on prevention are held all The time, all year round to create a safer rugby. More on the great work of the Players’ fund on their web site: www.playersfund.org.za More on Teddybok just type: Teddybok, then enter on your Google bar. Since two years TeddyBok became the mascot of the national team. It is available in Small, Medium and Large. To order just click on the link. There it is Lo, thank you for your help ! Jean-Luc
We don’t know who send the following to us but we can all relate to it, especially now in the Spring! The Daffodil Principle Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead “I will come next Tuesday”, I promised a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren. “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!” My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this all the time, Mother.” “Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her. “But first we’re going to see the daffodils. It’s just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used to this.” “Carolyn,” I said sternly, “Please turn around.” “It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers. On the patio, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking”, was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.” For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time–often just one baby-step at time–and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world . “It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!” My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said. She was right. It’s so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, “How can I put this to use today?” Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting …..
So work like you don’t need money. Love like you’ve never been hurt, and, Dance like no one’s watching. If you want to brighten someone’s day, pass this on to someone special. I just did! Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day! Don’t be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin. ~anonymous
Left takes power in World Cup Sangakkara praises Sri Lanka’s golden oldies Lions feel the crush after 10 weeks of rugby Cape braces itself for 200 000 soccer fans
-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!
It is now April and we have not had much response to our request for contributions to our newsletter. It is not easy to come up with new stuff all the time and we largely depend on you, the reader. So, to all those people who subscribe to our newsletter and to those who send us enthusiastic emails about how they enjoy reading it …….. why not put pen to paper yourself and lend us a hand. You are probably sitting at the computer right now so how about it. Let our readers enjoy your story! You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask? You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips. Share it with other people around the world!
So if you need Boerewors just click on Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram.
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. We have around 150kg Droëwors in stock right now but please hurry because it always seems to disappear like snow before the sun. The price is € 28.00 per kg or € 7.00 per 250 gram packet. Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option. See all the information and mailing rates by going to www.boerewors.be Interested? Just complete the order form you find when you go to the www.boerewors.be web site or give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email.
Spring is here and the summer is nigh and it is time to start planning your special functions. Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought
Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us. (A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)
You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter! Unsubscribe me please. |
February 2007

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You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link. Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!
DISCLAIMER The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen
Belgium February 2007So, here we are back from an incredible trip to the Far East! Singapore was beautiful and relaxing and it was great to have a daughter who lives there to show us around and who looked after us so well!
I must say that I stopped myself at the look of some of it although I promised myself that I would try everything once. Singapore was different. Very much first world and with it’s own beauty. There is so much to do and see that you can keep yourself busy for weeks without a problem. Singapore is a multi-ethnic city with a population of about 4 million people, many of whom are descendants of immigrants from China (76%), the Malay Peninsula (14%), the Indian sub-continent (8%), and Europe (2%). While there, and leafing through some books on Singapore, I saw the graph for the yearly temperatures. Virtually a straight line of 31C average! The town has a couple of very distinct areas and we could be found in any or more of them most of the time! First of all there is Orchard road. Buildings such as Ngee-Ann City and the Paragon are a shoppers’ paradise with all of the designer shops such as Chanel, Prada etc. etc. next to the most exquisite restaurants. Of course there are other shopping centers as well in other parts of the town. Some of them have over 1 million square feet of retail space!
Another area is Little India. There we found find myriads of Indian eateries and shops as well as a huge, block long, four storey shopping center called Mustafa’s. This is a 24 hour shopping Mecca for anything from the latest in electronics to a bar of soap. Before I forget I must mention Funan Digital Center. This is a 5 storey shopping center just for electronics. You must see it to believe it! Then there is the Colonial part with all its old colonial buildings dating back to the 1800s. That part of town with its long esplanade and beautiful rolling parks is a little haven in the middle of the hustle and bustle that is Singapore. The first night we had dinner in a Banana Leaf Restaurant. Your plate is a banana leaf. I had the curried fish head which is a ‘must’ when you visit Singapore. Just as much as the Singapore Sling in the Long Bar at the Raffles hotel! The Raffles Hotel is also typically colonial and very, very pricy! One of our favourites was to visit the “wet markets”. These are long halls with stalls where wet foods are cleaned and sold. Food such as fish, prawns, frogs and squid are just a couple of the normal things we saw there. I won’t mention some of the others. (Gag!) Next to a “wet market” you will find a food court where you can get anything and everything. My favourite was the suckling pig but I passed by the “Intestine Soup” place. I guess that I was just not cut out to have soup made from pig liver, bladder, stomach and such. Rather give me some frogs then! But, back to what is normal for us …. Just South of Singapore is Sentosa Island. Sentosa is full of hotels and entertainment for young and old. One of the most impressive was the undersea aquarium.
This stay gave us a welcome break from all the sightseeing and shopping we had been doing! The lighting is something out of a 1001 nights! And then there was Bangkok ……… Very, very much third world but with incredible temples and palaces. Everything is very inexpensive. So we would sit in a river side restaurant for about three hours just nibbling on prawns at just R 9.00 (that’s not a typo) or 90 Euro cents per plate! Taxi’s cost around 2-4 Euros and the Tuk-Tuks 1-2 Euros. Once again there were the China Town and Indian sections and the rich center of Bangkok with the largest shopping center I have ever seen. Siam Square.
June was a bit wary to start with but soon got the hang of it. They are everywhere and they charge nothing. For a couple of Baht (the monetary unit) one travels from place to place. Noisy and a bit scary at times but very quick and convenient. The water taxis were something else. Through large parts of Bangkok you will find canals. On these you have water taxis. These are long boats that move at an incredible speed over the water. They stop at the “stations”, just like at a tram or railway station but then next to the river of course.
These things must move at 80km per hour. Even I found it little scary. I won’t tell you what June thought about them. We stayed in a little boutique hotel called the “Old Bangkok Inn”. This was very conveniently situated in the old part of the town where most of the sightseeing is done. Excellent service although a bit small. It only has eight rooms. We stayed in the “Lemon Grass” room.
We have seen the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and now the temple of the Emerald Buddha. I honestly cannot say which is the more beautiful of the two. And that is exactly what I did. And so we are back home. As I am sitting here typing away I look outside and see that it is snowing “cats and dogs”! Just the other day June said that we had not really had a winter yet. The temperatures have been so mild that at times I could work outside in the garden in a T-shirt! Now, as I am sitting here many countries around us have been put on high alert. In Holland the trains will not be running during the day and in the UK they expect more than 3 000 schools to be closed!
Everything is as white as you can imagine and it is beautiful! Thank goodness I don’t have to go out today so I can just sit and watch from the inside out. That leaves me with very little else to say so I wish you all of the best and we’ll speak again next month. Take care, Lo
Cats don’t come when they are called.
They take a message and get back to you later [Unknown] If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there, is he still wrong?
Why men are happier people
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire; and where there’s fire outside in the gigantic deep freeze that is Boston in winter, you’re still likely to find a South African or two connecting with their roots, huddled around a hot grill. It might just be my wife, who is also South African, and me. Or we might include friends we’ve made since moving to Boston almost two years ago. The word braai has many meanings. It can refer to the act of grilling (“please braai the meat now”); the equipment used (a grill is a braai to many South Africans); and the social occasion (“you’re invited to a braai“).
I learned quickly that it’s more art than science, as is apparent by these tips dad shared with me at an age when I could barely see over the top of the grill. First of all, he taught me, the heat should be spread evenly over the whole grill area. Second, a good indication of the correct heat is to hold your hand over the grid and count to 10. If you have to pull it back before then, it’s too hot. Any later, too cold. Third, you can always regulate the temperature by moving the grid up or down. It’s best to start high and move down as the coals become cooler. And finally, put the chicken or meat that needs to cook the longest on first. After the steaks are put on, add some thin pieces of wood to braai them in the flames. Vegetables such as potatoes in foil, onions, and squash are placed under the grid in the red-hot coals. The “bring and braai” is the most popular kind of gathering and certainly Dad’s favorite. Similar to a potluck party, this is a grand social event where family and friends converge on a picnic spot or someone’s home with their own meat, salad, or side dish in hand. Meats are the star of the South African braai. They typically include marinated chicken, pork and lamb chops, steaks, sausages of different flavors and thickness, and when someone has really splurged, a rack or two of spareribs. Fish is also popular. While the fire is lit and tended to, the kitchen (or makeshift kitchen) bustles with preparations: Vegetables are chopped or grated for salads, a large pot of cornmeal bubbles into “Krummel Pap,” and its accompanying Tomato and Onion Sauce slowly stews. (See recipes.) As the meat comes off the fire, it is placed in a metal or ceramic roasting pan to stay warm. When all the meat is ready, the salads and side dishes are placed on tables and the feast begins. At every braai hosted by the writer’s family, this traditional South African dish appears on the buffet table. ‘Krummel Pap’ (Crumbled Cornmeal) With Tomato and Onion Sauce’ Tomato and Onion sauce
The South African Meat Industry Company,
Samic has very nice meat cutting charts. Just click on the banner below for lots of interesting information.
Our Home Biltong makers have given many of our customers much joy and happiness and have brought many of them a little of “South Africa back in their homes. It is so easy to make your own Biltong and it is ever so cost effective. In fact it only costs you just a fraction of the price you pay in the shop and, what is more important, you can make it just the way YOU like it. Please read what these people had to say. COMMENTS FROM BILTONG LOVERS AROUND THE WORLD! Just a quick e-mail to say thank you for designing such a wonderful, compact machine. Regards Hi Biltong Team, My wife bought me a 5 kg biltong maker and some Safari Biltong Spice for Christmas. I also want to thank Lo for his patience in answering all my questions about making biltong and for all the advice and help he has given me. Thanks again! Hello Biltong Makers, I received my Rockey’s 5kg Biltong Maker last week and everything arrived in perfect condition. Regards, Hi Biltong Team, Well, where do I start! Thanks for everything And so more and more people keep on telling us how fantastic it is to make your own biltong! You can read loads more of what people are saying (we only started keeping records in 2001) on our customers comments page. So, to all of you who have not tried it yet, now is the time! ESPECIALLY WITH THE SPECIALS WE HAVE THIS MONTH! (SEE BELOW!)
Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link. You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.
We are running a bit low on the Rockey’s 5kg machines so make use of this opportunity! Until the 15th 28th of February 2007 (or until present stocks last) the following pricing will apply:
Click here to go to our on-line shop.
There is a new phone service in South Africa called SKAAP. All the information is on their website www.skaap.com
All you do is dial 084 198 0000 from any cell phone or land-line, wait for the voice prompt and then dial the international number you require with all the codes – for example 09 44 …….. for the UK.
There is not going to be a huge market blitz; that’s why we can keep the prices so low. So we are relying on you to put it on your cellphones as a speed-dial, to tell all your friends (don’t tell your enemies – let them continue paying huge amounts for their international calls – grin!) Tell your boss, your colleagues and your customers; tell your office manager so your telephone least-cost routing system can be re-programmed, and if you have a company website, pop a small notice on there too. If you would like to contact us about anything, please feel free do do so via email at CustomerCare@voiplus.co.za.
South African Meat Cutting Charts
Below you will find three meat cutting charts. These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
English Meat Cutting Charts These charts you find here are very detailed also showing what you can do with the different cuts. They come from EBLEX They have a fun web site at www.beefyandlamby.co.uk with loads of excellent recipes to boot!
To see all upcoming events please click on South African Events in Europe web site. There are loads of things happening!
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them? (Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future) QUESTION Could you please inform me why there is no fan in the Biltong makers for home use? Ronald Vanheeringen
Ek is opsoek na skaapkop gildes resepte – en hoe maak jy hom gaar. Hoop julle kan help met n website of iets. dankie baie
A lot of our customers ask the question if our spices are allowed in to Australia. We have had one instance years ago where an Australian customs official asked for a written list of the contents of the spices. After this was mailed through to them the spices were released without a problem. The questions is: Please let us know so we can assure future customers. Many thanks,
It’s not that difficult to laugh at ourselves
By James Clarke ![]() South African journalist, Dr Sarah Britten, has come out with a fascinating book – The Art of the South African Insult (30° South Publishers) which is a hilarious analysis of our national heritage of great insults going back 350 years. Among the gentler ones: “You know you’re in Kakamas when you have no idea where you are.” And Josef Talotta’s description of Johannesburg’s Northern Suburbs: Kugel National Park. I liked Britten’s frontis piece showing two Hottentots watching an approaching Dutch galleon. One is saying, “Shit!” which, in a way, is what followed. The Hottentot’s expletive probably wasn’t this country’s first interracial insult. I fancy it began when Mrs Ples watched the more-upright-than-thou Homo habalises move in next door with their la-de-da talk about the etiquette of serving grandma’s leg, left over from the weekend roast, to guests without at least warming it. Some South Africans are quite brilliant at insults. Britten says, “The average bergie in Cape Town comes up with better lines during one morning of sorting through the dustbins in Obs than a star on the bill at the Montreal Comedy Festival does in a month of snorting coke”. South Africans, she says, are very good at calling each other names for “we are, after all, a bunch of Dutchmen and Souties, Charras and Hotnots, Shangaans and the Xhoza Nostra, Bushies and Afs, Goms, Porras, Lebs, Crunchies, Zots, Mlungus, Japies…” The list goes on. “It’s what defines us a nation,” she says. Strangely she misses out “Hairies”, but the list is worthy of Roget’s Thesaurus. Britten’s book, frivolous though it might sound and hilarious though it is in parts, is an important piece of Africana. There’s a glimpse of how the 17th century Dutch settlers viewed the locals. In 1652 somebody wrote, “They all smell fiercely, as can be noticed at a difference of more than twelve feet against the wind.” Britten comments, “The smell must have been impressive, given that the European visitors themselves were hardly poster boys for personal hygiene.” This is no cheapo collection of insults whose variety becomes tedious like a book of jokes. It is a very readable 314 page book, written with delicious humour, about the way we have traditionally insulted each other. It’s the kind of book that compels one to constantly disturb one’s partner’s reverie with, “Hey, you’ve just got to hear this…” In a chapter on the historical course of ethnic insults she quotes from a 1927 copy of the Sunday Times, this being 25-years after the war between the Blerrie Rooinekke and the Stupid Dutchmen. The newspaper pleads for reconciliation saying how pleasantly surprised the two “races” would be if they just tried to make friends. This, says Britten, whose irreverence is always near the surface, was when the Rainbow Nation was still in black and white. One section titled “We didn’t invent racism, we just perfected it” reminds us how official notices in the apartheid years created there own brand of breathtakingly callous insults. In 1959 Jan Smuts Airport (as it was then) changed the signs reading “Europeans” and “Non-Europeans”, to “Whites” and “Non-Whites” – it was to avoid confusing incoming Americans who considered themselves “Non-Europeans”. The New South Africa gets an equal drubbing: “You know you are in South Africa when the police are the first on the scene for most major crimes, without being called.” It’s sometimes difficult to laugh at ourselves and you’ll sometimes cringe. But mostly you’ll be amused – that’s what it’s for.
Enjoy, Merlene Roberts
They were the most disreputable bunch of “car guards” you ever saw, staggering around drunkenly and commenting obscenely about one another’s mothers. Most of them had acquired from somewhere luminous yellow, if grubby, bibs. “Don’t worry, boss, we’ll look after your car,” one of them called, as we walked through the low dunes to the sea at Muizenberg’s Sunrise Beach. It was just after 6pm and we were having a quick bathe before going on to friends at the Marina da Gama. When we emerged from the water, our towels were still on the beach but my hat, spectacles and car keys had vanished. So, naturally, had the car. “Is your car gone?” screeched a woman guard. “I knew it was your car. I said to those boys, it’s not your car, it’s that other gentleman’s car, but they just drove off. They’re a lot of skollies, man. Ag shame, now you haven’t got a car. Better phone the police.” Instead we borrowed another family’s cell phone to call our Marina friend, who picked us up and drove us to Muizenberg police station. I had difficulty engaging the constable’s attention. It’s always difficult without spectacles, when you can’t see far enough to catch a person’s eye. I also felt, wearing only a costume, I wasn’t dressed for the occasion. Finally a policewoman sympathized with our predicament: “Your car stolen from Sunrise Beach, hey? You’re the second person this evening. It’s the in-thing to steal cars there at the moment.” In due course, having put out an alert for the car, a constable began the laborious process of filling in umpteen forms. Every few minutes he would interrupt himself to answer the phone or jump up to attend to something more urgent. We’d been there more than an hour, shivering in just our costumes, when he answered the phone yet again and returned to say the car had been found, undamaged, by the Grassy Park police. Actually it had been found by a very civic-minded resident of Lotus River, who became suspicious when he saw three youths park the car near his home and walk off with various items. So he phoned the local police who put a guard on it, a real one this time, until we arrived. “Do you want to lay a charge?” asked the Muizenberg constable anxiously. “Against whom?” I asked. If I did, it would mean having the car impounded for finger-printing and other procedures, he said. It would also mean he would have to go on completing lots of documents. He was hugely relieved when I told him to forget the charges, I was just happy to have the car back. As we left Muizenberg police station, we met another couple walking up the hill. “Our car’s been stolen from Sunrise Beach,” said the woman. “Yours is the third this evening,” I said. “If it’s any comfort, car thefts there are the in-thing.” (We saw this in the papers, it was written by John Scott 14-02-2007)
This was the only story coming from you, our readers. Are there no nice things to say about South Africa anymore?
Let’s see if someone, somewhere can come up with something positive. It does not have to be about South Africa. Let’s hear from you, about your life as an expat perhaps, living somewhere in this big wide world -Ed. Ek het baie lank gelede in hierdie geselsbrief beduie dat die misdaad in Suid-Afrika vir die regering die gans is wat die goue eiers lê. Toe kry ek in verlede week die onderstaande e-pos wat oor dieselfde onderwerp handel: Hierdie is ook ‘n interessante artikel – die onderwerp het ons almal al een of ander tyd om ‘n kuiertjie bespreek…..lees dit gerus! Nadat ek ‘n slagoffer van misdaad was in 2000, het ek ‘n duisend of meer misdaad-vergaderings, beprekings, dinkskrums, konferensies, ens bygewoon. Misdaad genereer vir die regering van Suid-Afrika miljoene der miljoene rande!!!! Kom ons kyk na ‘n paar voorbeelde, as u my sou vergun. Nog ‘n voorbeeld: Ek dink langer as wat my neus lank is, en ek hoop so en werk so hard daaraan om nog sulke denkendes bymekaar te kry. Dan moet ons begin soek na ‘n meganisme waarmee ons die regering van die dag kan motiveer om hierdie onkonstitusionele en immorele inkomste as ‘n direkte gevolg van misdaad prys te gee. Die regering hou daarvan om Suid-Afrika met oorsee te vergelyk. Wel oorsee is jou sekuriteit en veiligheid gedek deur die belasting wat jy betaal en alle sekuriteitsmaatreëls wat jy tref se uitgawes is van belasting aftrekbaar. Sodra “denkende” Suid-Afrikaners begin om die regering van die dag se “inkomste” as ‘n direkte gevolg van misdaad terug te eis, sal u sien hoe gou daar iets gedoen word aan die misdaad. Intussen bly dit die gans wat die goue eiers lê, terwyl ons onsself blind staar teen “wat kan ons doen om die misdaad (se simptome) van ons deure af weg te hou!” Is dit nie ook onregverdig dat slagoffers van geweld en motorkapings – deur die regering se beskermde kriminele – self hulle mediese onkostes moet dra nie. Die regering behoort die slagoffers van geweldsmisdaad se mediese rekeninge te betaal! Wie betaal vir die berading van gesinne wat geraak word deur plaasmoorde? Komaan, Suid-Afrika, vra die regte vrae, en dring aan op die regte antwoorde. Christa Oelofse
President Thabo Mbeki has given the nation what many have been crying for, an acknowledgement that crime is a problem and it is affecting the very fabric of South African society. He acknowledged that the fight against it needed to be stepped up and provided concrete examples of how the war against crime would be stepped up several gears. “Certainly we cannot erase that which is ugly and repulsive and claim the happiness that comes with freedom if communities live in fear, closeted behind walls and barbed wire, ever anxious in their houses, on the streets and on our roads, unable freely to enjoy our public spaces,” he said in his state of the nation address.” While strides had been made and some targets surpassed, including employing 152 000 police officers, “we recognise the fact that the impact of this is not high enough for everybody to feel a better sense of safety and security”. Mbeki acknowledged that the incidence of most contact crime had been reduced, but that the annual reduction rate in categories such as robbery, assault and murder, was still below the 7 to 10 percent that had been targeted. The abuse of women and children continued at an unacceptable level, he said. He noted that last year’s security workers’ strike had brought home to all South Africans that the industry could not be handled simply as a private affair or the private sector. The regulatory system was inadequate and would be reviewed this year, Mbeki announced. “In addition to improving the work of the police, we can – together with the private security industry – create an environment in which the security expectations of the public, in which huge resources are expended, are actually met”. Mbeki’s ninth and last state of the nation address was delivered at a time of heightened debate about crime and his perceived indifference to how it affects all South Africans. The president called for “an enduring partnership in actual practice within our communities and between the communities and the police, to make life more and more difficult for the criminals”. Mbeki said he was heartened by the resolve shown by business and religious leaders to strengthen such partnerships on the ground, and to give of their time and resources to strengthen the fight against crime. “Government will play its part to ensure that these partnerships actually work, and that we all act together to discharge the responsibility to protect our citizens.” www.thestar.co.za Angela Quintal
Dear Sir/Madam,I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated September, 12 in which for the third time you request that I pay the monies owed to you. I first want you to know that by no means do I dispute my debt and I intend to reimburse you as soon as possible.
However, I bring to your attention that I have many more creditors, quite as honourable as you, and whom I wish to reimburse too. That is why, each month, I throw all the names of my creditors into a hat and draw one randomly whom I hasten to refund immediately. I hope that yours will come out shortly. Sincerely yours, PS: I have great regret in informing you that given the unceremonious tone of your last letter, you will not be taking part in the next three draws. Chicken at a Chinese restaurant A couple go for a meal at a Chinese restaurant and order the “Chicken Surprise”. The waiter brings the meal, served in a lidded cast iron pot. Self Analysis It doesn’t hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started… During a visit to the Mental Asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
Skinstad returns to the Shark tank Proteas like the view from the top Mbeki leaves Rev Meshoe flat-footed on 2010 Durban 2010 stadium work goes on ….
-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!
It is only halfway through February so why not join us and make the next newsletter a real bumper one! You are probably sitting at the computer right now so how about it. Let our readers enjoy your story! You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask? You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips. Share it with other people around the world!
We know it is a bit early in the year but we still can’t keep up with orders for boerewors. Either there are some real die-hards out there who braai in the snow or you guys are having it for breakfast, lunch and supper! Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram.
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. Fresh droëwors will be available again from the middle of March. The price will be € 28.00 per kg or € 7.00 per 250 gram packet. Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option. Interested? Give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email.
Spring will be upon us before we know it and with it the chance to braai again! Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so!
Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us. (A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)
You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.
Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter! Unsubscribe me please. |
December 2006

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You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously placed an order with Biltongmakers or made an enquiry about Biltong, Boerewors or Potjie Pots or someone has submitted your name to us thinking that you might be interested.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter you may unsubscribe at the bottom where you will find an automatic email link. Just click on that and send. Your name will then be permanently deleted from our database.If you, your family or your friends want to subscribe to the newsletter please click on this link. Yes, please subscribe me to your monthly Newsletter!
DISCLAIMER The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen
Belgium December 2006The wind is howling outside. It is real autumn weather outside. Drizzle, wind, loads of leaves blowing all over the place. ![]() Not so for the wicked though. They have to work at newsletters and be holed up behind double glazing and suffer the coziness of being inside! I am early this month. It’s only the 25th of November and the December issue is just about finished. Yesterday was Kel’s birthday. Bless his soul. He would have been 64 this year. It is still such a strange feeling to know that he is no longer amongst us. No more quick telephone calls or an email …….. Holiday closure It is December and we are very much looking forward to our trip to Singapore and Bangkok. It’s only a couple of weeks before we go! At this stage I must mention that we will be closing the offices from December 19th till January 9th. It sounds strange. Closing up! I cannot remember that we have ever closed up before and this holiday will certainly be the longest I can remember taking. But it’s time to recharge the old batteries! Our on-line shop (accessible from all the pages on our web site) will remain open of course and all orders will be processed and shipped as normal. However, manual and PayPal order requests as well as any queries or emails to Biltongmakers.Com will have to wait till early January for a reply. To be honest, we don’t really want to spend our holidays behind a computer. I’m sure you don’t mind!
We have recently expanded our GuestMap to take more names of our Biltong making friends all over the world. Please feel free to place your pin and tell us a little about whatever. If you did place your pin in the past please do so again. I think that the guys in the US might have lost some of the info. If you find one map a bit full just click on the “go back” button in the left-hand top corner of the map till you find an empty one. Superb Biltong in the UK At the end of November we took a couple of days to visit family and some customers in the UK. What an incredibly superb and clean shop Andrew has. When you walk in there you just feel welcome and you just want to buy all that lovely fresh looking meat! Driving into the little village was like being taken back in time.
Andrew bought the small industrial biltong drying cabinet (30kg) some time ago and I must say his biltong compares with the best I have ever tasted. When June tasted his droëwors she said:”Now that’s how I like it. Absolutely perfect!” I must say that June does not like my droëwors very much because it has a little too much fat in it to her liking and it is always ever so slightly wettish. Hey, but I digress. Have a look at the pictures and judge for yourself. (Click on them to see them big) If you want biltong or droëwors just give Andrew a call. His number is 01489 891937. I have tasted a lot of biltong in England, some of it from very reputable South African shops and it has always been from so-so to inedible. Andrew’s biltong is perfect and you can order it with or without fat and from wettish to very dry! And at an incredible price too!! We also met up with Aris Stathakis. My last stop in the UK was a visit to the London Eye. Now, those of you who have been to the London Eye know that it seldom stops. Perhaps for a couple of seconds or so but normally you will climb on and off while it runs. I will not go into detail. The view was incredible though! And so it is almost Christmas and another New Year is on the horizon and all that remains for us is to wish all of you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous, healthy and, above all, peaceful New Year. All the best, Lo
There is not enough darkness in the whole world to extinguish the light of a small candle.
[Unknown] Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn’t have to do it himself
[A H Weiler]
This Christmas from all of us at here to all our friends all over the world.
Just a moment of reflection ………. [We have all read this one time or another but just pause for a moment, and read it again ……]
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
The History and Tradition of Christmas Pudding Does your Christmas dinner include a Christmas Pudding? If you lived in England, the absence of this delectable dessert from the holiday table would raise a few eyebrows. The first recipes of this pudding came from the Middle Ages. Another form of Christmas pudding called porridge or frumenty surfaced in the 14th century. Ingredients included beef, mutton, raisins, currents, prunes, wine, and mixed spices. It was a soup-like fasting dish eaten before the Christmas celebrations commenced. In 1714, King George I re-established pudding as part of the Christmas feast even though the Quakers strongly objected. Meat was eliminated from the recipe in the 17th century in favor of more sweets, and people began sprinkling it with brandy and setting it aflame when serving it to their guests. The Christmas pudding was not a tradition in England until it was introduced to the Victorians by Prince Albert. The traditional cooking time takes about eight hours, with preparation taking even longer due to extensive marinating. The longer the fruit is marinated in brandy, cider, or both, the better it tastes and this could take weeks! There are many traditions and superstitions surrounding the Christmas Pudding. It is said that setting the brandy aflame represents Christ’s passion. Some families add coins to the pudding for luck. Everyone then stirs the pudding and makes a wish. Those who get the coins in their serving get wealth, health, happiness, and their wish will come true. Some people even add gold rings to the mix to indicate the finder will get married in the coming year. One last interesting fact about Christmas pudding is that the largest batch ever made weighed in at 7,231 pounds and was made in Aughton, Lancashire on July 11, 1992. Imagine trying to finish that plate! Click here for Mrs Mackie’s Christmas Pudding Recipe
The South African Meat Industry Company,
Samic has very nice meat cutting charts. Just click on the banner below for lots of interesting information.
Hey people. There have been such nice compliments flying around from so many people that we don’t know where to start thanking all of you. It does us so good (dit gee ons ‘n groot lekker kry) to see that there are so many of you who so much enjoy making your own biltong and wors. It is so nice to hear from you and how you are doing. This web site is really about bringing some of your “old home” back to where-ever you may be in this world right now and we hope that we, in a small way, succeed in doing so. It is your mails overflowing with enthusiasm about how you made your own biltong and wors that keeps us going. So, from us, a great thank you. And keep those mails coming! There is one feedback that really took the cake. It came from John Renwick, some time ago ……. John wrote: Yesterday afternoon, after three days, I tested my first batch. Brilliant!! This is the first time I’ve had biltong since 1986 so you can imagine how pleased I am! I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! So, to all of you who have not tried it yet, now is the time!
Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link. You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.
Christmas is now around the corner ….. But ….. even with Christmas gone you will still be able to benefit from these special prices and something free! The first 10 orders received after this newsletter has been mailed will receive one of our famous blackwood Biltong Cutters totally FREE!! So don’t wait and go shopping now! There is still time to have your Biltong Maker delivered before Christmas but only if you place your order now!! As an extra bonus to end this year off on a high note the following prices will apply: Rockey’s incredible 5kg Home Biltong Maker still @ only R 850.00! (Normal retail is R 950.00). Make use of this opportunity and ask for surface mail! It costs a fraction of the airmail cost. Click here to go to our on-line shop.
It is not true apparently! The story is simply not true apparently. Please go to this link to read the true story about this subject. We are sorry if we have caused any drama, broken marriages, microwaves being dumped (you needed a new one anyway) etc.
The subject of what vinegar to use for Biltong has risen its head again. In 2004 Craig Rudolph mailed us with the following. It should answer most peoples questions about vinegar. Craig writes ……….. I was reading through the question with regards “Brown Vinegar” and am happy to provide the following information: I worked for many years for a very large Vinegar manufacturer in South Africa. So I can speak with some knowledge on the product and what people should know. As some people might know, vinegar is made via a double fermentation process. Firstly the raw material (grapes, malt, apples or molasses) is fermented and then distilled into a 95% alcohol. (Normal drinking alcohol quality) The colour that various vinegars have is purely to do with where they are stored or what is added after their production. So malt vinegars could be stored in barrels etc. Wine vinegars with a red tinge will have been coloured with red grape skins for a short period. For most commercial brown vinegars, off the supermarket shelves, it is purely a small amount of caramel that is added. Depending on how dark they want it, depends on how much they add of the caramel. Strength of vinegar can also increase with age. Balsamic vinegars can be as old as 200 years – not unlike good red wines. So for the person that used cider vinegar, I would suggest using a normal supermarket shelf white vinegar, which might be a little more subtle than the cider vinegar, and then obtain a small amount of caramel for adding and make their own brown vinegar. Hope this is of help to the folks around the Biltong globe. Regards Craig Rudolph
South African Meat Cutting Charts
Below you will find three meat cutting charts. These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
English Meat Cutting Charts These charts you find here are very detailed also showing what you can do with the different cuts. They come from EBLEX They have a fun web site at www.beefyandlamby.co.uk with loads of excellent recipes to boot!
We went to see Anton Goosen in November and apart from an excellent show the organization was faultless. Good food, good music and a very enjoyable evening. To see all upcoming events please click on South African Events in Europe web site. There are loads of things happening!
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them? (Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future) QUESTION
I really enjoy your newsletters, you are doing a GREAT JOB! Hope you have solutions to my problems. Ina Hiller
I am a big fan of biltong and as a member of a rugby supporters club, there is an ever increasing demand for my biltong. I have purchased a mini/junior biltong dryer from an agent in Johannesburg. It’s the Butcherquip brand, which I think looks similar to the one you sell on your website. My question to you is the following: 430mm x 910mm x 1740mm = 0.68 m³ Mike
A lot of customers come up with the question if our spices are allowed in to Australia. We have had one instance years ago where an Australian customs official asked for a written list of the contents of the spices. After this was mailed through to them the spices were released without a problem. The questions is: Many thanks,
I ordered some of your Boerewors spice mix and have made my first batch but I’d appreciate some advice. Cheers
Feedback
We received some feedback regarding a question posed by Michael Rollins last month. The question was: Food safety is of great concern here, such that I doubt biltong could be legally sold, due to the center portion still being raw and pink. However, I would like to make biltong out of wild venison, as hunting season for deer is currently open. The only bacteria or parasite that could possibly be present in the venison from my area is Lyme disease, which is bacterial. The Afrikaner who introduced me to biltong years ago said they made it from fresh Kudu meat after a hunt, but didn’t mention whether there was any health risk associated with using wild game. The feedback: I hunted in South Africa for more then 20 years, shot countless Kudu, Impala and Springbok, always cut and prepared my own biltong and never any health risks whatsoever. Lyme disease is spread by deer ticks (has black legs and red body) that bites you. If you hunt and have a kill and a tick from the deer lands on you, just remove and take a single dose of doxycycline (need script from your doctor) to prevent lime disease. Invite me for a hunting trip (I will pay my way) and I will teach you how to make biltong properly. Deon Pretorius
Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to the coast we go……
By James ClarkePsychologist Dr Niki Swart, speaking some time back at a civil defence conference, said that in a disaster situation, 70 percent of people become confused and panicky, while 10 percent scream and cry, and the rest become distanced. I have personal experience of this. It happens every time we go on holiday en famille – and this year we have, once again, decided that our tribe will migrate to the coast next month.
Although, to be honest, that is partly the reason. It is also to avoid hearing: “Jingle bells, jingle bells” every time I go the shops. But I have long realised how right Dr Swart was. My family, when setting out on a long journey, manifests the first two syndromes – confusion/panic and screaming/crying. I tend to be like the 20 percent and become distanced. We usually go down to the sea in convoy, taking hours because there are so many females, and females have bladders the size of eyedrop bulbs which necessitates stopping every 20 minutes. And then the younger ones want crisps and soft drinks so that they can mash the chips into the back seat and set the cans, once almost emptied, rolling under the front seats going downhill and rolling back going uphill. Nowadays we rendezvous at dawn at the house of either one of my daughters where we reverse over suitcases, burst plastic bags and find that women are bringing food supplies as if the South Coast is served only by a trading store that sells blankets and paraffin. “How can you have bought all this stuff?” “It just looks a lot. In any event, you should just see how much we left behind on the supermarket shelves.” The scene is reminiscent of a dockside as an ocean liner prepares for the Far East. “Who are all these people?” I cry. But really, I know, because I recognise many of their faces. Meanwhile every burglar south of Harare can see he has two clear weeks to clean out the house. “I just hope,” said my son-in-law, “they’ll have time to clean out the garage too.” On one occasion when my granddaughter was small, she spied a packed taxi pulling up and called to the people getting out: “You see this house? Well, Jesus is looking after it because we’re going on holiday.” The drive is filled with people shouting helpful things like: “Aren’t you folks ready yet for Pete’s sake?” “Oh no,” I say to my wife, “you are not bringing THREE suitcases?” “I am.” “Who said?” “I did.” “Oh well, that’s all right then.” The scene changes to that of the Grand Staircase on the Titanic. I slide into the phase Niki Swart describes as “helplessly withdrawn”. Inevitably, irrepressibly, the convoy moves out, forsaking the agreeable Highveld climate and heading southeast towards the rains and the sticky humidity that lies ahead. More from the Chalk Front
I was on about howlers the other day and a reader (teacher) said teachers take a huge risk in asking pupils to write down what they think of teachers ….. “She looks very old,” wrote a child of her 25-year-old teacher. Another wrote: “My teacher is at school to teach us how to spull.” An admiring pupil said: “My teacher is clever. She is good at sharpening pencils.” Another was even more satisfied: “I am clever because my teacharer teachars me.”
You need:
Gravy: Important note:
Cooking time: Your shopping list:
Michael Rutzen is a 36-year-old Gansbaai local who has learnt to free-dive with adult great white sharks adjusting his body-language and using the currents and position of the sun to show that he is not a threat. On a good day he can even hitch a ride on the dorsal fin of a massive great white. Michael hopes to build levels of trust between shark and man to the point where he believes he can hypnotize them into a hardly understood state known as tonic immobility, in which the shark becomes passive and seeks out human touch for apparent pleasure.
Their upcoming film Sharkman, tells the story of Michael’s dream to change our perceptions of sharks. People are afraid of sharks. They have been stereotyped by films and books as our worst enemy – who can forget Jaws – and presented as indiscriminate killers. This belief endures because people hate being confused by the truth, however often it is repeated. In 2005 the Global Shark Attack File recorded 69 attacks of which just five were fatal. In the Cape Peninsula there have only been 28 documented fatal shark attacks since 1960. In comparison, thousands of people around the world die annually from lightning strikes and as many as three million people die from malaria. Shark populations are being obliterated at a rate of 270 000 sharks each day across the world simply to keep up with consumer demand. It is a rate of depletion that can no longer be sustained without fear of species collapse. The stocks of some sharks have plummeted to just 10 percent of the population levels recorded in 1950. It seems that until people’s perceptions of sharks change, this pattern will continue. The Foster Brothers are film-makers who want to change perceptions of our natural environment. They believe that when we understand something, we will want to protect it. Their highly successful 2001 film The Great Dance documents man and animal at their most extreme limits of endurance through the “chasing hunt”, a ritual never before revealed to the world outside the Kalahari Desert. The Great Dance helped to change perceptions of the need to preserve San culture in the face of globalisation and tribal decline. It received more awards than any other documentary of its time. Commissioned by Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, Sharkman is the culmination of a lifetime of fascination with the ocean for the Foster siblings. Growing up at Bakoven on the Atlantic seaboard, their bedroom window was below the high-water mark, and the bigger storms of the year would batter it until it seemed they would be washed away. Damon Foster caught his first crayfish at the age of just four. And Damon and Craig have dived and fished throughout their lives. The film is being made because they want to show that we need to protect one of the last truly wild predators. Damon finds it amazing that people know more about dinosaurs, which, of course, no one has ever seen, than about sharks. Incredible scenes from the film show Michael learning how to “hypnotize” Caribbean reef sharks and black tips in the Bahamas and Caribbean, and tiger sharks off KwaZulu-Natal. By stroking the mouth area of the shark as it rests in his lap, it becomes docile and almost affectionate. Michael is amazed that these “killer” sharks are willing partners in this process, and even manages to enter a “liquid embrace” with a 3m-long tiger shark, descending over 15 meter before the shark “awakes” and then swims away. Sharkman will be completed in December and will be broadcast to a viewing audience of about 200 million people on the Animal Planet and Discovery channels.
There is not much this month. Perhaps you are busy getting ready for Christmas or the holidays? Come on guys. Let’s see what you can do for next month’s issue? -Ed.
Anyway the reason for my email is that I have just started a South African email loop which is getting going very slowly but we are getting there. There is a good following of South Africans here in North Carolina, mostly in Raleigh but here in Charlotte we are getting going with events etc. to get us all together every now and again. Anyway I am getting off the subject … what I wanted to say was that although I started doing the loop for South Africans living in Charlotte, it has spread to other South Africans living in the States and even some outside of the States. Most information is relevant to people living in the USA but often it is just a chat or sharing recipe information or whatever, so I thought I would send you the link and if you are interested in joining, please feel free. The link is: Take care.
Exciting information for all readers. Original game and Ostrich Biltong from South Africa is now allowed in to the European Union countries! Kind regards
Neem eens een kijkje op volgend adres:
The book recognises the people behind Jo’burg’s rejuvenation. It shares success stories, documents the progress that’s been made to date, and ultimately aims to change perceptions about a city that so often only hits the headlines when talking about crime and grime. Jo’burg! The Passion Behind a City is ideally suited to convey a message of optimism and pride regarding Jo’burg, its people and its future. I have attached a picture of the book as well as a brief synopsis and will be most grateful if you would consider mentioning the book in your newsletter with a link to our website. Many thanks and best regards (We will tell you more about this exciting new book once we have had a look at it. Perhaps next month? -Ed)
-from Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia- Cape Town is also called “The Mother City”, believed to be due to the highly expressive vocabulary of the local dialect (in which the words “your mother” feature regularly) and the cheap and nasty (but potent) local wine. A different school of thought believes the origin of the name lies in the fact that it takes 9 months to do anything in this sleepy hollow.
Cape Town is neither as wealthy nor as large as Johannesburg, so the inhabitants compensate with a superior attitude based on the claim that they were there first. Which none of them personally were, unless they are over 300 years old. It is socially unacceptable for a Capetonian to talk to people that they have not previously talked to, which severely limits social interactions. Robin Island was named after Batman’s faithful sidekick. Later it was renamed “Robbin’ Island” and used as a jail, like Alcatraz but with colder water around it and more sharks in it. In spite of the revolution in 1994 severe social inequality still persists. Efforts to redress this historical imbalance are progressing well, particularly the “mugg’em” initiative. Popular sports are pretentiousness, drunk-driving, pole-vaulting, homosexuality, French dressing and Mexican standoffs. The summer sport of setting fire to the mountainside is more popular with tourists than with locals, though all enjoy the cheerful spectacle of the flames and smoke. Since 2006, the town council of Cape Town has embraced an “Amishisation ” policy, and has turned it’s back on the use of electricity, declaring it a decadent bourgeois luxury. Electricity is slowly being phased out in a series of “power cuts”, and it is to be replaced by the use of candles, paraffin lamps and fires for illumination and sing-alongs for entertainment. Cape Town is the first place to boast an Invisible Bridge. However, the bridge is currently not in use as the city council refused to believe the claims of the construction company when they informed the council that they had developed a new building material which was stronger than steel but could not be seen by the human eye. The city council is said to have likened the bridge fiasco to “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. Roads Memorial celebrates the fact that Cape Town is where roads were invented. This is delightfully done by means of a monument which includes important tools to road- making such as lions, a man with a horse and some dude’s head. Bergies are Cape Town’s world famous mountaineers who live on Table Mountain and often come down into the city to welcome foreigners with the traditional Capetonian greeting of “Jou maaaa se *%$@!”
Not a word was spoken.
Currie Cup system entrenched until 2011 White gets backing of President’s Council Young hooker to rewrite history books Ganguly recalled for Test series against SA Proteas are going for the kill
-Where can you watch rugby on TV?-
Click here to find out where in most countries!
It is the last month of the year so why not join us and make the first issue of 2007 a real bumper one! Let’s all put pen to paper or the fingers to the keyboard and let rip! It does not have to be about Biltong or such. We’d love to hear where you live and how you have adapted yourself to your new life style and surroundings. You might have a nice recipe to part with or perhaps a question to ask? You never know how you could help somebody else with your own hints and tips. Share it with other people around the world!
A lot of people took our advice and stocked up with Boerewors in November. So much so that we had to make an extra 170kg batch! We even send 5 kg to Susan Rowett in Monaco! Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram.
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. The price will be € 28.00 per kg or € 7.00 per 250 gram packet. Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option. Interested? Give us a call on +32 (16) 53.96.25 or email.
The Braai season is over in Europe (except for some diehards!) but the Spring and Summer of 2007 are not too far away!! Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so!
Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well.
Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32 (16) 53.96.25 or email us. (A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)
You can click on the links below to view some of the previous issues of our newsletter.
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November 2006

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DISCLAIMER
The information and contributions contained in this newsletter are received from various readers local and international. Views and opinions reflected in our newsletter are not necessarily those of Biltongmakers.Com and its team members. Keerbergen
Belgium November 10, 2006 Hello everyone! It is still pitch dark outside as I sit here putting the final touches on the newsletter for this month.
Outside it has been raining all night and it seems that we had a lot of wind as well. All the hard work I did last week clearing the autumn leaves was undone last night. I guess I have to get in there with the leaf blower again this coming weekend. But, we like it! Autumn is here at last with its kaleidoscope of colours. Some of the sights are quite unbelievable and breath taking. No picture could ever do justice to the incredible beauty of especially the forests but also of normal shrubs and trees along the roads and in the gardens. And so November is here and with it the start of our winter. We haven’t had much of that yet this year. The temperatures have been very mild. But, it won’t last, that I can assure you! Both June and I are looking forward to the winter. We like the snow and the cold weather as most of our regular readers will know by now. For the southern part of our world summer is on its way. From what we hear from around those parts of the world it has been pretty warm already! Good luck to all of you there. You deserve it after the past winter! Looking at the weather on the BBC this morning I saw that it is not looking to good for the UK next week. We are going to the UK on a combined business/pleasure trip and decided to take the Ferry from Calais again. Nice and relaxing and the food is good too! Let’s just hope the Channel will not be too choppy! Well, I am not going to keep you long. There are a lot of contributions this month so let’s get going! Just one last thing; why don’t we make it a bumper issue next month with even more contributions from everybody? All the best and take care. Till next month, Lo
World’s easiest quiz Remember, you need 4 correct answers to pass.
What do you mean, you failed? Me, too. (And if you try to tell me you passed, you lie!) Pass this on to some brilliant friends, so they can feel useless too.
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
– Albert Schweitzer – “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
Family
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
“Oh excuse me please” was my reply.
We were very polite, this stranger and I. But at home a different story is told, Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
He walked away, his little heart broken. While I lay awake in bed, “While dealing with a stranger, Go and look on the kitchen floor, Those are the flowers he brought for you.
By this time, I felt very small, I quietly went and knelt by his bed; “Are these the flowers you picked for me?” I picked ’em because they’re pretty like you.
I said, “Son, I love you too, FAMILY And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
Eat drink and be merry!
Diets For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies.
heart attacks than the Americans, Australians, British, or Canadians. Conclusion: Why diets don’t work A visitor from a far-off planet observing the way we behave could easily assume that dieting is a very good idea indeed. In fact, dieting is so popular that in the past 10 years it’s estimated that around 70 per cent of the adult female population and 30 per cent of of all adult males (in developed countries) have been on one. Although diets do produce results in the short term, very few dieters maintain their weight loss, no matter which diet they try. Even worse than this, most dieters end up bigger than they were before they started dieting. So, why don’t diets work? Diets are hard to do Dieting is also hard because it relies on our willpower to keep us on the right track. Willpower is often very strong at the start of a diet when we are desperate to change, but it can ebb and flow with the state of our health and the pressures and triggers of day-to-day life. Dieters rarely think of rehearsing how they will manage in difficult situations such as going out to dinner with friends; they just hope that their willpower will hold up and they punish themselves if it doesn’t. Willpower is hard to maintain for extended periods of time, especially if our dietary rules are too strict. Sometimes we feel like we’ve made some progress in our diet and so we become less inclined to put ourselves through the struggle of restricting our food. So dieting is hard because people haven’t learned the difference between willpower and commitment to long-term behaviour change. Diets make you feel hungry and deprived Dieters lapse and collapse Such people go from diet to diet hoping to find the one that will stop them from failing, but such a diet doesn’t exist, and they may end up bigger than ever each time they try. Diets fail to address the emotional aspect of overeating Dieters usually fail to change their core habits Dieters too often say or think things like: ‘When I’m slim I’ll never overeat again’ or ‘When I’ve lost this weight I’ll go out and celebrate with a cream cake’, or ‘Why should I change the family eating habits just because I’m on a diet?’ Conclusion For long-term weight loss, many things – not just your nutritional habits – will have to change.
Samic has excellent meat cutting charts. Just click on the banner below for lots of interesting information.
Hi Biltongmakers!
I think I may have another couple of orders for you. The Germans I work with were so impressed with my homemade biltong, they want to do it themselves! Gunter Pibernik
Thank you again My first batch turned out great, absolutely love having biltong “on tap”! Now I can experiment to my hearts content! Lee Ann Cantrell
Details on ROCKEY’S 5kg Home Biltong Maker can be found by clicking on this link. You can have a look at the BILTONG BUDDY here.
Christmas is only a couple of shopping weeks away! …..
In two months time we’ll be halfway through January 2007! There is still time to have your Biltong Maker delivered before Christmas but only if you place your order now!! As an extra bonus to end this year off on a high note, the following prices will apply: Rockey’s incredible 5kg Home Biltong Maker @ only R 850.00! (Normal retail is R 950.00). Make use of this opportunity and ask for surface mail! It costs a fraction of the airmail cost. Surprise your family and friends with a piece of real South African Biltong this Christmas. It’s as easy as 1-2-3 and loads of fun too! Click here to go to our on-line shop.
Microwaved Water – See what it does to plants! Then after cooling she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the water boiled in a microwave. She was thinking that the structure or energy of the water may be compromised by microwave. As it turned out, even she was amazed at the difference.
So the body wraps it in fat cells to protect itself from the dead food or it eliminates it fast. Think of all the Mothers heating up milk in these “Safe” appliances. What about the nurse in Canada that warmed up blood for a transfusion patient and accidentally killed them when the blood went in dead! But the makers say it’s safe. Never mind then, keep using them. Ask your Doctor I am sure they will say it’s safe too. Proof is in the pictures of living plants dying. Remember You are also Living! Take Care.
Ten Reasons to throw out your Microwave Oven From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, we will conclude this article with the following:
Have you tossed out your microwave oven yet? After you throw out your microwave you can use a toaster oven as a replacement. It works well for most and is nearly as quick. The use of artificial microwave transmissions for subliminal psychological control, a.k.a. “brainwashing”, has also been proven.
Meat Cutting Charts
Below you will find three meat cutting charts.
These are displayed with the compliments of SAMIC.
We went to see Anton Goosen in November and apart from an excellent show the organization was faultless. Good food, good music and a very enjoyable evening.
To see all upcoming events please click on South African Events in Europe web site. There are loads of things happening!
If we have not given an answer and you can help these people could you please mail them? (Please copy us in on your mails @ info@biltongmakers.com so we can help other people who might have the same questions in the future) QUESTION
I have bought a Biltong Maker for my butchery and need to know at what temperature the meat dries? Is this something you would know or have you any suggestion of how I would find this out? Rory
I’m American, but please don’t hold that against me. Politics aside, I have some questions about biltong preparation that I can’t get properly answered here. Food safety is of great concern here, such that I doubt biltong could be legally sold, due to the center portion still being raw and pink. However, I would like to make biltong out of wild venison, as hunting season for deer is currently open. The only bacteria or parasite that could possibly be present in the venison from my area is Lyme disease, which is bacterial. The Afrikaner who introduced me to biltong years ago said they made it from fresh Kudu meat after a hunt, but didn’t mention whether there was any health risk associated with using wild game. Lastly, a few questions on ingredients. Your recipes call for “rock salt” or “coarse salt”. What is generally available in the U.S. is Kosher salt, although I believe I might find something closer to what you call coarse salt at a specialty shop. What we call “rock salt” is used only for the making of home-made ice cream. This stuff is generally considered unfit for human consumption, as it is rough-mined and can contain dirt and other impurities. (It’s other use is for de-icing walkways in freezing weather.) Lastly, can you help define “brown vinegar”? Sounds like the malt vinegar we use on fish and chips, which is brown. If it has another name, could you clue me in? We have a couple of large, specialty grocers in my area, and I bet I can find it, or something suitable. I do hope I am not overly complicating what you folks consider a fairly simple recipe. In any case, I’ll be ordering your biltong cutter shortly. Thank you most sincerely,
Ek is op soek na Boerewors en Biltong resepte op CD vir my kinders in Engeland.
All that trouble about a forgotten lipstick …..
By James Clarke Having, not long ago, been rear-ended by a young woman motorist (whose crisp turn of phrase revealed her to be no lady) I became a bit nervous when, a few mornings ago, I found a Yofex (young female executive) driving a hair’s breadth from my rear bumper and chatting away on her cellphone.
Even minibus taxi drivers pull over when they see a Yofex approaching. Yofexes, white or black, have pale skins because they are never outdoors. They spend their weekends rearranging their Filofaxes, working on flow charts for their next presentation, cooking three-course meals for their Maltese terriers and working off calories at the local gym in incredibly expensive leotards. If a Yofex dents her car or finds she has a grey hair she is likely to seek her bed and go into a foetal position from which only the jaws of life can unfold her. Not much else fazes her. I was driving along the M1 North, relaxed, feet up on the dashboard and noting how green the trees were when, as I say, this white BMW became glued to my rear. I slowed down, giving her the opportunity to pull out and overtake and ferret her way into the tangle of traffic ahead. Everybody gave way but I doubt she noticed. Anyway the Yofex code is: “Death, before acknowledging a courtesy.” I eventually found myself behind her and, to signal that she was taking the next off-ramp, she turned on her windscreen wipers. I was taking the same off-ramp and at the top we both turned right but then, to my surprise, she turned right again – back on to the highway but this time in the opposite direction from whence she had come. I noticed she was still on the phone. She might even have been doing her nails. I could be mistaken. She might just as well have been making notes. Obviously she had forgotten something – her flow charts perhaps; notes for her presentation; maybe her lipstick… I imagined her jinking her way through Rosebank and back into Parktown North where many Yofexes live in singularly anonymous quarters behind blank white walls. I could imagine the sound of her reverse thrust as she came to a stop outside her house. Her hysterical ankle-biting Maltese would be flinging itself against the grill gate where also stood her man. Yofexes rarely have husbands. Even if they do they still refer to him as their man. Their men generally have a more leisurely approach to their jobs, hence they leave home later. She would have phoned ahead and her man would have been standing there holding out the forgotten item. Then her tyres would have smoked as she threw her car forward having grabbed something from her man’s outstretched hand – yes, the forgotten lipstick, I bet. Talking of Maltese… a reader, Ian Sabook sent me some frankly worded ads from the Pets’ Corner in the classified section: Found: Maltese terrier: Eight years old. Hateful little bitch. Bites. Found: Dirty white dog. Looks like a rat… Been out a while. Better be a reward. Free puppies: 1/2 cocker spaniel – 1/2 sneaky neighbour’s dog. Free German shepherd: 85lbs. Neutered. Speaks German
Met die seisoen wat weer amper op ons is, moet ons begin dink daaraan om the bak! Kerskoek Bestanddele:
Proe die vodka om gehalte te toets.
Luandré Volschenk The Cake Ingredients
Ingredients
Serve hot or cold with whipped cream.
Transport Minister Jeff Radebe says South Africa is well on its way to meeting airport and air safety requirements in order to deal with the flood of tourists expected to hit the country during the 2010 soccer World Cup and beyond. Speaking at the Airports Council International World Annual Assembly being held in Cape Town, Radebe stressed that the country was not sitting idle. “South Africa, through Airports Company SA, is already making huge investments on airport developments to address the high growth rate in air transportation and the added demands of accelerating infrastructure development plans to cater to the forecast traffic peak presented by the Fifa World Cup in 2010,” he said.
As a result of this expenditure, Radebe said, South Africa’s international and regional airports would be able to provide the capacity required for the World Cup. Leonard Ramatlakane, MEC for Community Safety, who also attended the event, said he was confident that the country would be able to handle the expected increase in both international and domestic travelers beyond 2010. “We have no doubt about our capacity to deliver airports that will be able to cater to the ever greater needs of passenger loads,” he said. The Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company has also been busy renewing aeronautical navigation systems and has begun replacing older radar systems across the country, in preparation for the World Cup. “Safety and security is high on our agenda,” Radebe said. He also stressed the growing importance of tourism’s contribution, via the airport industry, to the country’s economic vitality. As a result of this, Radebe said, South Africa had identified tourism as one of the country’s immediate priorities for future job creation and economic growth. A five-year plan to increase aviation’s contribution to the tourism sector has been implemented that aims to make South Africa a preferred air travel destination, and which improves airport services.
The following was submitted by Monique van Schalkwyk
Horrific violence now an everyday sight as the Rainbow Nation ends in a pool of blood.
The distinguished anti-apartheid novelist André Brink has shocked many of his politically correct countrymen by warning that football’s World Cup, coming to South Africa in 2010, threatens a “potential massacre which could make the Munich Olympics of a few decades ago look like a picnic outing”. Brink, whose novels were banned by apartheid governments and who has twice been nominated for the Booker Prize and short-listed several times for the Nobel Prize for Literature, is no everyday scaremonger. In one of a number of articles he has written about the crises facing South Africa, he said: “For 12 years after our first democratic elections [held in 1994, resulting in Nelson Mandela becoming president] I went out of my way to assure people inside and outside the country who had doubts about the new South Africa that we were moving in the direction of democracy, truth and justice, and that the darker by-products of the change were temporary and superficial accidents. I can no longer do that.” While South Africa has bathed in the accolade of the Rainbow Nation since the end of apartheid in 1994, a torrent of commentators and swathes of the general public now say that the rainbow’s end has been reached and the nation is sliding back into the storm. Just this month , Nobel Peace Prize winner archbishop Desmond Tutu said the country had lost its “moral compass and reverence for life“. He said: “Is it not horrendous for an adult man to rape a nine-month-old baby? [a reference to the country’s plague of baby rape in the belief that sex with infants cures Aids] What has come over us?” Like many South Africans, Brink is appalled by violent crime levels that are seemingly out of control – he finally felt impelled to speak out when his own daughter, son-in-law and their children were caught in a restaurant hold-up of the sort that has become a near-everyday occurrence. Five men armed with pistols stormed the Cape Town restaurant where his daughter’s family were dining; ordered everyone to lie face down on the floor and strip themselves of rings, jewelry, watches, cell-phones and wallets. The men then emptied the safe and cash register and beat up and kicked the customers before herding them into a small back room, locking it and making their escape. Apart from a single paragraph in a small community newspaper, the incident was not reported. “It is too insignificant,” said Brink, “to banal, to commonplace in the new South Africa. No-one has been killed, no-one raped. South Africa now ranks alongside Colombia, Chechnya and the occupied Palestinian Territories as among the most violent places on earth. In a new report, the South African Institute of Race Relations said that one million whites have left the country in the past decade. This is partly because of the escalating violence, but also because they see no future in a country once proclaimed as “non-racist” but which has implemented a damaging raft of reverse-racist policies with similarities to those adopted by past white governments. More whites began packing their bags for Europe, North America and Australasia when justice minister Charles Nqakula, responding to a question about the scores of daily murders and hundreds of daily rapes, told parliament that those who complained about crime were “unpatriotic moaners”. He went on: “They can continue to whinge until they’re blue in the face or they can simply leave this country.” The justice minister’s implication was that only whites “whinged” about the rampant violence. But most of those raped, mugged and killed are black people . One woman, who had been gang-raped and mugged by fellow blacks, and who lives in a paralysis of fear in her township, wrote to a newspaper asking: “Where, honourable minister, do you suggest I go?” And last week it was too late for 15-month-old Khensani Miteleni to consider going anywhere – she and her mother were caught in one of the near-daily wild west-style gunfights that make Johannesburg’s city centre resemble a war zone. Violence is just one element of the developing South African crisis: As South Africa slid off the rainbow, one leading newspaper columnist warned: “We have all been lulled into a sense of false security over the past 12 years. We look north to Zimbabwe with pitying eyes and tell ourselves it couldn’t happen here. “Well, my friends, the seeds have been sown. Just wait for the harvest.”
I am going home, I just love the place, its sounds ….. its smells … I have been a bit slow in reading the last two newsletters as we have been moving and then went on holiday, but now that I have finally gotten down to it, I am enjoying reading through once again. I don’t actually eat meat (yes I am South African), but still love reading your newsletter. There is one topic I would like to comment on, your ‘Going home or staying put’ article. I agree that South Africa is suffering a backlash from apartheid days and that the crime is a sad state of affairs. I feel awful that you and many others have suffered. I am currently living in the UK and to be honest with you, I am more fearful here than back home. Not only of potential attack by individuals but by organized, political groups. I am horrified by what some of the teenagers are capable of here, where they go on sprees of attacks for no purpose whatsoever. I am mentioning this because in South Africa people are subject to utter poverty and I honestly don’t know how I would react to this situation (poverty stricken) should I be in it. Also, while this is no excuse, for many years black people were subject to the same and worse violence by the white people and for this reason I am not entirely surprised that there is this backlash. My comparison is because the violence in South Africa comes from a place of desperation and vengeance, whereas here, there is NO reason other than sick pleasure. I have been out of South Africa for three years now and go home (to Cape Town) every year. We were in Johannesburg this year and was amazed at how well our friends and family are doing. They do stay in these secure villages, but still enjoy a lovely quality of life. We are hoping to be able to go back to South Africa to live next year. I have two groups of friends that I made while staying in Denmark who are so relieved to be back in South Africa as they found it extremely difficult to keep track of their teenage kids while in Denmark. There is a wholesomeness and old fashioned manners still present in South Africa that just doesn’t seem to exist in Denmark and England. I am saying this from what I have heard from them as I don’t have kids, but I have witnessed some very rude behaviour from kids this end of the equator. When I moved to Denmark I thought that it epitomized everything I would hope for South Africa, but you know what, they have the highest level of depression and suicide. I believe that there is a new generation growing up in South Africa that has not been subject to apartheid or national service and frankly don’t give too much of a hoot about it. They are tolerant of all races (and by-the-way I find South Africa one of the most tolerant, non judgmental places I have been to) and will start to influence changes which will make South Africa the absolute best place to be in the world. I love the place now, the sights, sounds. Even the smell of the place makes me feel ‘home’. I want to be there to be part of the solution, because I admit that solutions are required. It is HOME. I hope I make some sort of sense. I understand that some people don’t want to be in South Africa for many reasons. Very best wishes
Hello everybody! I have been living in Naperville, Illinois, USA since March of this year. We still have to get use to the cold winters we have here! Already we have had a few nights where it has gone 3’C past freezing point. We got a taste of the cold when we arrived in January and could not believe that it could get this cold. The people in the neighbourhood here were so tremendously nice when we moved in. They came over to welcome us and even brought us food. I have become so used to the safety here and being able to walk with my dog at 22h00 at night and not feeling scared at all! Thanksgiving is coming up soon and we will spend it with friends at their place so we can see all the traditional things they do and eat on this holiday. My eldest is in school and has already started speaking in an American accent. It is not too bad cause here in Illinois they actually speak a decent dialect. Wishing you all of the best! Marinda van der Brugghen
Hi there in Belgium. Not back yet in the good old country? After living for 40 years in Helmond in Holland, I am back where I grew up as a kid for 14 years in Durban! I also used to order Boerewors over the internet from a shop in the UK! But boy, was it expensive! But since 18 months I am now back in Kwazulu-Natal, where I bought a house in Newcastle. I must say that the Boerewors and Droëwors is much cheaper than overseas!! My name is Sjoerd Walda (male). I was born in Helmond in Holland in 1948. We went to South Africa in 1949 and lived there till 1963. So at the age of 56 I retired and left Holland for good. Yes there is such a lot of crime here in South Africa and how the country changed since 1963! I still receive your newsletters and always like to read what South Africans overseas have to say about how much they miss there homeland!! Kind regards, Sjoerd Walda
To all the kids born before the 1980’s !! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We were always outside, playing …. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K!! We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have PlayStation’s, Nintendo, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms ………. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. School sports had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! These generations has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And if YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Zulu still angling for the big prize Aussie PM predicts home win in Ashes Series Land re-zoning for 2010 stadium to be appealed Boks head out for ‘tough’ British tour Some unusual names in World Cup Masterplan
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We have a freshly made batch in the freezers all vacuum packed and ready to go! Just imagine some “lekker” pap and wors with a nice tomato and onion sauce! Our Boerewors is vacuum packed in quantities of about 500 gram.
Droëwors, as it is known in South Africa, is as much part of the country’s culinary culture as Biltong, Pap, Boerewors and Potjiekos. The price will be € 28.00 per kg or € 7.00 per 250 gram packet. Droëwors travels well and posting is an ideal option. Interested? Give us a call or email.
The Braai season is over in Europe (except for some diehards!) but there is always the Spring and Summer of 2007!! Lamb on the Spit is a way of entertaining as only known by very few mainly because it is thought to be very expensive ……. Not so!
Together with the lamb we will treat you to a big pot of curried potatoes as well as a choice between a pasta salad or three-bean salad. Garlic or bread rolls are included as well. Booking early is essential and you can do so on
+32(16) 53-9625 or email us. (A Lamb on the Spit can only be done outside because we cook on coals!)
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