Posted on Leave a comment

Make your own Boerewors

Robust and flavorful South African Boerewors is the sausage you need for your next grilling party!

South America has has chorizo, France has andouille, Poland has kielbasa, and Germany has their vast selection of “wurst”.

South Africa has boerewors!

What is Boerewors?
Boerewors (pronounces BOO-ruh-VORS) is a South African fresh sausage that is perfect for the grill. The name means “farmer’s sausage” and comes from a combination of the Afrikaans words boer (‘farmer’) and wors (‘sausage’).

Can you can see the Dutch influence in the South African language an culture in the name?

We’ll give you a hint: worst (similar to the German wurst) is the Dutch word for sausage.

What makes Boerewors different?
Like most sausages, there are specifics about the way boerewors should be made.

It must be made up of at least 90% meat, with the remaining 10% being spices, seasonings, and preservatives like vinegar and salt. The sausages must contain beef, but can also include some pork or lamb. And, no more than 30% of the meat content may be made up of fat.

Boerewors seasoning characteristically includes coriander, black pepper, nutmeg, and allspice, along with a dark vinegar (malt vinegar). The vinegar and salt act to preserve the sausages as well as adding flavor.

This combination of spices and vinegar creates a unique flavor that is very characteristic of South African cuisine.

What makes boerewors stand out, in addition to its unique flavor, is the way the meat is ground.

Boerewors is a course-ground sausage, giving it a more chunky and coarse texture, rather than the fine and smooth texture that you may be used to from, say, a German wurst.

Boerewors: a classic barbecue food
Traditionally, boerewors are shaped into a continuous spiral, around a foot in diameter.

It is a classic food for the South African tradition of braai, or barbecue. Boerewors are the perfect braai (pronounced brī, like ‘hi’) food because they are grilled in their large spiral.

When served, braai-goers can slice off a section of the sausage as they load their plate with other tasty braai fare like sosatsies (slightly sweet and smoky meat kebabs) and braaibroodjies (the South African version of a kicked up grilled cheese sandwich with tomato and onion cooked on the grill).

Traditionally boerewors are served with a porrage/polenta-like dish called pap that is made from mielie-meal, a coarse-ground maize (corn) flour.

But, it is also common to see Boerewors placed into a bun and eaten, hot dog style, served with a tomato and onion relish.

The unique flavor and smell of the sausage grilling reminds us of coming home to a sumptuous breakfast after our morning safari game drive.

“We went on a tour to check this out

As if the draw of the animals and the friendliness of the lodge staff and fellow safari-goers wasn’t enough to make for an incredible safari experience at Motswari, we were treated to so many delicious meals as well. We enjoyed dishes like Springbok Carpacio and Lamb with Sheba Sauce (a classic South African tomato and onion sauce)!”

Making homemade boerewors
If you’ve never made homemade sausage before, it might seem daunting, but it really is nothing to be scared of. You will, however, need a few special tools and ingredients.

First, you will need a tool to stuff your sausages. There are many ways that you can go about this, either a stand-alone sausage stuffer (saffashop.nl) or if you have a Kitchen Aid or other stand mixer, you should be able to find an inexpensive sausage stuffing attachment (saffashop.nl) for the mixer’s meat grinder.

The second things you will need are sausage casings. You should be able to find packages of salted hog casings at any good grocery store. Ask your butcher where they are kept.

The only other thing that could be helpful would be to have a meat grinder. (If you’re using your Kitchen Aid or stand mixer for stuffing the sausage casings, then you already have this covered!) This way, you can grind your own meat for the sausage.

If you don’t have a meat grinder, don’t worry, you’ll just have to make a few adjustments to the recipe instructions below. Simply purchase ground meat or ask your butcher to grind the cuts for you. At home, mix the spices into the ground meat, and let it marinate for 1 hour before stuffing the sausages.

If you’ve never made homemade sausage before don’t worry! The process may seem complicated, but it’s easy to get the hang of and quite rewarding to have completely homemade sausage ready for the grill!

Posted on Leave a comment

South Africa Now Classified as Very High Risk Area Without Variant of Concern

From 16 January, 2022, the Netherlands government has reclassified South Africa as a Very High Risk Area without a Variant of Concern. Fully vaccinated travelers from South Africa are now eligible for exemption from the EU Entry Ban. Travelers will still need to produce a negative test result and quarantine.

More information on the EU entry ban exemption categories can be found here: EU entry ban exemption categories | Coronavirus COVID-19 | Government.nl.

Negative Test Result

All travellers over the age of 12 must produce a negative PCR test, no older than 48 hours before departure, or a negative antigen test, no older than 24 hours before departure. 

Quarantine

All travellers over the age of 12 are required to self-quarantine for ten days and must complete and sign a quarantine declaration.

You can find more information on this page: Exemptions to the mandatory quarantine requirement | Coronavirus COVID-19 | Government.nl. A reduced number of exceptions from the full list apply. Please confirm that you qualify for exemption before travelling. You must be able to prove that the exception applies to you. Travelers must always have a completed quarantine declaration, even if you do not have to quarantine.

Passengers in transit will not be required to quarantine but must complete a quarantine declaration.

 Keep in touch with your airline and check your travel advice regularly.

You can find all information on our government.nl website: Checklist for entering or returning to the Netherlands from outside the EU/Schengen area | Coronavirus COVID-19 | Government.nl

Posted on Leave a comment

Quality Website to Sell Your Products in Netherlands.

List South African products on The South African Shop in Netherlands!

Anybody that makes or wants to sell their South African products can list it on The South African Shop in Netherlands. The market place is designed to be simple and has a huge amount of searches per month relating to South African products and Services. It also has one on the best Top Level Domains money can buy to make it easy to find by customers. There is no signup and its free for anyone that wants to list South African related products!

Posted on Leave a comment

Ban on flights from South Africa lifted

As of midnight on 23 December, the ban on passenger flights to the Netherlands, Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa has been lifted. These countries are still designated as very high risk areas with a coronavirus variant of concern.

EU entry ban remains in place
Although this ban has been lifted, there a general EU entry ban remains in place.

Mandatory negative test result
Travellers exempt from this entry ban must be able to show the following negative test results:

a negative NAAT (PCR) test result that is no more than 24 hours old at the time of departure; OR
a negative NAAT (PCR) test result that is no more than 48 hours old at the time of departure AND a negative rapid test result that is no more than 24 hours old at the time of departure.
Mandatory self-quarantine
Travellers must self-quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in the Netherlands. These rules also apply to travellers with proof of vaccination or an EU Digital Corona Certificate (DCC) based on proof of recovery.

Check the travel advice (in Dutch only) for these countries.

Posted on Leave a comment

Update on Travel Ban from Southern African Countries

News item | 30-11-2021 | 15:30

Due to a coronavirus variant of concern discovered in southern Africa, the Netherlands has introduced a travel ban from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa to the Netherlands. This  travel ban has been extended to 22 December and may be extended at short notice.

An exemption applies to:

  • Dutch nationals and residents;
  • EU or Schengen residents in transit to their country of residence with proof of a confirmed onward flight booking within the EU;
  • Transport of medical staff, staff primarily necessary for the control of Covid-19 or patients when this is in the interest of public health in the Netherlands, on the public bodies Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba respectively;
  • Transport of seafarers in possession of a seafarers’ booklet, if they travel in the exercise of their function or if they travel to or from their activities, with the exception of seafarers on commercial yachts and pleasure craft;
  • Transport of personnel employed in the aviation sector and who travel there for the purpose of pursuing their profession;
  • Persons traveling for compelling family or humanitarian reasons. Prior application must be made to the Ministry of Justice and Security

All travelers over 12 years of age regardless of vaccination or recovery status will have to adhere to the following:

1. Negative PCR tests
Travelers must have

  • a negative NAAT (PCR) test result based on a sample collected no more than 24 hours before departure in the foreign country, or;
  • a negative NAAT (PCR)test result based on a sample collected no more than 48 hours before departure in the foreign country AND a negative antigen test result based on a sample collected no more than 24 hours before departure.

2. Quarantine

Travelers will be required to self-quarantine for ten days (shortened to five days in the event of a negative test in the Netherlands), which is taken from the GGD five days after arrival in the Netherlands.

A reduced number of exceptions from the full list apply. Please confirm that you qualify for exemption before travelling. You must be able to prove that the exception applies to you. Travelers must always have a completed quarantine declaration, even if you do not have to quarantine.

Exemptions from mandatory quarantine | Coronavirus COVID-19 | Government.nl

Passengers in transit will not be required to quarantine but must complete a quarantine declaration.

 Keep in touch with your airline and check your travel advice regularly.

Contact

For questions on entry policy and travel restrictions, please email

• English DCV-247CC-EN@minbuza.nl

• Nederlands DCV-247CC-NL@minbuza.nl

• Español DCV-247CC-ES@minbuza.nl

• Français DCV-247CC-FR@minbuza.nl