About South African Biltong, Cheese and Wine

South Africa has a long history in the wine making industry and is well known for its biltong meaty snacks. In the last decade the country has also been making their mark in cheese production. This article gives a brief overview of the beginnings of these three industries.

South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 when the founder of Cape Town, Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape, planted a vineyard in 1655, and on February 2, 1659, the first wine was made from Cape grapes. Van Riebeeck strongly encouraged farmers to plant vineyards. There were many setbacks in the beginning, mostly because of the farmers' ignorance of viticulture. Things improved when Van Riebeeck was succeeded in 1679 by Simon van der Stel, who was very knowledgeable about viticulture and wine-making. In 1685 he established the Constantia estate and made good wines right from the outset.

In 1778 Constantia estate was bought by Hendrick Cloete and family. Their wines became world-famous. To this day, Constantia wine is considered world-class.

On 8 January 1918, growers in the Western Cape founded the Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt (KWV), which dominated the industry until the end of apartheid.

Today wine production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and wine-making centres at Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.

Compared to the well-known cheese making countries of Europe, South Africa is a relative newcomer to the industry. However, in the past 10 years the craft of cheese making has developed all over South African and is attracting a wider cheese-loving audience than ever. There are currently 12 cheese factories in South Africa and they produce almost three-quarters of the country's cheese. The rest is made by small industries. Most cheese makers are located near the coastal areas where weather conditions are favourable. More than half of the country's cheese is made in the Western Cape.

Over the last decade, South Africa has won a number of World Cheese Awards, with Fairview being one of the highest achievers. Commercial industrial cheese manufacturer, Clover has also won awards and was judged the Best South African Cheese on show in 2008. Clover Medium Cheddar and Mascarpone have also achieved gold awards.

Other award-winning farms from South Africa include Healey’s from the Western Cape, Dalewood Fromage, located between Paarl and Franschhoek, who make the Huguenot, a semi-hard, rind-style estate cheese made from organic Jersey milk. Dalewood produces some of South Africa’s best cheeses including classic Brie and a range of Camembert. Another commercial industrial cheese manufacturer, Simonsberg, has also done very well at the international awards.

So far, only a limited number of South African cheese manufacturers have exported cheese to the European Union. As South African cheese manufacturers work to overcome a few exporting hurdles, cheese lovers around the world are eager to taste the fresh flavours from a new, up-and-coming cheese making country.

Biltong is a 400 year old traditional  mildly spiced, salted and air  dried meat product from South Africa. The word comes from Dutch with ‘BIL’ meaning buttock and ‘TONG’ meaning strip. It has been produced and eaten for hundreds of years yet it is still enjoyed by many South Africans and remains very much a part of the countries heritage.

Biltong is a meat product that has been cured to make it last for long periods without it going ransid. There are typically two main types, beef and Game. Beef is the most commonly used meat for making biltong, and therefore, the most readily available.

It is a popular snack option enjoyed by many South Africans around the world. It also has many culinary uses too. It can be eaten plain, or shredded as a filling for pancakes, crepes, quiches, salads, and sandwiches, and added to a variety of recipes such as muffins and pasta dishes.

Please visit our website to order your Biltong. We make and supply biltong and boerewors for the UK market. Our biltong is marinated to a traditional family recipe using the finest herbs and spices and includes Original, Peppered and Chilli beef flavours as well as Game, Beersticks and Chilli Bites.