Boerewors: Encyclopedia - Boerewors

Boerewors

Boerewors is a sausage dish, popular in South African cuisine. It comes from the Afrikaans words boere ("farmers") and wors ("sausage"), translating as "farmers' sausage."

Boerewors was most probably invented in the 18th or 19th century by the Boers in the former Cape Colony. Some sources mention that a less spicy French sausage with a similar texture to boerewors is made today in the Latour Valley in Pyrénées-Orientales, using claret instead of vinegar and no coriander. ^[1]. The relevance of this is questionable as:

1) The French sausage is not named.

2) Only the texture is "similar", as with hundreds of sausages worldwide.

3) The French sausage contains no coriander or vinegar - vital ingredients which give boerewors its characteristic flavour.

4) Claret is a generic term for a red Bordeaux wine and unlikely to be used in place of a Pyrénées wine for a local dish.

Boerewors is made from coarsely minced beef (sometimes combined with minced pork, lamb, or both) and spices (usually coriander seed, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves and allspice). The sausage is preserved with salt and vinegar, and packed in sausage casings. There are many different varieties of boerewors today, including specialities such as garlic wors and spek wors (made from cubed pork fat). All varieties are distinctly flavored with coriander and vinegar. Boerewors is usually braaied (barbecued), but may be fried or boiled. Boerewors itself does not keep well; a dried sausage called droë wors was made instead for long trips or treks.^[2]

Boerewors - Notes

1. ^  Van Noort, Elvira. "Can you trust Wikipedia?" The Mail and Guardian. November 7, 2005. [3]
2. ^  Ibid.

Categories: Sausages | South African cuisine

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Boerewors", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki