South Africans are ditching bread and switching back to pap — a staple in many South African households.
"Now that we've had a good maize [mielie] harvest, the price of maize has come down, so people are switching back to it, and that affects the consumption of bread," the South African Chamber of Baking's Geoff Penny told Radio 702.
This has caused the bread price to drop, with brown bread prices currently lower than in 2014, according to statistics from the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (Pacsa).
As it turns out, one can experiment quite a bit in the kitchen with mielie meal — and with a dash of creativity, one can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner (although preferably, not on the same day!)
BREAKFAST
Soft porridge is an easy and delicious win for many parents, but you can also bake breakfast cookies using mielie meal.
- Soft porridge
- Jam and mielie-meal cookies
LUNCH
It gets better with lunch, as you can make anything from pap and mince pies to pap tert.
- Pap and mince pies
- Deep fried pap balls with cheese or any desired filling
- Pap tert
DINNER
From fuss-free uphuthu and maas to pap squares topped with spinach or served with chakalaka, you are spoilt for choice with dinner.
- Uphuthu and maas or milk
- Pap squares topped with spinach, or served with your favourite stew
- Braai pap