10 Hail Mary’s and a solitary Easter

This year, Easter celebrations at Towerwater was an intimate affair. In the spirit of our isolation, it was also a very homemade experience. No store-bought pickled fish or hot cross buns were to be found on the Towerwater menu.

Although it was only the two of us, we decided to celebrate Easter in true Towerwater style. Table decorations were brighter to fill the empty places with colour. We celebrated absent friends and family by remembering times spent together over so many bygone Easters.

Easter reminds us, in this time of pandemic, that there is always hope for renewal and a new way of moving forward. Even if everything might seem so bleak and uncertain at the present.

We experienced how Easter might have been spent at Towerwater more than a hundred years ago. When so many treats, we now take for granted, were not readily available. Everything had to be made at home.

We learned new skills, enjoyed the fruits of our labour and the abundance of the autumn garden.

For the period of the Stage 5 lockdown, the Dutch Reformed Church rang its bell each midday. Breaking the silence that hangs over the valley. The bellringing adds an old-world charm to the town. One cannot help but stop in what you are doing to be taken up in the rhythmic ringing that vibrates through the silence.

Keith observed that the bell rang for as long as it takes to say 10 Hail Mary’s. Whether it was intentional, we would not know. The bell is rung daily in a time when people cannot attend church services. One of the purposes of the ringing of a church bell is to call people to recite the Lord’s Prayer.

The ringing of the bell to mark the hours and half hours during this period ceased. Instead, the ringing of the bell at midday provided the only punctuation of the day. The solemn ringing at midday became a welcome intrusion. Regardless of whether the intention was to summons us to prayer or to warn of an impending and inevitable danger in a town, mercifully, so far free of the affliction.

Easter Sunday lunch was a quiet affair, with the traditional roast leg of lamb stuffed with quinces and garlic from the garden, enjoyed with a glass of Boplaas Touriga Nacional. The perfect partner for a slow roast leg of lamb stuffed with a fruit that is so reminiscent of Portugal. In the distance the Dutch Reformed Church bell reverberated in the still autumn air urging an increase in faith, hope, and charity in a very uncertain time.

Grape must and mosbolletjies*

*A traditional Cape wineland brioche

With the final picking of Muscat d’Alexandrie (Hanepoot) grapes for the season from the garden, I decided to make a must for traditional must buns (mosbolletjies). Mosbolletjies are a type of brioche traditionally made in the Cape winelands. I would also have liked to have made some must grape syrup (moskonfyt) but had to save that thought for another year. Moskonfyt, requires much more must as it takes five litres of must to make a reduction of one litre of moskonfyt. The late picking would produce enough must for two bakings of mosbolletjies, but not enough for moskonfyt.

The making of authentic traditional Cape mosbolletjies was envisaged years ago with the planting of a row of Hanepoot grapes, alongside the vegetable garden. Nowadays, food rarely has a seasonal identity. Everything is of course available throughout the year. As in the case of mosbolletjies that are available on shop shelves no matter the season. Few know the pleasures of eating in season, in harmony with nature.

I am certain that most mosbolletjies found on shop shelves have never seen must. Not even of the sort made from seeded raisins, which can be produced out of season. This sort of mosbolletjie is but only so in name.

Traditional mosbolletjies were an authentic Cape wineland seasonal treat. Available only during the grape pressing of the wine-making season (late summer to early autumn). Freshly available must was the perfect moment for the preparation of the mosbolletjie treat. Mosbolletjie rusks were also made at this time, for tomorrow’s pleasure. Such rusks could be enjoyed when one might be overcome by the longing memory of a shiny headed fresh mosbolletjie, whilst the next pressing season remained a blip on the distant horizon.

We have forgotten how everything had its time. How half the pleasure in a delectable seasonal treat lay in the indulgent memory of it. The memory would come to rest on your palate as you longed for the approaching season. The aromas of must, flour and aniseed that would fill the kitchen like long last seen loved ones on a visit.

And as the full-blown pan of buns emerge from the oven, all the joys of yesteryears seasons rush up fresh and warm in an instant. It is as though all your wellbeing is suspended in the joy of a single warm mosbolletjie.

For me, to be able to make mosbolletjies from our own home grown Hanepoot grapes, was a special pleasure. But even greater, is the memory of favourite traditions and the opportunity to relive them.

To make mosbolletjies, I had to start with the making of the must. That is where one begins with the making of mosbolletjies. This meant that I had to learn how to make the must. Recipes for the making of traditional mosbolletjies are plentiful, but the authors clearly assumed that you had a ready source for the must. Yes, in the Cape, sourcing must would not be a challenge in bygone times. Everyone knew someone on a wine farm, with a generous heart who would willingly donate a jug or two of fresh must.

Fresh Hanepoot grape berries, Hanepoot juice, fermenting Hanepoot must, fresh bottled must

So begins our mosbolletjie journey, with a picking of five kilograms of Hanepoot grapes. Wash the grapes and pick off the berries from the bunches into a bucket. Press all the juice from the berries. I used my hands to squash the berries, without damaging the seeds. It sounds easier than it is. One must press and rub in order to extract all the juice. When all the juice has been extracted, loosely cover the bucket with a lid. Place the bucket in a warm place and let rest for two and a half days. The must is ready when the squashed berries float to the surface and a froth begins to form. Don’t let your must ferment for too long. You will lose the sweetness (sugar levels) and the must will begin to turn to wine.

Sifting flour, adding must, flour covering with cracks, the dough

With the must now ready, I only had to find an appropriate recipe to make the mosbolletjies. After studying all the historical recipes at our disposal, we decided on a combination using those from the cookbooks, Om die tafel in ou Stellenbosch, published in 1987, and Old-Time Recipes, published in 1952.

Towerwater Mosbolletjies

Ingredients:

2.5kg Strong cake flour

1t (5ml) Salt

1 Tbs (15ml) Aniseed

3 cups (750ml) Hanepoot must

1 cup (250g) Butter

2 cups (400g) Sugar

2 cups (500ml) Milk

2 Eggs

Method:

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, reserving about half a cup full in the sieve. Sprinkle over the salt and aniseed. Make an indentation in the centre of the flour and pour in the must. Sift the flour reserved in the sieve over the must to form a covering. Set the mixing bowl in a warm place for an hour until some cracks form in the flour covering.

Melt the sugar and butter over a low heat. Allow to cool until warm. Warm the milk and add to the butter mixture.  When cool enough, beat the eggs into the mixture. Add this mixture to the flour and knead well. Brush some melted butter over the dough, cover and set aside to rise overnight. Next morning, break the dough into equal sized buns of about 100g each. About 44 buns should be possible. Pack the buns closely together in pans. Allow to rise to double their size. The length of time will be determined by the warmth. Brush the risen buns with tepid milk. Bake for an hour at 180°C. Remove from oven and let cool.

To make mosbolletjie rusks, separate the buns from each other and cut each into four pieces. Dry the pieces at 100°C for 4-6 hours or overnight in a warming drawer.

Keith managed the making of the dough, buns and the baking. I was therefore the brewer and he, the baker. Together we made authentic traditional mosbolletjies. From the grapes on the vine, to must, dough and ultimately freshly baked mosbolletjies, was indeed an authentic Towerwater experience.

The question remains. Are mosbolletjies made without must really mosbolletjies? Surely, a more appropriate name for mosbolletjies without must, should be aniseed buns. After all, that would be the principle ingredient lending identity to the bun.

Kliek hier vir die Afrikaanse weergawe - Mos en mosbolletjies

Mos en mosbolletjies

Met die laaste pluksel Hanepoot uit die tuin, het ek besluit om mos te maak vir mosbolletjies. Ek wil nog graag moskonfyt maak maar het die plan vir ‘n ander jaar gebêre. Moskonfyt het baie mos nodig want jy kook vyf liter mos om een liter moskonfyt te kry. Die laaste pluksel Hanepoot sou genoeg mos kon maak vir twee baksels mosbolletjies maar nie genoeg vir moskonfyt nie.

Vars gebakte Msbolletjies

Regte tradisionele Kaapse mosbolletjies is al beplan met die plant van die ry Hanepoot druiwe langs die groente tuin. Deesdae, het kos mos nie meer ‘n seisoen identiteit nie. Alles is mos heeljaar beskikbaar. Soos mosbolletjies op winkel rakke, seisoen in en seisoen uit.  Niemand weet meer van die ritueel van in seisoen eet nie.

Vars Hanepoot mos

Ek is seker daardie mosbolletjies op die winkel rak het nog nooit mos gesien nie. Selfs nie eers die soort mos wat met pitrosyne buite seisoen gemaak word nie. Vandag se mosbolletjies is ook nog net mosbolletjies in naam.

Tradisionele mosbolletjies was ‘n egte Kaapse seisoen lekkerny, eie aan die pars tyd. Waneer mos beskikbaar was, is daar mosbolletjies vir nou se bederf gemaak. Mosbeskuit is vir môre se lekker gemaak as die verlang na ‘n blink pens mosbolletjie te groot geraak het en die pars seisoen nog ver was.

Ons het al vergeet dat alles ‘n tyd gehad het en dat die lekker van geregte halfpad in die onthou gelê het. Die onthou het op jou tong kom lê saam met die uitsien na die volgende seisoen. Die reuk van mos, meel en anys wat vroeg herfs die kombuis kom vul soos geliefdes wat lanklaas kom kuier het.

En as die pan boepens bolletjies uit die oond kom, is al die lekker van gister se seisoene vars en warm in die oomblik. Dit is of al jou geluk in een warm mosbolletjie vas gevang is.

Vir my om dus mosbolletjies van ons eie Hanepoot druiwe se mos te maak, was lekker. Maar nog lekkerder was die onthou van tradisies en die kans om dit te laat herleef.

Om mosbolletjies te maak, moes ek eers mos maak. Dit is waar die maak van mosbolletjies begin. Ek moes leer hoe om mos te maak. Resepte vir traditionele mosbolletjies was volop, maar die skryfsters het duidelik verwag dat jy weet waar om mos te kry. En tereg was dit nie ‘n probleem in die Kaap nie. Almal het iemand op ‘n wynplaas geken wat met ‘n ruim hart vir jou die beker mos sou skenk.

Vars Hanepoot korrels, Hanepoot sap, gistende Hanepoot mos, 'n bottel vars mos

So begin ons mosbolletjie ervaring met die pluk van vyf kilogram Hanepoot druiwe. Was die druiwe en pluk die korrels af in ‘n emmer. Pars al die sap uit die korrels uit. Ek het sommer my hande gebruik om al die korrels stukkend te kry sonder om die pitte te beskadig. Dit klink makliker as wat dit is. Mens moet druk en vrywe om al die sap uit te kry. Wanneer al die sap uitgedruk is, plaas ‘n deksel los bo op die emmer. Sit die emmer op ‘n warm plek en laat die mos staan vir so twee en ‘n halwe dag. Waneer al die korrels bo dryf en skuim begin te vorm, is jou mos gereed. Moenie jou mos te lank laat gis nie, want dan verloor dit sy soet smaak en begin dit wyn se kant toe staan.

Meel word gesif, die mos word bygevoeg, die meel bo-op die mos begin te kraak, die deeg 

Met die mos gereed, moes ons nog net ‘n resep kry om die mosbolletjies te maak. Na ons elke resep wat ons kon kry gebestudeer het, het ons besluit om ‘n kombinasie van die resepte uit die kookboeke, Om die tafel in ou Stellenbosch, gedruk in 1987 en Outydse Reseppies, gedruk in 1952, te gebruik.

Towerwater Mosbolletjies

Bestandele:
2.5kg steen-gemaalde Koekmeelblom
1t (5ml) Sout
1 E (15ml) Anyssaad
3 koppies (750ml) Hanepoot mos
1 koppie (250g) Botter
2 koppies Suiker
2 koppies (500ml) Melk
2 Eiers

Metode:Sif die meel in 'n mengbak, maar los sowat 'n halwe koppie oor in die sif. Gooi die sout en anys oor. Maak ‘n holte in die middel van die meel en gooi die mos daarin. Strooi die res van die meel in die sif bo-oor die mos en laat ongeveer 1 uur lank op ‘n louwarm plek rys totdat die meelblom bo-op vol barsies is.

Verhit die suiker en die botter oor lae hitte totdat die botter gesmelt is. Koel af tot so louwarm. Voeg die lou melk by die bottermengsel. Klits die eiers by die afgekoelde mengsel. Voeg hierdie mengsel by die meel en knie goed. Smeer ‘n bietjie botter oor die deeg, bedek en laat oornag rys. Maak die deeg die volgende oggend in bolletjies op van omtrent 100g elk en pak styf teen mekaar in panne. Omtrent 44 bolletjies is moontlik. Laat rys tot dubbel die hoogte, smeer met ‘n bietjie louwarm melk en bak vir ongeveer 1 uur teen 180°C. Haal uit, laat effens afkoel.

Om Mosbolletjie beskuit te maak, breek die bolletjies los van mekaar en sny elkeen in vier stukke. Droog by 100°C vir 4-6 uur of oornag in ‘n warm laai.

Keith het die maak van die deeg, bolletjies en die bak daarvan bestuur. Ek was dus die brouer en hy die bakker wat egte tradisionele mosbolletjies gemaak het. Vanaf die druiwe aan die wingerdstok, tot mos, deeg, vars gebakte mosbolletjies en uiteindelik beskuit, was dit voorwaar ‘n egte Towerwater ervaring.

Die vraag bly staan, is dit werklik mosbolletjies indien daar nie mos in is nie?  Die regte naam vir mosbolletjies sonder mos moet sekerlik anysbolletjies wees want dit is die eintlike bestandeel wat hom sy identiteit gee.

Click here for the English version - Grape must and mosbolletjies

Pickled fish for beginners

This year, Easter will be celebrated in a state of lockdown in South Africa due to the Corona virus. Although we will be celebrating Easter in isolation at Towerwater, I decided that it is time to celebrate Easter meals with our own traditional homemade pickled fish.

Easter and pickled fish are as synonymous with the Cape as one can get. The earliest recipe for pickled fish that was recorded in print was from 1890, as far as I can determine.  In my copy of Cape Cookery, Simple yet Distinctive by A.G. Hewitt, published in 1890, I found a recipe on page 29. Next to the recipe is a picture of a “Matavaan pot”. Matavan jars contained preserves from the East and were re-used at the Cape to take back pickled fish to the Karoo after holidays at the coast.

When our President announced the 21-day lockdown with strict travel restrictions, we decided to spend the time at Towerwater. Everybody would be under lockdown and that would mean Fungai as well. That left the garden, vegetable seedlings and ripening fruit, vulnerable.  On Thursday afternoon we packed the car and headed for Towerwater. The Voorkamer became my office, a communication hub in the Western Cape government’s fight against the Corona Virus.

Knowing that we will have to make our own pickled fish this year, I stocked up with pickle fish masala from Atlas Trading and fresh fish from the supermarket in Vredehoek. Saturday was devoted to making the pickle with lots of onion rings and frying the fish portions in sessions. With more than 2 kilograms of pickled fish, we were more than ready for Easter.

As usual, I consulted widely among my Africana recipe books for historical recipes of pickled fish or “ingelegde vis”. I was amazed how far back the tradition goes and how consistent the recipes are.

The following recipes I would like to share are in date sequence.

A.G. Hewitt – Cape Cookery, simple yet distinctive – 1890

Pickled Fish (Ingelegde Visch)

For this Geelbek is the best.
Cut the fish into slices about an inch in thickness, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and put them aside till next day. Put them out in the air till they are rather dry.

Fry in boiling fat. Have some onions sliced, cut chillies, bay leaves, turmeric, and vinegar, all in proportion to the quantity of fish: boil all up. The onions must not be too much cooked.
Put the fish into a deep earthen jar in layers with onion between each layer, pour over the vinegar and cover closely. In two days it will be fit for use, but will keep for a long time.

Hildagond Duckitt – Hilda’s, “Where is it?” 1891

Fish (Pickled, or “Engelegte”)
(Cape way of preserving fish.)

2 good size Soles, or any nice Cape Fish (filleted)
6 Large Onions
2 oz. Curry Powder,
1 oz Mango Relish,
6 Large Chillies, or 12 Small,
1 quart Vinegar,
salt to taste.

Fry the fish a nice brown in lard, or butter, or olive oil; drain, and cool. Slice four onions, and fry a nice brown in a little oil; add one ounce curry powder, two chillies cut fine, a dessertspoonful of salt, and the mango relish. When stirred to a paste, add a little vinegar to moisten well; then lay the fish in a jar; spread over each layer some of the mixture. Cut the rest of the onions in rings; boil in the vinegar very gently, until quite tender, with the other ounce of curry powder and a little salt; then pour over the fish. Let it stand till cool, then cork well. It will be fit to use in two to three days, and will keep for months. Is a delicious breakfast or lunch dish.

Mejufvr. E.J. Dijkman – Di Suid Afrikaanse Kook-, Koek- en Resepte Boek – 1891

Ingelegde Geelbek

Maak di vis mooi, skoon was dit af en sny dit an stukke van 5 vingers breed sprinkle dit met sout en laat dit so vir 2 uur staan, haal dit uit en droog dit met ‘n skone doek af, sit dit ope om verder droog te worde, as dit dan droog is, bak dit in baing warm vet sonder meel, sit dit dan op ‘n skotel, laat di vet daar skoon van afloop sit dit dan as dit koud is in potte eers ‘n laag vis en dan di gekookte asyn en uie, dan weer vis tot die pot vol is.  Maak dit goed toe, neem vir die sous 3 of 4 bottels asyn na jou vis groot is, sit dit op di vuur in ‘n pot met ‘n groot diep bordvol gesnyde uie en ‘n paar lepels kerrikruie, 1 lepel borri met asyn angemaak, 3 huisies knoflok, 3 of 4 rooi rissies, 5 of 6 limoen blare, kook dit alles met di asyn en gooi dit op elke laag vis tot dat di vis onder asyn is, di uie moet net gaar wees maar ni pap ni, maak di pot goed toe as di vis koud is.

Hilda Gerber – Traditional Cookery of the Cape Malays – 1957

Ingelegde Vis (Pickled Fish)
Recipe Mrs Miriam Gazant

Cut up your fish and wash it. Dry it and fry it in oil, without turning the slices in batter first. Meanwhile cut up a fair quantity of onions and pour over enough red vinegar to cover them. Add salt and pepper, a chilli and some borrie. Add also a little dry ginger. Put this mixture on the fire and let it come to the boil slowly. As the scum rises, remove it. Let the onions boil up once only; they should remain firm and crisp. Put a little of the fish into a basin then arrange some onions over it. Add the remainder of the fish and the onions. Pour the liquid over. Some people add two or three bay leaves as well.

In the end I used a basic recipe, adding the masala I bought from Atlas Trading and stored it in the fridge for our Easter treat. Now I need to find a hot cross bun recipe to make hot cross buns to go with the pickled fish, in true Cape tradition.