A FOOD TRADITION

Kalahari San Cuisine

Kalahari San cuisine describes diverse foodways among San communities in Botswana and neighboring parts of southern Africa; it should not be treated as a single uniform tradition. Depending on locality and season, foods include gathered tubers, berries, leafy plants, mongongo nuts, wild melons, insects, and hunted or trapped game. Techniques include roasting meat, boiling gathered foods, pounding nuts or seeds, drying seasonal ingredients, and making simple porridges or pastes. Representative preparations include roasted game, mongongo nut paste, and wild-melon porridge or boiled melon. These practices are closely tied to local ecological knowledge and have also influenced settled foodways, while remaining distinct from a generic national cuisine label.

Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.