South African Spices

South African cooking uses a variety of spices, including cinnamon.

South Africa's cuisine has been influenced by a number of different regions, particularly India and the Netherlands. Indonesia has also had a strong influence on South African food. The people from each country brought their own cooking styles to the country's table, and thus a variety of spices are used in South African cooking.

Indian Spices

One aspect of Indian cooking that is prevalent in South Africa is curry. Curries are well known for having an abundance of strong and aromatic spices in them, including common curry powder, cinnamon sticks, chili powder and also turmeric. Chili powder gives the curry a spicy kick when you want a hot flavor, and turmeric gives it a yellow coloring. Cinnamon adds a touch of sweetness to the curry. Other curry spices that may be used in South African cooking include cardamom and coriander.

Indonesian Spices

Indonesian cooking is also common in South Africa and requires a variety of spices. After all, Indonesia is "The Spice Islands." Many of the spices are the same as those found in curries, but can also include others such as garlic and bay leaves. These types of flavorings might be found in South African sosaties, which are a variation of Indonesian satays -- a dish of meat cooked and served on skewers. Ground cloves, another Indonesian spice, are used in boerewors, a common sausage in South Africa

Dutch Spices

When the Dutch settled in South Africa, they brought their distinctive cooking with them. This style of cooking used tamer spices and not as many ingredients in one dish. An example is tomato and basil soup. In addition to basil, other spices used in this cooking style include peppercorns, thyme, allspice, paprika and marjoram. The thyme, basil and marjoram give dishes a distinctive herbal flavor, veering away from ground spices or spices kept as seeds, such as coriander. Peppercorns give it that spicy kick, and the allspice lends a slight fruity taste.

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