FREE TO READ | Mzanzi, plenty to relish

24 March 2025 - 12:58
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Made in SA looks at local produce.
Made in SA looks at local produce.
Image: Supplied

Chutney originated in India around 500 BC and can be found in a great variety of forms across the subcontinent. For many South Africans, however, there’s only one chutney, which curiously enough landed on our shores in 1852 by virtue of a shipwreck. Captain Adkins of the SS Quanza saved an early recipe for what would become Mrs H.S. Ball’s Chutney. It might’ve been hard for the captain to imagine just how many South Africans beyond our shores would one day crave the piquant relish, which regularly turns up on lists of local products missed by expats. 

In this issue of Made in SA, we ask expats which South African goodies (aside from Mrs Ball’s) are their must-haves and explore the stories behind the chutney and some other iconic brands. Speaking of iconic, brandy has been undergoing a renaissance in the Cape, with a range of potstill tipples to match the best that Cognac has to offer. 

We also explore the vast untapped potential of informal innovation in South Africa, as revealed in a recent study by the United Nations Development Programme, which found that South Africa’s informal innovation ecosystem reflects a community-oriented and entrepreneurial spirit. We close off by chatting to two entrepreneurs working to solve wildly different challenges in their communities. 

Anthony Sharpe, Editor.

Browse through the full magazine below (zoom in or go full screen for ease of reading):


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