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Water Blom Met Jie Bredie
Water Blom Met Jie Bredie
The name comes from the Afrikaans language and literally means 'small water flower stew'. It is made of meat, typically lamb, s tewed together with the waterblommetjies (Aponogeton distachyos flowers, commonl y known as Cape pondweed, Cape hawthorn or Cape asparagus) which are found in th e dams and marshes of the Western Cape of South Africa. The buds of Aponogeton d istachyos are usually ready to be picked in the southern midwinter months of Jul y and August, leading to their use in winter stews such as waterblommetjiebredie . The taste of the stew has been described as much like stewed green beans with a hint of pumpkin.[citation needed] Waterblommetjiebredie is a well-respected loca l delicacy in South Africa and popular with foreign tourists.[citation needed]
Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Recipes 3 See also 4 Notes History[edit] It is likely that the use of the waterblommetjie as a food source was adopted fr om the indigenous Khoikhoi, peoples who worked in the kitchens of the Dutch toge ther with peoples forcibly exiled from the Dutch East Indies.[citation needed] W aterblommetjiebredie is a good example of how these three cultural influences we re fused into the cuisine of the western cape.[citation needed] Some[who?] believe that the early Dutch settlers (circa Jan van Riebeek s time) us ed waterblommetjies as a vegetable (and hence a source of vitamin C) in desperat ion, since their early farming initiatives had been somewhat less than successfu l. An alternative theory is that the Voortrekkers harvested them as a food sourc e since they were unable to grow anything while trekking.[citation needed] Recipes[edit] The typical main ingredients of waterblommetjiebredie:[1][2][3] lamb or mutton waterblommetjies Cape sorrel (surings in Afrikaans) onions potatoes salt and pepper