South Africa vs Israel
South Africa evokes in many of us the visuals of sunshine, big five species animals, rugby and of course, braaivleis!
South Africans love to braai. Give us a pair of tongs, some delicious boerewors, a chop or two and a Castle lager (or insert preferred brand of beer here) and we are happy. It is a treasured national 
past time and there is even a holiday dedicated to getting your best braai on!
But what many don’t know is that when it comes to the barbeque, Israelis can give saffers (slang for South African) a run for their braai fork! Call it mangal, al la aish or even barbeque, this is one area where Israelis can more that meet their Southern African counterparts. After all, this is a country of Yiddisher (Jewish) mothers and nearly every festivity in Israel – biblically verifiable – is defined by: “they tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!”
Israelis recently celebrated Independence Day and the country was engulfed in an aromatic aroma of braais. It is a much loved and treasured annual tradition and whether you are on the beach, in the forests, or at home, this national pastime is the preferred and most sumptuous way to celebrate. Even though this is clearly a man’s domain that hearkens back to times when some bright guy invented fire and decided the animals that he hunted tasted much better on his new invention, it got this woman thinking, who would win in a braai contest between the sabras and the saffers?
Boerewors, Blokes, Braai. South Africans at the annual ‘Midsummer Day’s Braai’ at Kibbutz Tzora.
Man see meat, must eat!
Israel is a country that is roughly the size of the Kruger National Park and as such, does not have much grazing ground for cattle. Meat is imported and while decent cuts come to us courtesy of South America and other places, few things compares to a great S’Effrikken boerie or stukkie vleis! (translate to South African sausage and piece of meat). What Israelis lack in quality, they more than make up in quantity. The sheer volume of food at a Mangal is enough to feed a small army! Even if everyone had over-eaten – usually the case – the inevitable question: “Bubbeleh, you had
enough to eat?” I do confess to missing a good pot of mielie pap and tomato onion gravy South African style, but a pita and hummus does the trick as well. A smorgasbord of salads, courtesy of the women of the house has the two countries pretty neck and neck in that respect.
The Perfect Match
With just one match, South African men claim that they have the braai beat! Israeli men on the other hand, add ‘fuel to the fire’ – literally – to ‘bought’ charcoal, and are not skaam (Afrikaans for shame) to use a lighter. For any self-respecting South African, these practices are sacrilege!
They prefer to use tightly rolled up newspaper, positioned strategically under twigs and dry wood stacked upright in the shape of a pyramid and when finally, 
ready – and passes inspection with the master of the braai now ticking over nicely with his obligatory beer in one hand – gets the show on the road with one match. He looks on with pride at his craftmanship, rounded off with loving compliments from his adoring wife as the flames sour upward. Israelis scoff at these ‘crazy’ South Africans who take pride in their centuries old braai rituals who will eloquently regale their Israeli chaverim (buddies) about “the purity of braai-making.”
The proof is in the proverbial boerewors, so when it comes to sheer enjoyment and pleasure, it is pretty much a tie. What is it about the primal love of fire combined with meat and beer that has men of all cultures and ages wanting more?
This is clearly a match made in culinary heaven!
