In the 1940s, I grew up in South Africa as a child of missionary parents. Christmas came in early summer. People in the greater Cape Town area often spent a good part of the day on the beach, picnicking, swimming, and surfing—in general enjoying the break from a year’s time of work or studying. Some Adventists at that time regarded Christmas as a pagan festival that had no Christian attachment. Of course, they couldn’t ignore it totally because their kids’ friends had just received presents from Father Christmas.
In the mid to late 1940s, I remember climbing through the foothills of Helderberg Mountain to choose and cut our Christmas Tree. Our family was very poor, so our celebration was constrained. We had two aunts in the U.S. who each used to send us a big box for Christmas. Since they mailed them around Christmas, we didn’t get them until the middle of March, when we would excitedly celebrate a belated Christmas.
Koeksisters (pronounce: cook-sisters) are a traditional South African delicacy. When South Africans celebrated any happy occasion, they usually served lots of koeksisters. They would disappear from the table as rapidly as they were placed there.
Koeksisters
Syrup:
Ingredients:
- 12 c. sugar
- 6 c. water
- ¼ tsp. salt
- Juice of half a lemon
Instructions:
Step 1: Stir together and boil at medium temperature for 7 minutes. Stir continuously after it starts to boil. Turn off and move it to the back burner. Make the syrup first before making the koeksisters.
Dough:
Ingredients:
- 4 c. flour
- 1 egg (well beaten)
- 4 heaped tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 c. milk
- 1 Tbsp. butter
Instructions:
Step 1: Rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Mix the egg and milk and mix into the dry ingredients. This makes quite wet, moist, sticky dough. Use plenty of flour to roll out the dough about 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut the dough into strips about 1/2 of an inch wide and 4 to 6 inches long. Braid three strips together to form a koeksister, pinch the ends together to keep the braid from coming undone.
Step 2: On the front burner heat the oil. Deep fry the koeksisters quite slowly on medium heat until nice and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain the oil and immediately dunk into the warm syrup. Hold each koeksister under with a potato masher for just a split second. Remove from the syrup and lay on a pan to cool.
Thank you, Charmaine du Preez Thomas, for supplying me with the recipe. Charmaine’s brother, Glenn, and I were classmates at Sedaven High School, near Johannesburg, South Africa. This recipe won’t (in fact no recipe will) make enough koeksisters!
Wil Clarke spent 27 years in South Africa. He happened to also have spent 27 years teaching math at La Sierra University.