Haarders

Posted in South African Cuisine Tell-a-Friend
Haarder 

The haarder is an elongate fish with a pointed snout. The body has an overall silvery sheen, but is darker above and white below. There is a yellow blotch on the gill covers. Can attain 40 cm. Dense shoals of this abundant, cool-water species may often be seen off the rocky points and sandy beaches of the southern and western Cape coast of South Africa.

Though it rarely takes a bait, the haarder is traditionally of great importance to commercial seine and gill net operators along the Cape coast. Some 5–6 million can be caught in anyone year, especially off beaches at Cape Agulhas, Strandfontein and St Helena Bay.

Cooking

Its firm white flesh makes excellent eating albiet somewhat bony. Salt dried haarders are known as bokkems which, when smoked, are a veritable delicacy and traditional Cape fare.

Haarders are suitable for:

  • baking

  • braai-ing

  • drying

  • frying

  • salting

  • smoking

Category: South African Cuisine

Subcategory: Seafood

Total Views: 2474

Word Count: 268

Comment on Twitter

More Articles in "South African Cuisine"

Crayfish
Posted 19.10.2009 in South African Cuisine
Crayfish
South African crayfish (Spiny Lobster) with their long antennae and rough, spiny carapace (shell), are one of the delights of the crustacean world. The meat…
View Details »
Terms - Alikreukel to Atjar
Posted 27.10.2009 in South African Cuisine
Alikreukel to Atjar - Descriptions and photographs where available of South African culinary terms and ingredients. alikreukel amabele amadumbe amagwinya…
View Details »
Mealies
Posted 19.10.2009 in South African Cuisine
Mealies
Mealies (corn; maize) have long been the basis of African cuisine. Each community, whether Xhosa or Zulu, Sotho, Tswana or Swazi, holds to slight differences…
View Details »
Potjiekos
Posted 19.10.2009 in South African Cuisine
Potjiekos
Typically South African, potjiekos (poy-kee-kawse) is friendly, leisurely food slowly simmered in a cast-iron pot for maximum flavour. It is thought to have…
View Details »
History of South African Cuisine
Posted 19.10.2009 in South African Cuisine
The history of South African cuisine and the development of South African culinary tradition are as diverse as the peoples who make up the population of…
View Details »

All Articles in "South African Cuisine"