If you braai in Randburg, Kempton Park or Roodeport, you may be more inclined to braai with gas than on a traditional braai. These trends and a range of others were shared this week by South Africa’s leading online store, Takealot.com, in honour of Heritage Day – or National ‘Braai’ Day as it’s commonly known – on 24th September.
More gas braais than traditional charcoal/ wood braais have been sold in these three suburbs in 2017 to date. For the rest of the country, tradition reigns, with traditional braais outselling gas: in Midrand 85.24% of braais sold were traditional.
Diving into the gas versus traditional ‘debate’, Takealot found:
- Most areas are relatively evenly split between the two methods, with traditional just pipping gas to the post in the majority of places.
- But there are areas – noteably Port Elizabeth (63.16% traditional over gas) and Midrand (85.24%) – where the winner is clear. There’s no flicking a switch for these braaiers!
- Randburg, Roodepoort and Kempton Park are the biggest gas buyers, with around 53% of braai purchases in Randburg and Roodepoort being gas and nearly 51% in Kempton Park being for the ‘instant’ braai option, gas.
Julie-Anne Walsh, Chief Marketing Officer at Takealot.com, says that gas braaing does seem to be gaining traction in South Africa. “Gas is extremely popular in the US and Australia but there has been a bit of a perception in the past locally that this is ‘cheating’. The increased sales may well be due to the convenience gas offers in today’s time-tight lifestyle. It makes braaiing as convenient as cooking on a stove.”
Heritage Day in South Africa
Walsh says, “Heritage Day is an opportunity to celebrate South Africa’s incredible cultural diversity and heritages. A braai is a unifying tradition that brings people together. In celebration of National Braai Day, we thought it would be fun to see what has made our braai enthusiasts tick over the past few years.”
Whats your Braai personality?
The disciple:
There’s no braai recipe you don’t know, no cookbook you don’t own. Bonello is your guru and Jan Braai is your guy. Your take on a boerie roll is a hand-made sausage delicately flavoured with paprika and sage, sitting gently atop a deconstructed gluten-free ‘roll’, topped with dehydrated onions, with a mustard and garlic aioli. Everyone wants to be your braai bestie, because you have a reputation for taking chops to the next level.
The solo fomo:
Jy gaan braai even if you’re the only girl or guy. Whether you’re by yourself or with friends, the coals will be lit and the steaks must go on. When the chargrilled craving calls, you never fail to answer. Even if you live in a tiny apartment, you find a way by lighting a mini Jamie Oliver portable braai. This also comes with you on every holiday. You might forget your toothbrush, but never your braai.
The heat hacker:
You don’t have all day to wait for those coals to heat up! Time is precious, you’re busy, and so you use every ‘braai hack’ in the book to get your vleis from rare to there. You were an early adopter of the Alva Braai Dragon Turbo – in fact, you started the trend and spread the ‘hack’ to all your friends. You have every gadget ever made and all your gizmos are A-grade.
The DI-Braai master:
You’re the braai world’s own MacGuyver – the mastermind behind every braai innovation ever dreamed up over a cold brew. You’re constantly tweaking your coal configuration and braai station with homemade creations meant to improve the whole experience. You’re pretty sure your tweaks work, but the rest of your friends and family are slightly less supportive, especially since some of your inventions are a little dubious on the safety side of things.
The tong taker:
If there’s a braai, you’re the braai master. You know your boerie is the best in town and you won’t tolerate any substandard sizzle from wannabe tong holders. You win the battle for braai domination every time, and you’re unashamedly in charge when there are coals in the equation.
