Riem Report post Posted July 6, 2018 34 minutes ago, BDAZ said: I know vellie refers to veltskoen but my ex used the term velle to refer to the ubiquitous springbok skins. Am I correct or just confused. Yes, "velle" is indeed skins, but not just Springbok skin - even a bovine hide or a human skin is a 'vel', with "velle" then the plural. Comes from 17th century shipboard Dutch "vellen" if I'm not mistaken. However, a tanned and softened vel used as a blanket (usually hair on) is not just a vel - it's a "karos" or even a "velkaros"... And a springbokvel is a thing of beauty! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riem Report post Posted July 6, 2018 9 hours ago, Alisdair said: Zimbos make better biltong!), Joh, that's war talk! But you still get a taste of it now and then, I hope? Biltong is surely a fine food wherever it is encountered, let's just not call it jerkey... Similar but quite different. When did you leave Zim, Alisdair? I've encountered many ex-Zim people in my life. Even the tannery I use (oasistanning.co.za) was established by an ex-Zim family. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riem Report post Posted July 6, 2018 3 hours ago, Handstitched said: G'Day I feel like the odd one out being from Western Australia , however, since many of you are from South Africa, my ex was from Sydenham but she also spent time in Durban in the Natal Province as a kid. One of my customers is from Kimberley, small world eh ? , her family keeps me very busy with an assortment of work, horse rug repairs , tie down strap alterations for their truck and various horse gear repairs etc. . They do a lot of cross country comps. But anyway,back on topic, welcome 'emo chair ' . So 'yah man', look forward to seeing your work HS Thanks for the welcome, Handstitched. I'm Riem, not 'emo chair', although I've hijacked his intro thread to announce myself. I presume your customer is ex-Kimberley, now living in Australia? Else sending stuff all the way over there and back will be quite an expensive endeavour. I also have a brother who lives in Australia - City of Newcastle. Who knows, I may one day make the trek that way. And that 'yah man'? Another Saffer signature phrase, but the Afrikaans will be 'ja man'! The 'ja' translates as 'yes' so the phrase is then 'yes man' - but there is a depth of nuances in that phrase... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alisdair Report post Posted July 6, 2018 3 hours ago, Riem said: Joh, that's war talk! But you still get a taste of it now and then, I hope? Biltong is surely a fine food wherever it is encountered, let's just not call it jerkey... Similar but quite different. When did you leave Zim, Alisdair? I've encountered many ex-Zim people in my life. Even the tannery I use (oasistanning.co.za) was established by an ex-Zim family. I knew that would get a reaction! Actually, my local biltong supplier is South African who makes it right here in Switzerland. I left Zim 2nd half of the 90s to study here. There's quite a few of us around Geneva. Don't think I know the folks at oasistanning... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clivel Report post Posted July 6, 2018 Another South African here, originally from Pretoria I moved to Cape Town after finishing varsity and then a few years later moved to Vancouver Canada where I still reside. When I was a student I had a weekend/holiday job at a tannery called Mountain View Tannery on the outskirts of Pretoria. Unfortunately at the time my mind was focused on girls not leather. My job mainly involved machinery maintenance, but looking back I wish I had taken more interest in the leather and its production as well. As for biltong, I make my own I made a biltong box a few years ago out of a plastic tote, some dowels a 25w incandescent light bulb to warm and dry the air. And a small fan - it is the air movement that dries the meat. First picture is with the lid off, the second with it filled with the marinated meat. Paper towel on the bottom catches the dripping marinade. The only problem with it is that my family eats it faster than I can make it ! And all my Canadian friends who have tried it agree, that jerky is but a poor imitation. Clive Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BDAZ Report post Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) The small and large maker. I keep it at 26C or higher and humidity around 10%. Usually takes 2-3 days for dry biltong. The big one is good for +- 10-15 kgs. Spice from Amazon and made in Cape Town. Edited July 7, 2018 by BDAZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alisdair Report post Posted July 7, 2018 Nice...I'd do the same myself, but getting decent beef here in Switzerland is difficult - most of the stuff you get is retired milk cows, no fat at all! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
noobleather Report post Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) Howzit Not a Saffa,but I have plenty of Saffa mates and they call me Bleskop. They have taught me how to make biltong. Alisdair why is Zim biltong better than SA biltong? Different spices? I use Fredddy Hirsch Kalahari mix or the Hunters mix. Edited July 7, 2018 by noobleather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handstitched Report post Posted July 9, 2018 G'Day, @Riem , yes, my customer is ex Kimberley now living in Western Australia , her and her family have lovely SA accents . Occasionally she comes out with a word or sentence , that I don't understand, that I'm guessing is Afrikaans , as she's trying to describe a particular fabric or hardware etc I do eventually work out what she's saying and give her an English translation Lovely people and they've kept me busy for years. HS PS : I think the biltong posts are a bit off topic, however leather is a by-product of the meat industry after all. PPSS: I love biltong, so moreish << he's eating biltong , not popcorn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
