History
It is likely that the use of the waterblommetjie as a food source was adopted from the indigenous Khoikhoi, peoples who worked in the kitchens of the Dutch together with peoples forcibly exiled from the Dutch East Indies. Waterblommetjiebredie is a good example of how these three cultural influences were fused into the cuisine of the western cape.
Some believe that the early Dutch settlers (circa Jan van Riebeek’s time) used waterblommetjies as a vegetable (and hence a source of vitamin C) in desperation, since their early farming initiatives had been somewhat less than successful. An alternative theory is that the Voortrekkers harvested them as a food source since they were unable to grow anything while trekking.
Read more about this topic: Waterblommetjiebredie
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