In the Sloveld
Text: Jenny Chaplin Photos: Murray Anderson-Ogle
Source: Lowveld Living Issue 31
Anthony Clarke and Louise Kuhn gave up city life to manage the Croc Grove Farm in Schoemanskloof and ended up starting a business named after the gentler pace of life they found in the lowveld.
“The best view of Gauteng is in the rear-view mirror,” say the creative gurus behind Sloveld Pantry, their bottled-produce company.
They started the business about eight years ago, after Anthony noticed the abundance of fruit in the lowveld and started wondering what to do with it. He found inspiration in a library, where he came across a book on how to make liqueurs.
“I used some of these recipes as a base from which to work, found a couple more on the Internet and then adapted them to suit my tastes and our environment,” he says.
Local produce has played a major role in determining the range of 12 flavours in his liqueurs.
“My personal favourites are the pecan and macadamia varieties,” says Anthony. If you’re not the nutty type, you can choose from a variety of berry, fig, citrus and marula flavours.
The couple soon expanded their product range to include jams and jellies. Again, all the ingredients are sourced locally, and with a bit of kitchen science added to a touch of tasting and adjusting, they have produced virtually every jam or jelly imaginable.
There’s apricot, cherry, guava and mango jam. Marula, peach and quince marmalade. The range of jellies – perfect for serving with meats or cheese – include lime, marula and ginger, orange and apple.
Produce is purchased in season to ensure maximum freshness and flavour. Everything gets made by hand and no preservatives, colourants or flavourants are used, so the couple’s kitchen is reminiscent of Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Unlike Willie Wonka’s factory, however, there isn’t a horde of help – except for the electric mincer. “It’s the best piece of equipment we ever bought,” laughs Louise.
Everything they make gets bottled while it’s hot to create a seal. This ensures that the products remain fresh and can be kept for ages without deteriorating.
Ever on the lookout to try something new, it didn’t take Louise long to add more items to their range. “I’m a bit of a frustrated creative genius,” she says.
She tries different combinations until she gets the taste she wants. “The first time I made chilli jam, I created my own recipe. By the time I’d combined everything I had a chilli monster on my hands and had to borrow bottles from a neighbour. But… it tasted good.”
Now they also produce a range of preserves that includes watermelon and green fig; as well as spicy chutneys, pickles, relishes, chilli sauces, five different mustards, biscuits, rusks, biscotti, decadent Christmas fruitcakes (made to order) and gift hampers.
Anthony says they supply a number of outlets in Mpumalanga and are always at the farmers’ market at the Nelspruit showgrounds on the first Saturday of every month.
“Although the market only opens at 7am, it’s not unusual to find people ready to start their shopping at 6am while we’re still setting up,” he says. When it comes to supporting local flavours, lowvelders are far from slow off the mark.
E-mail Sloveld Pantry at sloveldpantry@gmail.com
Get more online at www.lowveldlivingmagazine.com. Lowveld Living is available online on Zinio