Interesting Stuff!

Interesting in South Africa

Content:

1. South African "Tequila" and Agave  

2. Extinct Quagga brought back to life! 

3.  New type of Wine Closure (Cork) 

4. Spekboom absorbs the highest amounts of carbon dioxide than any other plant. 

5. Mohair in South Africa   

1. South African "Tequila" and Agave Plant in the Karoo 

South African distillers are turning out top-notch 'tequila' from the local blue agave plant also known as Garingboom.

Following the same methods as their Mexican counterparts, distillers use the heart – the piña – of agave farmed organically in the Karoo. The piñais roasted and then crushed, before the juice is fermented and distilled.

In order to be called tequila, an agave-based alcohol must come from one of five states in the west of Mexico. The label of “100% agave” is what you want to look out for on local bottles, indicating that this home-grown “tequila” has been made in the traditional method. 

Look out for Leonista, Esperanza, Three Agaves Silver, The Fourth Rabbit. 

Delicious sipped on its own, it’s also ideal for DIY cocktails and classic Margaritas

History of Agave in South Africa

“Family folklore says that in the mid-1800s, a young girl of the Rubidge family happened to see them on a beach near the Fish River mouth, probably washed up from the ballast of a passing ship or from a ship wreck. And being a farmer’s daughter she also noted that they must be palatable, since they were being nibbled by goats and other domestic animals.”

The Rubidge girl (her first name remains unrecorded) packed three young plants in her bag and took them home to her parents’ farm. 

The Algarve plant eventually proofed to be extremely useful their stoic blue-green bulk stopped erosion on contour lines. The poles they sent up were useful as pergolas and for fencing. They were perfect drought fodder.

After a study in 1950 proofed the plant’s usefulness as drought fodder, the government of the day ordered all Karoo farmers to plant a section of their farm with Agave Americana. This was to ensure fodder for future dry periods. Therefore, this huge spiky blue green plant with fibrous, strappy leaves grow all over the Karoo today. In a few places, they grow in plantation-straight rows, or along fence lines, but mostly they’re just higgledy-piggledy. Some are chest high. Others are tiny as pot plants.

Applications of Agave plants

The Garingboom is a fascinating plant with endless potential as drink, food, fodder, fibre and as biofuel. It also have a waxy cuticle around the leaves that could be turned into a biodegradable food wrapper.

Dill pickle are made from the buds which are plucked in and around the festive season in December. Any buds that are damaged or imperfect are fed to thrilled goats and sheep. The garingboom only poles and flowers at the end of its life, which can be anywhere between seven and 15 years. Then it dies.  It’s not easy to simply step up production dill. The garingboom only poles and flowers at the end of its life, which can be anywhere between seven and 15 years. Then it dies.

Therefore, it is not easy to simply step up production of the dill. Hardly a week goes by without someone calling the Supplier of Agave dill Tim Murray, trying to order vast amounts of the pickles.

“Someone called just the other day, saying they wanted to order 800 cases to send to China,” recounts Tim. “I said, my china, we only produce 100 cases a year. That’s it!”

Chopped-up agave leaves are excellent for ostriches, giving them resilience and glossy feathers. The chopped up leaves are good food for sheep and cattle, alongside a normal diet of veld grass and Karoo bossies. They thrive on it.

Agave also has all kinds of potential for medicines and cosmetics. From the strappy leaves an Anti-Itch Spray and Pet Insect Repellent, deodorant, foot spray, and a popular Pyn Verdwyn massage oil with cannabis leaves are made. 

Between spring and Christmas, they often sprout tall poles, all festive with greenish-yellow buds and nectar-dripping flowers, doted on by bees and birds

Mayans and Aztecs use every bit of the plant for cosmetics, food, drink, construction, fibre, art, and musical instruments. They used the leaves as roofing tiles, and ate the buds deep-fried. 

2. Quagga Project.

The Quagga project attempts to breed a "new" population of “Quaggas”, which became extinct.  The last Quagga died mid 1840 in a zoo in Amsterdam. 

It is evident from the 23 preserved Quagga skins of the extinct Quagga, that it was very similar to the Plain Zebra. 

By bringing selected Plains Zebra together, and so concentrating the Quagga genes, a "regenerated" Quagga  population emerged.

During March 1987 nine zebras, out of approximately 2 500, were selected and captured at the Etosha National Park. This marked the commencement of the Quagga re-breeding project. The first foal was born on the 9th of December 1988. During the successive years, further selected breeding stock taken from Etosha and Zululand have been added.

Eventuallyaa a new Quagga population emerged whose coat-pattern characters closely resemble that of the extinct Quagga.

 3 .  New type of Wine Closure (Cork) —made from renewable polymers derived from sugarcane. 

Manufacturer Nomacorc unveiled a new type of closure—made from renewable polymers derived from sugarcane. The company is touting the line, called the Select Bio Series, as 100 percent recyclable, with a net zero carbon footprint. Like the original Select Series, it gives winemakers a choice of different oxygen transfer rates to prevent flaws from oxidation or reduction in certain types of wines.

"The skin on the outside will still allow the cork to be easily removed and inserted into bottle," said Nomacorc spokeswoman Whitney Rigsbee. "Aesthetically, it will have the look and feel of a natural cork with the wood grain; it's not going to be bright pink or bright white."

Nomacorc conducted 18 months of testing, including vetting the closure in its sensory lab to check for off aromas and flavors in bottled wines, but it remains to be seen how Select Bio performs in real life. Allegrini, a leading Italian producer that has worked with Nomacorc for years, is the first winery to publicly announce that it is doing a trial with Select Bio, at its Poggio San Polo winery in Montalcino, on its Sangiovese-based Rubio bottling

4.  Spekboom

Also known as Pork Bush or Elephant’s Food, this tree of wonder has the ability to absorb the highest amounts of carbon dioxide when compared to any other plant in existence. A healthy thicket of this treasure trove is said to be ten times more effective at removing carbon dioxide from the air than the Amazon Forest, which is known as the lungs of the earth for its contribution to cleaning the air and removing carbon dioxide.

On top of this, Spekboom can live up to 200 years and has the ability to adapt to its surroundings, ensuring a long and beneficial life once planted. It is also an edible plant with very high nutritional value that can be used in a variety of ways. If all of this wasn’t enough to inspire your love for Spekboom, it is also a highly water-wise plant, needing up to half the water of other plants to survive, meaning its not only easy to grow but also easy for those living in areas suffering from droughts or water shortages to care for.

A wine farm in the Karoo plans to plant one million spekbooms in the next year and Stellenbosch is building the biggest labyrinth in Africa made completely out of Spekbooms

5. Angora coats/Mohair South Africa :

The story of how Angora Coats arrived on our shores and grew in numbers is truly amazing. 

In 1838 the Sultan of Turkey sent twelve neutered rams and one female to Port Elizabeth, halfway across the world. The rams were rendered infertile, as the Sultan wanted to protect his country’s powerful mohair empire. What he didn’t realise, though, was that the ewe on board was pregnant and gave birth to a kid ram en route to Africa, which was the start of the industry in South Africa.

Today South Africa produces the most mohair in the world – all thanks to the Sultan’s mistake and a pregnant ewe.

The highest quality mohair in the world is produced in South Africa. Port Elizabeth is known as the mohair capital of the world

The Mohair market has experienced continued strong growth over the past few years. The biggest contribution to this excellent growth is the fact that Mohair has been identified by the educated consumer as the sustainable luxury natural fibre for the future.