Mzansi eats: Four unique South African cereals

01/04/2024

Mzansi eats: Four unique South African cerealsMzansi has unique taste, and it's just because South Africa has a lot of things you won't find anywhere else. Here's what South Africans have for breakfast.

by Francois Jansen

01-04-2024 18:41

in Culture

A box of cereal for R247.

Mzansi has unique taste, and it's just because South Africa has a lot of things you won't find anywhere else. You'd need to buy from an expat store if you wanted to find Bokomo Otees or traditional porridge anywhere abroad.

--

What's your favourite local cereal?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and cereals are a quick energy boost. Some would even say it's the Breakfast of Champions !

Some prefer to have eggs and wors for breakfast. For other people, some cereal is just what they need.

--

Here's what Mzansi eats for breakfast.

1. Mzansi eats: Otees Bokomo Otees are made from oats and rice, also combining sugar and glucose syrup for its added sweetness. They're also available in different flavours, like bubblegum, cream soda, or chocolate yes, you can go with vanilla too.

They are similar to Lucky Charms cereal, except South Africans don't have leprechauns on their cereal brands.

--

They're also shaped like the letter O, giving the cereal its name.

2. Mzansi eats: Weet-Bix South Africans love their Weet-Bix unless, of course, you don't.

It's not a purely South African breakfast cereal. The cereal actually comes from Australia, where it's been around as a health-aid cereal since the 1960s.

Since 2014, you can buy a gluten-free version.

It can be mixed with hot (or cold) milk.

Some people have it with fruit juice Not kidding!

You can also eat Weet-Bix like a cookie, adding butter.

3. Mzansi eats: Jungle Oats Jungle Oats is the Breakfast of Champions according to its advertising campaign.

There's also Oatso-Easy, an instant oats version if you're too busy to be boiling oats in the morning.

It gets eaten with sugar, sometimes with honey.

You get different flavours, just in case you want to spice it up with something new.

Stores also sell portioned packs for smaller appetites or quick snacking.

ProNutro ProNutro is another proudly South African breakfast food.

The texture and taste are unique and might be hard to describe to anyone outside of Africa.

It's like porridge, but also different. It comes in different flavours. You can add sugar, but don't have to.

ProNutro is something special.

There's even something about ProNutro on Reddit.

You either love it, or you don't!

Send us your thoughts What do you think Mzansi eats? Let us know your thoughts at info@thesouthafrican.com. We love hearing from our readers, and we'd love to hear from you!

READ MORE ARTICLES BY FRANCOIS JANSEN (ALEX J COYNE)

Is jy Afrikaans? Kliek hier vir nuus in jou taal!

LINK:	https://www.thesouthafrican.com/lifestyle/mzansi-eats-four-unique-sout...
	See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026