At Food24 we love stats and data, so when Google releases the year’s top search trends, we get pumped to see what made the list!
Pickled fish is always a popular one (you can read all about its cultural and regional significance here), and then, of course, some semblance of chicken. We usually also see stew or oxtail pop up too, but the most-searched recipe term is actually far more surprising: a Porn Star martini!
If you’re wondering what goes into a Porn Star martini, it’s actually more delicious than it sounds. Imagine a wonderfully playful and vibrant concoction of vanilla vodka, sugar, passionfruit pulp and lime, with a shot of bubbles on the side.
The drink is also said to have been invented in South Africa! “Like most cocktail origin stories, the details are a bit murky, but I believe the idea was created at Maverick’s and the drink has been perfected in the UK,” says Food24 spirits writer Leah van Deventer.
Keen to try one? Head to one of SA’s best cocktail bars and ask the bartender to mix one for you!
Possibly the most surprising thing about the list is that it contains very little in the way of plant-based recipes, not even including the word vegan. Clearly South Africans aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to meat!
Take a browse through the list and let us know if you’ve searched for any of these things this year.