Nostalgia

South African legend, Laurika Rauch, has a song called Nostalgie, meaning literally Nostalgia.

I have always loved the song but I never realised that nostalgia had a taste. Until…

Yes, Melktert.

I’ve lived abroad for 6 and a half years and through the years I’ve learnt what it is that I can live without, but sometimes we miss things that remind us of where we come from and in this case it’s Melktert.
Now, luckily with a bit of skill and a few basic ingredients it’s easy enough to recreate this classic, as milk, eggs, sugar etc is available everywhere in the Netherlands and even in Peru.

But a couple of weekends ago we picked one up from KuierKos (actually 2, but let’s not split hairs) and as we had a slice that afternoon with some other saffa friends, we marveled at how incredible their Melktert really is. I mean it, it is the perfect  combination of creamy and soft while being firm enough to be a tert and not a pudding. The flavours and textures are perfectly balanced and my Dutch husband has declared it his favourite (not counting homemade appeltaart)

My friends and I had a lovely discussion on whether this is really so fantastic or if it is just nostalgia, and I would say I think it’s a bit of both. I do think the KuierKos melktert is something special, but it’s made even more so because it brings back a bit of home, and a lifetime of memories.

Andalenes melktert in East London. My favourite recipe but mine is never quite as good as hers.
Melktert from Tannie Raaitjie’s tuisnywerheid in Durbanville, enjoyed on visits from my student days.

Or melktert from the Berea spar with ma and pa.

There are countless others, full of experiences and memories, and in the taste of melktert, a piece of “Nostalgie”