The Saffron Pear Tree: And Other Kitchen Memories

by Zuretha Roos

Three generations of a South African family come to life in this warm memoir of cozy kitchens, memorable places, quirky characters and soul food. Zuretha Roos draws on the memories of the abundant farm kitchens of her Hex River Valley childhood, happy Stellenbosch student days and the, sometimes challenging, world of marriage and young motherhood in seventies' Johannesburg to become an accomplished cook and magazine food editor. In amongst the pots and pans, busy city life is pleasantly interrupted by holidays in Hermanus, idyllic sojourns at Keurboomstrand and weekends on an isolated farm in the Waterberg. All is blissful, if not a little chaotic, until immense tragedy strikes and her once happy family has to come to terms with a brutal twist of fate... Woven together with trusted family recipes, these tales bring to mind a time when history was shaped over strong cups of coffee and food came from the earth, the ocean and a mother's heart.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Cooking

392 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2006

Reviews

[RUTH GUTHRIE]

charming memories of afrikaans childhood in ouma's kitchen interspersed with recipes and knick knacks. still reading it.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried. I laughed. I cooked. I remembered...

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give The Saffron Pear Tree five stars because it changed my attitude towards cooking. Zuretha Roos taught me to relax and embrace my kitchen and not to resent the time I spend there. Her story brought back the long-forgotten aromas and flavours of the kitchens of my grandmother and aunts and the generosity and the love they served up with their food.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming book shares the author's rich memories and their ties to food. It's such a treat to read, that it's the one book I have out among tabletop items in our living room. Was delighted when my foodie aunt picked it up during her visit to our home: she was instantly entertained by it, same as I was.

[Avarill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent every free moment I had reading this gem. Memories of long ago came flooding back. My mothers kitchen, my grandmothers little cottage behind the bakery. Her Scottish accent which confused me at times. The small holding my brother, sister and I grew up on. My Uncle & Aunts farm. All these memories and much more flooded me, nostalgia to a past that will never return. Today we have electric stoves & gas stoves; no longer the old black coal stove that burned all day, boiled the water in the geezer, kept the smell of peculated coffee permeating through our home. Then there was the precious Essie anthracite stove which replaced the old black coal one. Rain water tanks, love and miss that fresh water.
On warm-summer, starry-moon lit nights, we the children played outside. Grown ups with their drinks on the stoep (patio) are long forgotten. Zuretha's kitchen recipes brought back the warm aroma's of my mothers cooking. Like Zuretha's mother, mine was efficient, and never cooked from a recipe. She also never taught us her methods, but I did tend to watch her and so much was germinated into my thoughts or being. A kind of memory that comes through when I'm busy in the kitchen. I never stick to the exact recipe if I follow one. Like Zuretha it's always my own finished product. I believe it's that warm kitchen camaraderie coming through.
Although life is perfect it is never without its dark moments.

[Mmabatho · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book twice and plan to do so again in 2022. I love the simplicity and goodness of life described in it's pages. I've made a lot of the recipes. Most often the milk tart!

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure nostalgia, a wonderful read.