“When something as simple as a little flour, yeast and water becomes part of the fabric of society and people mess with it, the result is a huge amount of fuss – and rightly so,” write Dr Hennie Fisher and Prof Gerrie du Rand of UP’s Department of Consumer and Food Sciences on cross-cultural food heritage in South Africa.

The first week of September saw many South Africans express their outrage on social media because a high-end supermarket was selling four amagwinya in a plastic packet for R 24.99, while one can purchase the same product on the street for around R1 each.

Most of us are familiar with these delicious deep-fried pieces of dough, which Afrikaners call vetkoek, a name that has become part of the national lingua franca and recently caused a local food celebrity to query on Facebook when vetkoek became “fat cake”. People questioned the commodification and corporatisation of magwinya, asking with tongue firmly in cheek when they had gone to private school to justify that inflated price.

That is the nature of heritage. When something as simple as a little flour, yeast and water becomes part of the fabric of society and people mess with it, the result is a huge amount of fuss – and rightly so. We should all be proud and protective of our heritage. As South Africans negotiating and living in a complex society, it is natural for people to be offended by vetkoek being called “fat cake” for those who need translation and who would certainly stumble over the word “magwinya”.

In cross-cultural food heritage, there are often small variances. While traditional vetkoek is quite a bit larger and flatter, of a light, yeasty texture and often an irregular square shape filled with curried mince or apricot jam, magwinyas are much smaller, doughier and sweeter, and are sold in a little plastic bag, which causes them to sweat a little, making them even more appealing. Magwinyas are usually eaten on the run; they’re easy two- or three-bite snacks for breakfast when you’re waiting for transport, making them a true heritage food item. Vetkoek, on the other hand, is often eaten as a meal or a more substantial snack. Both are South African heritage foods.

Our country has many such cross-over cultural heritage foods – think about glossy, syrupy koeksisters versus the version made by Cape coloured and Cape Malay people that is rolled in desiccated coconut after a quick dunk in syrup. Koesisters have the added complexity of flavour being imparted by warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and aniseed as well as naartjie peel in the dough.

Everyone in South Africa loves to braai. As such, there are numerous versions of a braai. Some prefer a more traditional braai that features a variety of meats and sausages, with only a few side dishes; others up the wow factor with a little meat starter (plankie steak), which is cut and presented while everyone is hanging around, and before the actual braai meat is cooked. Then there are those that are quite content with a boerewors roll. Even the sides may have culturally specific connotations. Many people would not dare pimp up the pap served with a braai, preferring to stick to tradition, while others have made elaborate, complex pap vingers or pap tert, a “bake” consisting of pap layered with a variety of add-ons such as thick tomato sauce, mushrooms, sweet corn or cheese, depending on their tastes and sense of adventure.

As South Africans, we are fairly adventurous when it comes to trying new things and adopting different approaches, which has resulted in us appreciating different types of food. Many people in the country place Indian food high on their priority list – we love Indian restaurants, Indian take-outs and Indian food shops, and as a nation, our knowledge of Indian food is probably considerably more advanced than that of many other countries.

Ultimately, South Africa has an untapped food heritage that we can be proud of.