SANTA ANNA’S & ORYX DESERT SALT: FOOD WITH GEES

Gees is a quintessential Afrikaans word meaning spirit or soul. It’s a vibe, an energy, something you can feel. If you’re South African, you recognise it immediately. Who didn’t feel the tremendous South African gees during the Rugby World Cup?  It’s the same word Santa Anna’s uses to describe the quality of their corn chips: Mexican Style, South African Gees.

Frik Oosthuizen, Eddy Naude and Piet Marais are the three hombres forming the Santa Anna’s entrepreneurial team, with a passion for creating Mexican-inspired tortillas, corn chips, tacos and salsas that are hand-made using ethically produced organic ingredients and locally sourced. Starting off in 2012 making a few hundred tortillas a day, today they’ve grown to producing more than 10 tonnes a month and are exporting to Japan, Dubai, Mauritius, and potentially soon to Australia.

ANCIENT AZTEC TECHNOLOGY

Santa Anna’s corn tortilla chips are available in two ranges: their beloved Certified Organic Range which is the only certified organic locally made chip in South Africa, and their new Honest, Simple, Lekker! Range, made from certified Non-GMO Corn. Both are made from whole grain corn kernels from two separate sources in the Northern Cape.

Now here’s an interesting word: nixtamal is an Aztec word used to describe corn that has been partially cooked and soaked with calcium hydroxide, otherwise referred to as lime. Calcium hydroxide is simply the dust that results from scraping a limestone rock. The Aztec would grind corn against the limestone found in the riverbeds, and hence discovered the benefit of this natural element which enhances the nutritional quality of corn. The process of nixtamalization was first developed in Mesoamerica where maize was originally cultivated around 1200-1500BC.

Santa Anna’s use their own nixtamalization process. The nixtamal (lime-cooked corn) is then ground on a volcanic stone grinder to make fresh masa (traditional corn dough). The corn is then put through a sheeter and cut with their custom extra large chip cutter to produce the biggest tortilla chip on the market. From here the chips are baked and then fried in coconut oil to produce their unique flavour and texture.

Why coconut oil?  So many good reasons:

• It doesn’t get denatured and degrade as quickly at a high heat like most other vegetable oils
• The chips pick up around 10% of oil in the frying process. Unlike the 15-20% of fat if the chips were fried in vegetable seed oils. That’s up to 50% less fat!
• Coconut is a saturated fat and therefore doesn’t contain PUFA’s (polyunsaturated fatty acids) which are said to be unhealthy.

Sunflower or rapeseed (canola) oil gives the chips a completely different taste profile, often adding bitterness.

WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE THE PERFECT CORN CHIP

‘It’s taken years,’ Piet tells us, ‘to perfect the production process. We’ve learned to pay special attention to the small things like oil management, particle size of the corn flour, size of bubble when frying, how to achieve that crunchier mouth feel,  thickness quality, managing smaller batches of dough to prevent it from fermenting and turning.’

Now with over 10 years production experience under their belts, it shows in the end result: yummy full-roasted corn flavour, a rich mouth feel and crispy texture.

‘When it comes to taste,’ says Piet,  ‘with just four ingredients – corn flour, coconut oil, xanthan gum (for texture) and salt (enhancing the chips’ natural flavour) – you have nowhere to hide!

Ah yes, the salt!

Both Frik and Piet used to be full-time chefs and were already Oryx Desert Salt fans; so it was a natural progression to add this locally produced ingredient to the mix. ‘Especially,’ Piet adds, ‘being a desert salt, there’s no chance of it being contaminated with micro-plastics.’

HONEST, SIMPLE, LEKKER!

Santa Anna’s have just launched a fresh new range called ‘Honest, Simple, Lekker!’ with 6 meticulously crafted new flavours for every palate:

🌟 Sweet Chilli - A perfect mix of sweet and spicy.

🌟 Spicy Chutney - An exotic blend of spicy and sweet.

🌟 Lightly Salted - Simple elegance, showcasing natural corn flavour.

🌟 Cream Cheese & Chives - A smooth, creamy delight.

🌟 Barbecue - Capturing the soul of classic barbecue.

🌟 Cheese - Bold and rich for cheese aficionados.

Each flavour is a testament to Santa Anna’s dedication to delicious, high-quality snacking. Their chips are ideal for both snacking and dipping, with a soft crunch and light texture that's perfect for scooping up your favourite salsa or dip.

When it comes to the crunch, Santa Anna’s corn chips are the real deal:  Mexican-style food that’s authentic, nourishing, flavourful, and made with genuine South African gees. Oryx Desert Salt is proud to be inside every bag.

You can find Santa Anna here.