STORE HOUSE: Bringing home the spekboom — Wonder plant should be a staple veggie, say researchers

Researchers at the University of the Free State (UFS) believe that the indigenous plant spekboom should become a staple vegetable in South Africa. Spekboom offers climate resilience, nutritional benefits, and potential new opportunities for small-scale farmers. Alba du Toit, chair of Innovative Agro-processing for Climate Smart Food Systems at UFS, and Maryna Boshoff, professor in Sustainable Food Systems in the Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty, describe spekboom as "multi-purpose."

The plant can thrive in drought conditions and poor soils without irrigation or fertilisation, protects soil from erosion, and captures carbon as it grows. Spekboom is rich in moisture, soluble fibre, vitamin C, and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and selenium. It remains high in vitamin C even after cooking, which is unusual as vitamin C is typically destroyed by heat.

Although it cannot replace nutrient-dense foods, spekboom can complement them and add variety to South African diets. Boshoff notes that spekboom has a similar nutritional value to dark green vegetables like spinach and can be incorporated into various dishes, including salads, sandwiches, wraps, smoothies, and traditional South African cuisine.

As an easy-to-cultivate and accessible plant, spekboom can create market opportunities for small-scale farmers, informal traders, and community-based food processors. However, commercial success could potentially shift power relationships and affect the control and value generation in the spekboom industry.