Local sites with the “co.za” domain, all of which are presumably dominated by SA contributors and viewers.
Not mine, and I hang with a few chefs (and people who love Thai food). Of course, they may just not be using the word in front of me.
Getting a bit off the “kaffir lime” tangent – the thread reminds me of the decades-old South African (got quite well-known outside SA) humorous song Ag Pleez Deddy – if I have things rightly, has come to be the unofficial anthem of SA’s poor whites. Song’s chorus is a lengthy list of kid-friendly unhealthy things to eat and drink. Last two lines, IIRC:
“Ag, Deddy, 'ow we miss nigger-balls and licquorice,
Pepsi-Cola, ginger beer, and Canada Dry.”
If I have things rightly, “nigger-balls” refers (redundantly in the context) to licquorice-flavoured sweets. In this instance, nothing racist intended – it’s just an expression for that particular comestible. Would be interested to know from South African participants: are these sweets still sold under the name of “nigger-balls”?
Not that I can recall from my own childhood. A bit of Googling suggests the sweet was renamed by the 1980s. No idea if its still around.
You can still get them at Sweets From Heaven, and I think they’re just called “black gobstoppers” or “licorice balls” or “aniseed balls” or somesuch now.
They’re normal bobstaoppers with a licorice coating that makes your tongue black, before you get to the normal gobstopper part. Although some just have a single inside bit, not layered like a gobstopper.
Another cleaned-up name would seem to be needed – to fit both the rhythm, and sense, of the song !