When Elizabeth Anne Greyvensteyn casually decided to sell rusks in her tiny North-Eastern Cape town over eighty years ago, she probably thought, “Hey, I’ve got a snack, and it’s a bit hard—perfect for a good crunch!” Little did she know that her crunchy little treats would one day rise from humble beginnings to become the most iconic rusk and a breakfast superstar of South Africa, proving that sometimes, the harder the rusk, the sweeter the success!
Rusks have been South Africa’s official crunchy snack for centuries, long before Ouma became the Beyoncé of baked goods. Dried bread made its debut as a travel snack, thanks to Dutch settlers who brought beschuit to the Cape of Good Hope in the late 17th century. Local women catapulted their homemade rusks onto ships and travelers, ensuring that nobody faced a crumb-free journey.
You might say rusks were the survival food of choice for those on Voortrekker wagons and Boer commandos during the Anglo-Boer War, because nothing says “charge into battle” quite like unsweetened, oven-dried bread.
Home of South Africa’s Most Iconic Rusk Brand
Ouma Rusks’ family recipe was born in Molteno, a tiny town in the Eastern Cape where frostbite comes more often than a craving for hot chocolate and cookies.
Known to be one of the coldest towns in South Africa, it’s no wonder one local tannie figured to make bread so hard it could double as a snowball! Today, every iconic rusk is a little reminder that if you can survive Molteno’s chill, you can tackle anything—including fighting the urge to eat the whole box in one sitting!
The Great Depression hit rural economies like a woolly wrecking ball, and in Molteno, the sheep were practically scratching their heads over the falling prices. Enter the local Dominee, who had more schemes than a game of Monopoly; he decided to offer the women in his congregation half a crown (30 British pennies, or just enough to buy a cup of tea and a slice of dry humor) to kick-start small business ventures.
One adventurous soul was Elizabeth Ann Greyvensteyn, affectionately known as Ouma Nannie. In 1939, she dusted off her family recipe and began cranking out buttermilk rusks like there was no tomorrow, selling them at church bazaars, sports meetings, and any gathering where people needed an excuse to snack and gossip. Little did Ouma Elizabeth know, this was the beginning of a crunchy revolution in the name of comfort food!
Building a family empire, one rusk at a time
Ouma’s husband, Thys, was the proud owner of Molteno’s first Ford car dealership and, with the help of his trusty Ford bakkie, he took the rusks beyond their corner of the universe—earning him the endearing nickname Thys Beskuitjies, which sounds fancy until you realize it just means “Thys Biscuit.”
Their son Leon, who later decided that South Africa needed more crunch in its life and founded Simba Chips in 1956, jumped into the family business when the rusks skyrocketed in popularity. He crafted a rusk drier from an old car engine and some clay ovens, transforming their barn into a rusk factory—because who doesn’t want to bake delicious treats in a building that used to smell like hay?
Local legend, Sam Prinsloo, now a spry 94, recalls how the Greyvensteyn family once modified a tiny Singer car to deliver biscuits to faraway lands like Queenstown, although after a few cranky deliveries, they upgraded to a slightly less medieval van!
“They started out from scratch!” Prinsloo chuckled. The rusks were originally called Uitspan and Outspan before they decided on a name as sweet as the product itself: Ouma Rusks.
In 1941, Leon snagged a £1,500 loan to expand; by 1952, they had a minor setback when the factory turned into an impromptu bonfire, but no worries—they rebuilt it!
Eventually, the Greyvensteyn family sold the business to Fedfood in the 1970s, leading to a game of hot potato with the recipe that gave rise to a new lineup of flavors—because who knew rusks could get a glow-up?
Crunching into the future
Ouma Rusks has cemented itself as the reigning champion of the rusk market, proving that when it comes to crunchy snacks, there’s no competition—kind of like a sheep trying to race a cheetah!
What started with Ouma Greyvensteyn’s humble 30 British pennies has turned into a beloved Eastern Cape brand that’s as iconic as a braai on a Sunday. Despite facing a few hurdles (like a stubborn rusk refusing to get crispy), their unwavering commitment to the local community has made them thrive like a well-fed sheep in a pasture.
Not only do they employ nearly 300 people, but they also support a community of over 10,000—talk about spreading the love, one piece of iconic rusk at a time!
And let’s not forget that they crank out more than 23 tonnes of rusks a day, meaning there’s no shortage of deliciousness ready to take South African tea time to epic proportions!
