This past weekend, the New York Times - in the aftermath of US consumer inflation data that surprised to the upside - published an article detailing 12 of what it called "almost inflation-proof recipes."
Gochujang (Korean chilli paste) potato stew, meatballs, bean and cheese burritos, stir-fried cucumber with tofu, miso leeks with white beans, sheet-pan baked feta with broccolini, spaghetti with fried eggs and parmesan cabbage soup were some of the dishes in the spotlight.
For most South Africans, that menu is wildly out of reach. After flooded potato crops, droughts, avian flu, significant increases in fuel costs, a downward spiralling currency, inflation running at double that of the US and limited imports, the number of priority food items in March that had experienced less than a 10% increase in costs in the past year came in at a measly eight, according to data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PMBEJD) group.