9 rusks you absolutely need to try
Rusk stash running low? Time to stock up with one of these beauties. Whether you’re a fan of old-skool, no-frills buttermilk, prefer a bit of bump in your beskuit or are trying to cut down on carbs, your perfect dipper is out there waiting for you. And the Taste team tried them all, to help you decide which one will be your new favourite.
Delicious new waffle and cinnarusk varieties – are handmade (using free-range eggs) by a local community in Wellington in the Western Cape.
BUTTERMILK HONEY-AND-ALMOND
Practically pudding, buttermilk honey-and-almond rusks taste all treacly and delicious thanks to a double shot of sweetness courtesy of dark brown sugar and badger-friendly honey. Pretty nutty, right?
SEMELBESKUIT
The brown bread of the rusk world, semelbeskuit is the virtuous choice for everyday dippers. The digestive wheat bran adds a satisfying nutty flavour and coarser texture, and makes it a pretty decent brekkie stand-in.
LOW GR MULTISEED
All the seeds – think linseed, sunflower and pumpkin – star in our hearty Low GR (glycaemic response) multiseed rusks, made with a mix of stoneground flour, oatmeal, oat bran, pecan nuts and Thompson raisins.
MOSBOLLETJIE-STYLE
These rusks boast the same feathered texture and aniseed flavour of the original spongy bake. A quick dip in some honeyed, milky rooibos is the treatment this SA icon deserves.
BUTTERMILK MUESLI
Buttermilk muesli rusks are crunchy-chewy thanks to a genius mix of oats, biscuit crumbs, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, coconut and almonds sweetened with golden syrup and honey and molasses. Also available in a no-sugar variety.
BUTTERMILK
Nothing fancy: just creamy, tangy Ayrshire buttermilk, butter, free-range eggs, sugar and salt, all mixed and twice-baked to golden, crumbly goodness. They’re also available in a no-sugar variety.
BUTTERMILK BRAN
Buttermilk bran rusks dish out a double whammy of fibre, with bran flakes – like the kind you eat with milk – and wheat bran. A leisurely soak in some hot coffee and you have yourself a party. They’re also available in a no-sugar variety.
FREE FROM GLUTEN BUTTERMILK SEEDED
If regular rusks go against your gut, you need free from gluten buttermilk seeded rusks, stat. They’re made with a mix of rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch and xanthan gum, with some dried coconut, linseed, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds thrown in for free.
CARB CLEVER BUTTERMILK
Carb-dodging doesn’t have to mean dissing your beloved dunkables. Just stock up on some carb clever buttermilk rusks, which rely on almond flour, coconut, psyllium husks and seeds to give you a little something to hold onto.