Biltong, Jerky?

Question

Why would one want to call dried meat "jerky" ? It is dead, it does not jerk anymore, does it?

Answer 1

Jerkey is another word for biltong, but if they say biltong is jerky, the don't like biltong  that is not dry or nat biltong, also they don't know what they are missing

Answer 2

Interestingly, the word jerky comes via Spanish from the South American native language Inca "charqui" and refers to a dried meat that was originally prepared at altitude (high and very dry in the Andes) as a method of preservation.

Biltong and jerky are not exactly the same; the production process is different and the spicing too. I must admit I prefer biltong.

Answer 3

It comes from the American Spanish 'charqui' which means 'dried flesh in long strips'.

Answer 4

Jerky is dried out in an oven. Most of the US is too humid to dry it out naturally.

Biltong is dried out naturally.

You can taste the difference between jerky and biltong. Biltong has much more spice to it, namely corriander. But they use less spices in jerky.

Answer 5

Jerky is the American style of Biltong and does not come anywhere near as lekker as ours!!

The most common style of jerky you get in America is "Beef Jerky." They sell it over in the UK as well but it's not as good as our Biltong I find it much more dry and have never come across any with fat on or any being a little wet.

Answer 6

No no you are all wrong ha ha ha

They didn't have a knipmes to cut the dry meat they had to jerk it

Answer 7

Jerky is cut more like chilly bites in SA. It is very narrow strips. Why they call it that I dont know.

Answer 8

Now you just go ask my boy there aint nothing he don't know about biltong.

Answer 9

Cakes in the South Americas they call it jerky,but it's got a very diffrent taste from Biltong,personally I don't like jerky.x*x

Answer 10

Yup! It sounds funny, doesn't it? But the word is in fact a loan word from native American Indians meaning dried meat. Biltong is also a loan word from Dutch. The first syllable "bil" meaning the hind part of the body of an animal and the last syllable "tong" meaning "strip of".