A ‘Matty’s Rusk’ a day keeps the doctor away – meet Ballito’s clever Ouma for diabetics

Dunk or crunch them, Matty’s Rusks has been a favourite tea or coffee companion for diabetics for the past 20 years thanks to Ouma Mattys’ market leading ingredient.

The 83-year-old Matty Havenga started the business by accident when, during a doctor’s visit, she was asked if she baked rusks.

“We landed in Ballito just before the end of the century after farming pineapples in Hluhluwe and I needed something to do. I started baking rusks for the doctor. It became a weekly thing and one day he suggested I go to the shops with them,” said the cheerful Matty.

Before she knew it, her rusks were flying off the shelf at Pick n Pay and Spar.

On one of her delivery trips to the home industry shops in Durban, she met registered dietitian Julie Peacock who took her business to a new level with the help of a clever bean.

“The demand for diabetic friendly rusks were there, so we played around and came up with the idea of using legumes as they are high in fibre which slows down the absorption of the glucose and therefore regulates their glycemic index (GI) preventing those sugar spikes,” said Peacock, who has been a type one diabetic since the age of four and was the guinea pig for these specials rusks.

“Diabetic friendly options often taste like cardboard, but these rusks have flavour. We maintained sugar in the recipe to keep the texture light and the costing down and because the sugar is combined with adequate fibre from the beans, the GI value is lowered.”

Peacock said they are currently in the process of getting the rusks endorsed by Diabetes SA – a symbol diabetics are taught to look out for.

“We also work closely with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and have found that these rusks are also recommended for anyone with high blood pressure or heart disease.”

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After years of hard work and endless hours of kneading dough, Matty and her husband Herman were ready for a well-deserved rest and handed over the business to their two granddaughters, Tanja Davey and Jackie Snyman who recently opened a warehouse and factory in Ballito.

“Ouma and Oupa have spent years building up this business and have worked hard developing it and to stop now would be a travesty. It just seemed like the logical step for us to carry on with their legacy,” said Tanya.

For now, Matty still plays an active role in her crunchy business and said the rusks have been a real tonic for her.

“I am very thankful to the rusks and the good Lord who brought me to the world.”

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