According to Mrs HS Ball's great-grandson Desmond Ball, it all started in 1852 when Hanry James Adkins married Elizabeth Sarah Spalding in King William's Town, settling in the nearby village of Fort Jackson to run a general dealership. He was a pretty humble man. Sarah Adkins started making chutney commercially in about 1870. But she was no great shakes at brand-building, burdening her delicious condiment with the label "Mrs Henry Adkins Senior, Colonial Chutney Manufacturer, Fort Jackson, Cape Colony." The Adkinses had seven sons and four daughters, one of whom was Amelia. Amelia married Herbert Saddleton Ball, a superintendent on the railways, and they moved to Johannesburg - taking her mother's chutney recipe with her. On HS Ball's retirement the family moved to Cape Town, where Amelia started producing her mother's chutney on a home-industry scale. The Balls moved to the pretty coastal town of Fish Hoek, where Mrs Ball started increasing her production. Over time the sales improved so much that production could not be accommodated in the Fish Hoek house. The factory was moved three times, each time to bigger premises, eventually ending up in Diep River. Amelia Ball died on 11 November 1962, at the age of 97. But her name lives on - on the millions of Mrs HS Ball's Chutney labels.

Spice up your baked dish with this Creamy Cheddar Cheese dry mix.

KOO was established in 1940 and is one of the leading brands in South Africa and is currently the market leader in most canned food sectors in which it competes, such as baked beans, fruit and vegetables. KOO has been voted in the top five as one of SA best food brand judged according to awareness and in the 2005 Top Brand Survey KOO was voted SA 4th most favourite brand and this year it was voted SA 3rd top brand. KOO has for 65 years offered South African consumers high quality products that have helped them create mouthwatering meals for their families and has through innovation managed to ensure that it remains a relevant brand. The brand is very much a household name for South African consumers, consumers perceive KOO as the brand that offers them high quality at an affordable price. "I can afford to feed my family every day with KOO."