"Never Eat in People's Houses": Woman Cooks Pap in an Electric Kettle, Mzansi Calls Her Lazy

• A woman’s decision to cook pap in an electric kettle sparked a wave of conversation across social media
• What started as a tired shortcut quickly turned into a debate about hygiene, convenience and kitchen habits
• The unexpected cooking method caught attention for blending everyday exhaustion with shock value

From dirty pots to a boiling kettle, one tired decision had Mzansi questioning how far convenience should go.

A TikTok video posted by @khoesykho on 18 January 2026 has left South Africans divided after a woman shared an unconventional way of preparing pap. In the clip, the woman explained that all her pots were dirty and she was too tired to wash them, which led her to use an electric kettle instead. She showed herself boiling water in the kettle, adding maize meal, allowing it to cook, then adding more maize meal to stiffen the pap before switching the kettle on again. After eating it, she said the pap tasted the same as usual.

Read also

South African Zulu man played maskandi music in a US bar, sparking cultural pride and laughs

Pap is a staple in many South African households, often associated with tradition, comfort and proper preparation. While many people have improvised meals during loadshedding or busy days, cooking pap in a kettle pushed the boundaries of what is considered acceptable. Electric kettles are designed to boil water, not handle thick food textures, which raised concerns about safety, hygiene and damage to appliances.

Unusual pap cooking method trends

The clip by user @khoesykho spread quickly because it showed something familiar done in a completely unexpected way. Many viewers related to the exhaustion behind the decision, especially in households where cooking happens daily. The simplicity of the video, combined with the shock factor of using a kettle for pap, made people stop scrolling. It sparked discussion because it blended humour, relatability and disbelief in one short moment.

While some found the idea creative, many people expressed discomfort about the method. Concerns centred around laziness being taken too far and the difficulty of cleaning a kettle after cooking pap inside it. Others felt the kettle would never be the same again, turning a common household appliance into a health risk.

What did Mzansi say?

Hlogii said:

“Tjo mara mazulu? ☹️”

Keituuu said:

“My mom was right about not eating at other people’s houses. ✋🏿😭”

Read also

South African woman returned to high school at 30, sparking conversations about second chances

HER said:

“I’m the 1st one in my bloodline to witness this. 😭”

Mamoshale said:

“Now you have to wash those pots plus this kettle.”

Kim Jong Un said:

“Tomorrow, no clean pot, no clean kettle. Then what?”

Charmaine said:

“And o motho o moholo, ntwe e mborang ke gore o motho o moholo😕”

Gomza said:

“My question is, how did you remove the pap from the kettle?”

Sammy Baqwa said:

“You never really know what happens in people’s homes.”

Check out the TikTok video below:

3 Other Briefly News stories related to cooking pap

• A teenage girl shocked South Africans when she used a baking mixer to stir her pap instead of the traditional wooden spoon method.
• A UK makoti surprised her South African husband with a heartfelt cultural gesture in the kitchen, cooking pap for her hubby.
• Gauteng food content creator @HappyNess shared a video showing how to make chilli pap by adding sliced green chillies and olive oil to traditional maize meal.

Source: Briefly News