In 1683 the Plain Sects began to arrive in
William Penn's Colony seeking a land of peace and
plenty. They were a mixed people; Moravians from
Bohemia and Moravia, Mennonites from Switzerland and
Holland, the Amish, the Dunkards, the Schwenkfelds, and
the French Huguenots. After the lean years of clearing
the land and developing their farms they established the
peace and plenty they sought. These German-speaking
people were originally called the Pennsylvania Deutsch
but time and custom have caused them to be known as the
Pennsylvania Dutch.
The Pennsylvania Dutch are a hard working peopple and
as they say, "Them that works hard, eats
hearty." The blending of recipes from their many
home lands and the ingredients available in their new
land produced tasty dishes that have been handed down
from mother to daughter for generations. Their cooking
was truly a flok art requiring much intuitive knowledge,
for recipes contained measurements such as "flour
to stiffen," "butter the size of a
walnut,."and "large as an apple." Many of
the recipes have been made more exact and standardized
providing us with a regional cookery we can all enjoy.
Soups are a traditional part of Pennsylvania Dutch
cooking and the Dutch housewife can apparently make soup
out of anything. If she has only milk and flour she can
still make rivel soup. However, most of their soups are
studier dishes, hearty enough to serve as the major
portion of the evening meal. One of the favorite supper
soups in the Pennsylvania Dutch country is Chicken Corn
Soup. Few Sunday School picnic suppers would be
considered complete without gallons of this hearty soup.
Many of the Pennsylvania Dutch foods are a part of
their folklore. No Shrove Tuesday would be complete
without raised doughnuts called "fastnachts."
One of the many folk tales traces this custom back
to the burnt offerings made by their old country
ancestors to the goddess of spring. With the com\ing of
Christianity the custom became associated with the
Easter season and "fastnachts" are
eaten on Shrove Tuesday to insure living to next Shrove
Tuesday. Young dandelion greens are eaten on Maundy
Thursday in order to remain well through out the year.
The Christmas season is one of the busiest times in
the Pennsylvania Dutch kitchen. For weeks before
Christmas the house is filled with the smell of almond
cookies, anise cookies, sandtarts, Belsnickle Christmas
cookies, walnut kisses, pfeffernusse (peppernuts).
, and other traditional cookies. Not just a few of one
kind but dozens and dozens for many kinds of cookies
must be made. There must be plenty for the enjoyment of
the family and many holiday visitors.
Regardless of the time of the year or the time of the
day there are pies. The Pennsylvania Dutch eat pies for
breakfast. They eat pies for lunch. They eat pies for
dinner and they eat pies for midnight snacks. Pies are
made with a great variety of ingredients form the apple
pie we all know to the riel pie which is made from
flour, sugar, and butter. The Dutch housewife is as
generous with her pies as she is with all her cooking
baking size or eight at a time not one or two.
The apple is an important Pennsylvania Dutch food.
Dried apples form the basis for many typical dishes.
Each fall barrels of apples are converted into cider.
Apple butter is one of the Pennsylvania Dutch foods
which has found national acceptance. The making of apple
butter is an all-day affair and has the air of a holiday
to it. Early in the morning the neighbors gather and
begin to peel huge piles of apples that will be needed.
soon the great copper apple butter kettle is brought out
and set up over a wood fire. Apple butter requires
constant stirring to prevent burning. However, stirring
can be light work for a boy or girl when they're young
and the day is bright and the world is full of
promise. By dusk the apple butter is made, neighborhood
news is brought up to date and hunger has been
driven that much further away for the coming winter.
Food is abundant and appetites are hearty in the
Pennsylvania Dutch country. The traditional dishes are
relatively simple and unlike most regional cookery
the ingredients are readily available. Best of all, no
matter who makes them the results are 'wonderful
good."
The above narrative is
from the booklet
"Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking"
distributed by Dutchcraft, Inc, Gettysburg. PA.
The booklet was found in gift shops and news stands in
the 1950's
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