The Pennsylvania Dutch, more correctly Pennsylvania German, are a people of various religious affiliations, living mostly in eastern Pennsylvania, with cultural traditions dating back to the German immigrations to America in the 17th and 18th centuries.

A couple of misconceptions about the Pennsylvania Dutch should be mentioned. The use of the term "Dutch", which leads people to believe that the people are from Holland. In reality, the term came from the word "Deutsch", which is the German word for "German". Most think that the Pennsylvania Dutchmen are Amish. However, the Amish community represents only a small portion of the people who settled in eastern Pennsylvania. The majority of the Pennsylvania Dutch are not Amish.

They are primarily farmers and their foods reflect both their German heritage and the hearty foods associated with the physical work involved in farming. Women spent a lot of time preparing 3 hearty meals a day. Preserving, like canning and drying, were necessary to help get through the winter months, and many recipes using preserved foods are still used today.

The foods are very similar to Amish cooking, probably due to their German heritage, and based on the influences of the regions in which they settled.




Chow Chow (Pennsylvania Dutch)
Category: Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1/4 pound green beans, broken into pieces
1 large cauliflower, broken into flowerets
3 cups lima beans
3 cups corn
1 quart onions, chopped
5 green bell peppers, chopped
1/4 pound tomatoes, chopped
3 quarts cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons celery seed
1/2 pound dry mustard
2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 tablespoon tumeric

Directions
Cut the green beans in pieces; break the cauliflower into flowerets; add the lima beans and corn and cook all 4 ingredients about 25 minutes. Drain.

Chop the onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Heat the vinegar in a large pot and when hot, add the sugar, salt and spices which have been mixed together.

Drain the water from the cooked vegetables and add to the hot vinegar. Then add the chopped vegetables and cook about 25 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.




Old-Fashioned String Beans and Bacon
Category: Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 can string beans, with liquid
1/4 pound bacon, diced, browned, and crumbled
1 small onion, finely diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water

Directions
Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch dice. Brown the bacon and combine with the other ingredients and cook for about 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft, but not mushy.

NOTE - You can use fresh string beans, substituting equal amount for the canned.




Shoo Fly Pie - Berks County - Dry Filling
Category: Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Filling
Indredients
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup molasses
2/3 following crumb mixture

Directions
Dissolve soda in molasses; stir til foams. Add hot water. Mix dry ingredients.

Crumbs
Ingredients
3 cup flour +1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Directions
Add 2/3 crumb mixture to wet filling. Spread about1/3 of crumb mixture on bottom of pie shells; pour in filling. Scatter remaining crumbs on top. Bake@375 - 30 min Makes 2 8" pies




Shoo Fly Pie - Lancaster County - Wet Filling
Category: Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Filling
Ingredients
1-1/2 cup boiling water
1 Tsp baking soda
1 cup molasses

Directions
Dissolve soda in molasses; Stir til foams. Add hot water. Divide filling in two crusts.

Mix dry ingredients for crumbs;

Crumbs
Incredients
4 cup flour +1/4 tsp salt
2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter or solid shortening

Directions
Sprinkle thickly on top filling. Bake@350 - 30-40 min. Makes 2 8" pies




Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Dessert
Category: Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon almond flavoring

TOPPING
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Cream together first 4 ingredients. Pour into greased 9-inch glass pie pan. Bake at 340 degrees for 35 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes.

Mix together topping ingredients and put on top of mixture. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. May be served with strawberries or raspberries.





Pennsylvania Scrapple

Any number of displaced Pennsylvania people will tell you that the only thing wrong with Scrapple is that you can't buy it anywhere very far from its origin. Even in Pennsylvania where it originated and was known as "Ponhaws", it is getting scarce.

The trouble is economics. Scrapple was a way of using odd bits and pieces of meat, combined with meal and spices, and it was, thus a product of farm kitchens and small meat packers. For several years, one of the big meat packers in the Middle West sold scrapple in cans, but there's not much left of Scrapple selling today. The market is to small, and the product costs too much, for scrapple to get to much attention.

But for those of us who love it I think that there is nothing as satisfying, especially as a breakfast meat. Properly made and cooked, it has the flavor of a good pork sausage combined with the crispness of bacon.

There are a number of Scrapple recipes, however, this is an old family one that has proven itself for years. One of its strong points is that it cooks well; and perhaps even more important, it survives freezing without damage.




Scrapple
Ingredients
2 pounds ground lean pork
1 lb beef liver
1 cup buckwheat flour
3 cups yellow corn meal
4 tablespoons salt
4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons ground mace
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons whole sweet marjoram
3 quarts of water

Directions
In a large pot, add the water and bring to a boil. Add the liver and boil 10 minutes. Remove the liver and either run through a chopper or grab a knife and cut it in as small pieces as you can. Return to pot. Add the ground pork, a little at a time, and stir. If you add the pork all at once, you will end up with a big "clump". Boil at about a simmer for 20 minutes.

In a large bowl mix the buckwheat flour, corn meal, salt, and spices; add to meat and broth slowly, constanstanly stirring. Simmer gently for one hour, stirring very frequently. Use lowest possible heat, as mixture scorches easily.

Pour into greased loaf pans, (you will need two - this receipt will make two four pound pans for a total of eight pounds) bounce the pans a couple of times so that the Scrapple settles, and let cool. At this point it is best to let the let the Scrapple set in the refigerator overnight.

Now, as you arise in the morning, remove the scrapple from the refrigerator and cut into to 3/8 inch slices. To freeze, lay a sheet of waxed paper between slices and then put in ziplock bags and into the freezer.




Broccoli Salad
Category: Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 bunch of fresh broccoli
1 medium onion, chopped
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 lb bacon, fried and crumbled

Directions
Mix well and set aside.

Dressing Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions
Beat well and pour over broccoli mixture. Tastes best if it can sit in the refrigerator overnight.




Dandelion with Bacon Dressing
Category: Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 bunch of young dandelion greens, washed
2 Tbsp bacon fat
1/4 cup vinegar
2 eggs
4 slices of bacon
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 c water

Directions
Fry bacon, crumble and put pieces over top of the dandelion greens. Use flour and bacon drippings; mix to a paste with a little of the water. Add to the beaten eggs, water and vinegar. Mix well and heat in a pan (or microwave) until thick, stirring every once and awhile to prevent lumps. When thick, pour over dandelion and serve. Ingredients vary according to the bunch of dandelions you want to make. Best when dressing is served warm. This dressing can also be used over endive, garden lettuce or even potato salad.




Karrups Pie Mit Schnapps (Whisky Pumpkin Pie)
Category: Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
Pastry for a large, deep pie
2 c. cooked pumpkin
1 c. sugar
3 eggs, seperated
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. cream
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. whisky
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Directions
To the pumpkin add the sugar, egg yolks and cinnamon and beat for several minutes. Quickly add the cream, butter and whisky, mix well. sprinkly the cornstarch over the stiffly beaten egg whites and fold into the first mixture. Pour into a pastry lined pan about 2 1/2 inches deep and bake for 1 hour in a 375 degree oven. Let it cool.

thanks for sharing I'll have to try that sometime