Pennsylvania Dutch cooking could be described by many as bland because of the simplicity of many of its dishes. Perhaps a more apt description would be simple yet flavorful. It is prepared with common ingredients, definitely not the traditional gourmet foods that supermarkets have to label for you to identify.
The simplicity of PA Dutch cooking is easy to understand. Pennsylvania is home to some of the world's most fertile land; vegetables are bountiful, as are dairy products, beef, pork and poultry from the farms that have given the Commonwealth it's nickname; "The Garden Spot of the World." Meals are very filling, high in fats and starches, a product of its originators, farmers who needed to replenish the calories lost in hard labor. It is also very high in sugars, and surprisingly, the vegetables seem to be either overcooked, pickled, or both, robing them of their wonderful natural flavors and nutrients. This is, perhaps, a consequence of needing to preserve the vegetables through long harsh winters.
As the Dutch have separated in lifestyle, so has their cuisine. Amish cooking is most simple, dependant on what is grown in their own farms or those nearby, while the rest of the Pennsylvania Dutch have retained more of their German heritage in their style of cooking. There are many similarities, and the difference is very subtle.
Recipies have mostly been passed along generations, and cookbooks are often collaborations of many families' collection. Measurements are often vague, and modern cookbooks try to "translate" what "a bit of cinnamon" or "about the size of a walnut" really means. Trial and error is often the key.
Dishes listed on a menu or the index of a recipe book are often a mystery to those not in the know. Chicken pot pie is not a pie at all, and unless you know some German or PA Dutch, a lot of the names won't mean a lot.
Below are some of the standbys:
Schnitz en Gnepp (Apples and Dumplings)
Soak 2 cups dried sweet apples in water to cover, a few hours before cooking ham. Cook an end piece of smoked ham, about 3 to 4 pounds, in a large kettle, adding approximately 6 cups of water and cooking slowly for for about 2 hours. Add apples and soaking water and cook 1 hour longer. Dried apples may also be added with the ham and cooked from the start. Meantime, make the dumplings mix. When done, drop dumplings by the spoonful on the ham and apples kettle and cover tightly, boiling for another 20 minutes.
Dumplings:
Mix 2 cups of flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspon salt in a large bowl. Stir in an already beaten egg and two tablespoons melted butter. Add 3/4 to 1 cup milk, or enough to make a moderately stiff batter. Spoon into ham and apples kettle by the spoonful.
Serves 6 to 8
Chow-Chow
This should make about 20 quarts.
Potato Filling
Cook potatoes in salt water. MEanwhile slowly cook onion and celery in fat until tender but not too brown. Pour potato water over dry bread and mash potatoes. To mashed potatoes add onion and celery, beaten eggs, bread, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well. (Should have the consistency of mashed potatoes. Use milk to thin if necessary.) Pour into 2 qt. buttered casserole and bake at 325 degrees (F) for 3/4 hour.
Penna Dutch Apple Cake
Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Cream 1/2 cup soft shortening and gradually beat in combined sugars. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons grated orange rind.
Sift together in a separate bowl
Crumbs:
Combine and make crumbs:
Line 2 pie pans with crust and let them chill while making filling.
Bottom:
Crumbs:
Mix flour, sugar and soda. With finger tips mix shorthening into flour until it makes very fine crumbs. Give molasses mixture another swift beating and the pour into chilled pie crusts. Sprinkle crumbs over the top. Put in oven at 425 degree (F) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until crust is browned and the filling is set, usually about 35 minutes.