Simple, hearty, comforting, and practical — this is what Amish and Mennonite cooking is all about.
This refreshing Mint tea is an Amish family favorite. Sweet and refreshing, it is perfect over ice in the summer or as a hot drink in the winter months.
When I found this recipe in an Amish cookbook, I had to try it. It’s traditional in regions with Amish populations—Pennsylvania, Ohio and the Upper Midwest. Now it’s a staple for our family and the folks at our church fellowship, too. —Jori Schellenberger, Everett, Washington
Simple, hearty, comforting, and practical — this is what Amish and Mennonite cooking is all about.
Meadow Tea is a simple refreshing Iced Mint Tea made with fresh mint and enjoyed in Amish and Mennonite communities. Meadow Tea to Mennonites is what Sweet Tea is to Southerners.
This is a different and delicious way to make Scrambled Eggs, my MIL used to make them this way and we loved them! Very creamy. She said originally they used to make eggs this way to stretch the eggs further when feeding a large family, now we just make them because we like them! From the Mennonite Cookbook. *Caution: These eggs are of a very creamy and different texture and need to be fully cooked and set through.
The Ukrainians made borsch, and the Mennonites of the Ukraine borrowed the soup but substituted cabbage as the main ingredient rather than beets, and called it Borscht. My Borscht is much like the soup my mom cooked, for which there was no written recipe. But it goes something like this... Borscht 2 lbs. soup bones, with lots of meat 8-10 cups water 2-4 carrots, sliced 4 medium potatoes, cubed 1 large (or 2 medium) onions, chopped 1 medium head cabbage, chopped fine 2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 whole red chili peppers (dried) fresh dill (a handful or to taste) 2 tins tomato soup 2 cups diced tomatoes (optional) Cover soup bones with water and simmer until meat is tender (several hours). Remove the bone and shred the beef. Add more water to make 8-10 cups of stock before adding the vegetables. Add vegetables and seasonings (put chili peppers and dill into a spice cup or cheesecloth), and cook until vegetables are tender. Add tomato soup, diced tomatoes, and shredded beef...and bring to a boil. Serve with sour cream. Add a wee bit more of this or less of that, and if you like it fiery hot, add more red chili peppers. I often cook up a large pot, leave the spice cup in the soup and refrigerate it for a week of quick lunches. As the week progresses, our bowl of soup gets zippier! Fresh dill is the best but can also be harvested in season and frozen in ziplock bags to be used in soup.
Holubtsi, or cabbage rolls, is a favorite comfort food in Ukraine. It's one of the most popular dishes in Ukraine and throughout Central Europe. There are many different recipes for cabbage rolls, and they vary from region to region and family to family. This easy cabbage roll recipe is a simple...
When I wrote that we were going to have waffles and white sauce for supper, so many people had no idea what white sauce for waffles was. Here is our recipe
A variation of a Mennonite recipe, these deep-fried pastry fritters are traditionally served with slices of chilled watermelon. It's a wonderful combination of contrasting textures on hot summer days or at picnics.
Simple, hearty, comforting, and practical — this is what Amish and Mennonite cooking is all about.
Traditional Amish food requires a slow-food mindset and an authentic desire to use fresh, whole ingredients. These 30 Amish recipes are a good place to start!
This has been my Mom's specialty for as long as I can remember. This is another recipe that people not from Mennonite background look at and just shake their heads! (Pudding from CEREAL!!??!!)However, to me, it remains a childhood memory and a traditional Mennonite dish that reminds me of my heritage. My mom always served this with strawberry or raspberry sauce.
A really good traditional Mennonite dish. Eat with watermelon. Could be eaten as a snack or dessert.
Traditional Amish food requires a slow-food mindset and an authentic desire to use fresh, whole ingredients. These 30 Amish recipes are a good place to start!
I have very fond memories of my mom baking preparing for guests on a Sunday and weekday lunches. She would often make platz and I loved it, still do. I got this recipe for platz from my friend Caroly
This recipe is a family favourite and a part of our heritage – Definitely one to keep around! It’s fairly simply to make, yet somehow never ceases to provide the “Wow”…
Oh, the memories of this recipe! This is a favourite Mennonite Tradition for a summer meal. This is my mom's favourite recipe for Roll Kuchen. I remember fondly the time my parent's spent making this and how they doubled and tripled the recipe for family gatherings. To non-Mennonites the idea of having these with watermelon strikes them as very strange--Watermelon and doughnuts??!!?? But for me and my family it is a food that we enjoy and look forward to having! Cook time is per batch of 4-6 roll kuchen.
I remember my Mom making these often. I loved them then and still do! I make these cakes when I have leftover cottage cheese when making perogies. The recipe is in the Mennonite Treasury, must be the one my Mom used. They taste so good and bring back wonderful memories of when my Mom made them. 1 1/2 cups dry cottage cheese 3 eggs 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt Combine cottage cheese and eggs, mix well. Add flour and salt. Stir till well combined. Drop from spoon onto hot greased pan. Cook for approx 10 minutes, turn over after 5 minutes. I served them hot with applesauce and a green salad.
A new heritage 20 years ago, my soon to be husband and I found ourselves walking through the doors of a new (to us) church. Well, actually we walked through the doors of a local public school where…
Traditional Amish food requires a slow-food mindset and an authentic desire to use fresh, whole ingredients. These 30 Amish recipes are a good place to start!
Oh, the memories of this recipe! This is a favourite Mennonite Tradition for a summer meal. This is my mom's favourite recipe for Roll Kuchen. I remember fondly the time my parent's spent making this and how they doubled and tripled the recipe for family gatherings. To non-Mennonites the idea of having these with watermelon strikes them as very strange--Watermelon and doughnuts??!!?? But for me and my family it is a food that we enjoy and look forward to having! Cook time is per batch of 4-6 roll kuchen.
My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4: 20-23 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 8: 10-11 I ask myself, how do I guard my heart? How do I protect what I hold dear and not let it get stained by the world and the things in it? One of Jesus' disciples said to Him, "Lord to whom can we go, for You alone have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68) It is a good day to put aside the pursuits of this life and take time to listen.
"FRESH ZWIEBACK is baked in many German Mennonite homes to serve to friends who might drop in, or for the weekly Sunday dinner known as Faspa. Instead of butter, we served jelly with our zwieback. Cold sliced meats and cheeses were delicious with these tasty rolls, too!"
Remember that one time I got Amish Friendship Starter? And I made that delicious bread? Yeah, it was awesome. And then I got creative and used that starter to make sourdough pancakes. They were so good. And there are so many options! Add cinnamon for that traditional "Amish Friendship Bread" taste, or just top it off with a cinnamon syrup. Or add fruit like I do to my bread. These sourdough pancakes have that delicious sourdough tang, and they are still fluffy and a tiny bit sweet. These are a great alternative when you get tired of your Amish Friendship Bread or if you just want to try something new! On your baking day (Day 10 or something), do this: Add 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup flour to your starter bag. Mash it all. Now it is ready to use! In a large bowl combine: 1 egg, beaten 1 cup Amish Friendship Starter 1/2 cup milk 2 Tbsps oil (or applesauce) 1 tsp vanilla Next add dry ingredients: 1 cup flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda Mix until smooth. It might take a little while to get the lumps out, but just keep mixing. Once smooth, spoon batter on to hot griddle and cook both sides. Top with a favorite syrup or jam.
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Amish Egg Bake is a great no-bread egg casserole for any holiday brunch! Kids like it, too! Not only is it good, but easy to put together the night before and bake in the morning.
The recipe for the orginal Schnetki has been altered and modified over the years until it finally retains only its original ‘name’. Today, in most Mennonite kitchens it is now indistinguishable from a ‘biscuit’. I still make them the way they were made in the Ukraine by the Mennonites – the recipe passed on to me by my Mother in law. They have always held a place of honor in my kitchen – maybe more so than any other food - because of what Schnetki mean to my husband. Let me give you the background story. In the month of September of 1941 my husband’s life was forever altered. He was a 4 year old boy living with his parents and younger brother in a Mennonite village in the Ukraine. It was WWII, and the order had come down from the Ukrainian officials -- all men 16 and over were to be gathered out of the Mennonite villages and marched to Siberia. Because they were of German descent, they were now enemies of the state. My husband’s father was one of those men who were marched away under guard that September morning – many never to see their families again. The tearful wives and mothers tried to do what they could to send some items of comfort with their men, knowing that they would be encountering harsh treatment and impossible living conditions. My husband very clearly remembers watching his mother bake Schnetki on the outside hearth and pack them up for her husband. That was the last time he saw his father . The image of his father walking out of his life, carrying the Schnetki is forever imprinted on his mind! And for the 68 years since that day, Schnetki have been his ‘comfort’ food… perhaps subconsciously connecting them with the father he was robbed of. I could not count how many Schnetki I have made for him ….. and still do. When I ask him what he is hungry for I know the answer before I ask. Unless you are like my husband, with no need to watch cholesterol or high blood pressure or weight… you will not be rushing into your kitchen to make these Schnetki. I am posting the recipe to preserve the original recipes of our Mennonites in the Ukraine. Mennonites, historically being a hard-working people on the land , did not worry about calories or fat-content in food ! Even so – they have for the most part been a hardy, healthy people , enjoying longevity. There is a reason this ‘biscuit’ was named Schnetki . Schnetki is not a German word - it has obviously 'phonetically evolved' over the years from the word Schnecke meaning 'snail' and that will become self-explanatory as you see that the pastry is rolled up like a 'snail'. Ingredients 3 cups flour 2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup butter 1 egg + enough milk to make one cup Method Mix flour and salt together , then cut in the shortening and butter Put egg into a measuring cut and fill to make 1 cup Mix and turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth, form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap chill in fridge overnight! VERY IMPORTANT! then..... Roll out thin and spread with butter Starting at one edge roll dough to about the size of your middle finger , then cut along edge of roll and roll dough again ... repeating until all the dough is rolled and cut into desired lengths... approx. 4" Bake in very hot oven 425' until browned ... about 15-20 minutes. When broken open they are very flakey. I also use the same dough to make perschki .... (fruit pockets) For plums or other fruit I will do the traditional four corners to the center style but for apples I always fold two sides up and over the apples. Cut the buttered pastery in squares and put 1/2 tsp flour and 1 tsp sugar on each square, lay apple on top and fold the two sides over. Schnetki are traditionally eaten with soup ....but I doubt there is a wrong time or meal to eat them .. according to my husband !
Do you have a traditional recipe that was made in your household over and over again? My mother had many different things she’d make for us and cabbage rolls were one of them. I love
It's blueberry season, or soon will be, for those of us living in this part of the country. As a child I reluctantly used to go picking in the summer to make some spending money, but now I find it very relaxing to get out there among the rows and rows of berries. Especially with some good company, to eat, enjoy the sun and anticipate the desserts that will come. This delicious crumb cake is the easiest and quickest you will ever make, with the base and crumb topping made of the same mix. Ingredients: 2 cups flour 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup butter (room temperature) 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg beaten with fork in meas. cup, then filled to 1 cup with buttermilk 2 cups blueberries Method: Mix butter into flour and sugar with pastry blender until well blended and crumbly. Set 1 1/4 cups aside for topping. To the first, bigger part of the mix, add baking powder and soda, then stir in combined egg and buttermilk Spread into greased or parchment paper lined 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with 2 cups blueberries and reserved crumb mixture. Squeeze to make crumb clusters as you drop them by handfuls. Bake in upper part of oven (important) at 375F for 35 - 45 min. Cool or serve warm with ice cream.
As a young bride I searched the Mennonite Treasury Cookbook for any recipes that would impress my husband and his large extended family. I did not realize at that time how special this particular meal would become to our kids and now even our grandkids. It begins with a hot, light and fluffy Belgian waffle, gets smothered with a runny, warm vanilla sauce and drizzled with raspberry syrup. I have long felt at ease about the vanilla sauce (as opposed to the usual syrup) because it is not very sweet and is made with milk and eggs. Good for growing kids! I like to think that some Mennonite family brought the original recipe from Holland or Belgium to Russia and to North America, where it has become quite Canadian/American. Since I end up tripling this recipe for our family now, I place the cooked waffles in the oven ( 175°F) right on the racks, to keep warm and crispy until they are all done. Waffles (makes about 5 round deep Belgian Style) 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg and 2 egg whites - save yolks for sauce 1 3/4 cups buttermilk 5 tablespoons oil Preheat waffle iron. Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add buttermilk, oil and eggs; mix until smooth (with hand held mixer). It will rise as it sits for a minute. Do not stir down as you scoop out and into the waffle iron. Spread onto hot waffle iron. (leave room around edge for batter to spread) You may want to spray or wipe the Teflon with an oily paper towel, just before cooking the first waffle. It should be fine then for the batch. Vanilla Sauce 2 1/2 cups milk, divided 4 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1/8 teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 egg yolks In a small pot, heat 2 cups milk until it begins to boil. (medium heat) While you are doing this: mix dry ingredients in a small bowl, add just a little of the reserved 1/2 cup of milk, blend the egg yolks in well, and then the rest of the 1/2 cup milk. Stir mixture into the milk in the pot just as it begins to boil up (you will see skin forming) and stir with whisk until the sauce begins to bubble and thicken. Raspberry Sauce/Syrup I buy half a flat of raspberries when they’re in season, put them in a blender and measure them out. For each cup of berries I mix in 1 cup of sugar. Stir that for about 5 minutes and let it sit for a few hours, stirring several times. Pour into small jars and freeze. Thaw just before serving. Keeps a week or two refrigerated. Sliced strawberries with a sprinkle of sugar are also a great topping.
Make and share this Amish Crazy Quilt Pie recipe from Food.com.
Traditional Russian Mennonite Buns These buns aren't just buns, they are a history lesson and a sociology study wrapped into a tasty tasty snack. This bun recipe has been in my family for a long long time, possibly since the late 19th century. In any case, my grandmother made them back in Molotschna, my mom makes them and so do I. These buns are really general purpose buns, but particularly appropriate for Sunday afternoon early supper (Vaspa), or served after funerals, in a church basement, with cheese and coffee. What makes them a bit different than what we usually see on the Fresh Loaf is that they contain a lot of fat, in this case lard, and they are shaped with a sort of "extrusion" technique. The lard content is an honest byproduct of the heritage of the buns. Mennonites (and of course lots of other folks) were in the past a primarily agrarian people, and raising pigs was a big part of farm life. Butchering and rendering produced lard, which was an important and primary source of fat. Lard was used in day-to-day baking, long before the advent of "shortening" and other manufactured fats. Lard has gotten a bad name in the recent past, but is now making a bit of a comeback because its healthier than previously proclaimed (by the margarine/shortening cabal). In any case, these buns contain a fair bit of lard, in an honest, farmyardish sort of way.The buns also contain a fair bit of sugar, which speeds the rising. I appreciate that sugar and fast rising is anathema to some, but really its a practical way of making a buns much quicker, which is an important consideration when cooking on a busy farm or household. Besides, the buns taste great. The mystery ingredient is vinegar. I really have no idea why there is vinegar in the recipe, but there is and I use it. Anyone care to hazard a guess? The buns are shaped by extruding them between your thumb and forefinger and then being pinched off. I haven't seen the extrusion shaping technique described (I haven't looked hard either), my Mom taught me how to do this and it works pretty well. The pictures below and the description will hopefully inspire you to try it out. Here's the recipeMix: 1 cup Lard Try to get a non-hydrogentated lard, not all lards are equal. 4 cups hot water. The hot water softens the lard.Add:2 teaspoons Salt1/2 cup Sugar1 tablespoon Vinegar4 Cups FlourStir vigourously until you get a nice sponge going. Because of the hot water used in stage one, the sponge will be warm. If its hot, then let it cool down a bit before the next step. Add:1 Tablespoon instant yeast (this may be the "non-traditional" part of the recipe, but it works well) Gradually add in:About 4 more cups of flourAt this stage you should have a fairly moist rough dough. you may have to add more flour if its too sticky. Go by what feels right, that's my Oma's way of baking. Turn out on a well floured surface and start kneading, adding flour as required, about 15 minutes. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 to 45 minutes. (There is a lot of yeast and sugar in this dough, so it doesn't take long) The Shaping TechniqueHere's the interesting part, this shaping technique takes a bit of practice, but once you get the idea you can shape buns fairly quickly. To shape the buns, tear or cut out a section of the dough and grab with your left hand.Make an open circle with your left thumb and forefinger, then push the dough through circle with your right hand, from underneath. The dough should be stretched through. Now pinch off the bulging dough ball with your left hand thumb and forefinger, and place the resulting ball of dough on a baking sheet. Cover and let the buns rise until doubled, about 30 to 45 minutes, perhaps a bit longer. They should look very light and not spring back when depressed.Bake in a 400F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until nice and brown on top. Mmmm, these are good buns. Slather on the butter and clover honey from the canadian praries, and it's just about the best thing you've ever had.Bake on!
Simple, hearty, comforting, and practical — this is what Amish and Mennonite cooking is all about.
Traditional Amish food requires a slow-food mindset and an authentic desire to use fresh, whole ingredients. These 30 Amish recipes are a good place to start!
