Pennsylvania dutch info

1 servings

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BOOVA SHENKEL mit shtuffed gnepp will make any plain or fancy Pennsylvania Dutchman's mouth water, and when the visitor to Lancaster tastes this beef stew with stuffed dumplings, he'll find that his taste buds are in complete agreement with those of his host.

Veal pot pie with noodles is another favorite, as are pig's knuckles and sauerkraut. Ham schnitzel on a small mountain of fresh green beans makes another weekday meal that sends the men and hoys back to the fields with renewed zeal. The myth of the seven sweets and the seven sours, which was invented some decades ago by an imaginative writer, need not be true of a Pennsylvania Dutch dinner, but a full meal still is a wonder to behold and should not be attempted with a half-full stomach. It might include rivvel soup made with milk and full of tiny lumps of wheat flour or, more likely, the justly celebrated chicken-corn soup. Cottage cheese, both firm and succulent, spread with a thick layer of apple butter, occupies the diners while waiting for the main course, which could well be ham with dried apples and dumplings stewed in ham broth. A wax bean salad and, undoubtedly, dried sugar corn are served. Finally shoo-fly pie, in which molasses comes into its own, makes its appearance.

Most of these dishes can be prepared anywhere, but they have a special zest and flavor in Lancaster county where most of their ingredients come fresh from the soil. Even in Lancaster the city housewife can go to the five farmers' markets and walk among the colorful stalls in search of the evening dinner. Heaped with scrupulously scrubbed vegetables and polished eggs, which less favored counties rarely see except at harvest fairs, the stands bid for her attention. Mennonite and Amish women show her plump chickens, homemade sausages and sandwich meats, sticky buns, even flowers to grace her table. She can buy schnitz (delicious dried sliced apples), cup cheese, schmiercase, and of course, shoo-fly pies or raisin pies, which the Amish serve at their funerals. Visiting the farmers' markets you can see for yourself that the secret of Lancaster cooking lies fully revealed in the fertile fields of the county.

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