PA Dutch Thanksgiving Feast

Unique Cuisine: Blend of Germanic and Native American Cookery

Nov 7, 2007

American Thanksgiving fare has been influenced by different groups of immigrants' traditional food. Celebrate the holiday and its history with a Pennsy Dutch feast.

Cultural Blending

The Pennsylvania Dutch were the Germans and Swiss from the Palatinate region. Most settled in Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, York, Lebanon and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.

Native American Tribes living in the area were the Lenni Lenape or Delaware and Susquehannocks, also called Andaste and Minqua.

The Dutch and tribes shared knowledge of medicinal herbs native to their countries, creating the PowWow art of healing. Indians introduced the immigrants to indigenous foods, creating Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine, a mix of German and Native American cookery.

Indigenous American Food

As European explorers returned to their countries, they took foods native to the New World with them. People in the Old World were treated to maize (Indian corn), white potatoes, yams, peppers, sunflower seeds, Jerusalem artichokes, wild rice, tomatoes, cocoa beans, pumpkins and turkey.

Pennsylvania Dutch Feast: Selected Recipes

Outside air, chilled…. Windows, steamed by warmth of food cooking…. Aromas spark appetites…. Anticipation of dinner: potato soup, chow-chow, red beet eggs, pickles, cole slaw, greens with bacon dressing, turkey, scalloped oysters, yams, bread and potato filling, gravy, succotash, creamed onions and peas, yams, rolls, cranberry sauce and pumpkin, mincemeat and apple pies…. Dutch saying: “Wonderful good!”

Chow-chow: Separately cook 1 c each celery, cucumber, bell pepper and pearl onions. Drain 1 16 oz can each corn, lima, kidney and green beans. Combine vegetables in pot. Blend 1 tsp powdered mustard, 1 ½ c cider vinegar and ¾ c sugar together. Pour vinegar mixture over vegetables, mix thoroughly and boil. Cool. Refrigerate over night or longer.

Potato soup: Dice 2 slices bacon and fry with ¼ c diced onions until vegetable is glossy. Add 4 diced medium potatoes and 1 quart water. Boil. Cook over medium low heat until liquid is almost evaporated. Mash potatoes. Add 1 cup milk and heat through.

Scalloped oysters: Butter baking dish. Drain 1 pint oysters. Crush 2 c oyster crackers. Cover bottom of dish with cracker crumbs. Cover with oyster layer. Add crumbs to cover. Dot with butter. Add a layer of hard boiled egg slices and cover with crumbs. Dot with butter. Continue layering until oysters are used up. Last layer is crumbs and dotted with butter. Add milk to cover. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, adding milk as necessary.

Succotash: Cook 1 (16 oz) package frozen lima beans and corn. Fry 2 slices diced bacon. Drain fat. Add vegetables and toss.

Potato and bread filling: Cook and mash three medium potatoes. Stir in ¼ c milk and 4 c soft white bread crumbs. Sauté 3 stalks chopped celery and 1 c chopped onion in three Tbs butter until soft and mix thoroughly with two beaten eggs and potato mixture. Put into buttered 1 ½ casserole dish. Dot with butter. Bake at 325 degrees ½ hour. This can be made the day before, refrigerated before baking, brought to room temperature, then baked with the scalloped oysters.

Hot bacon dressing: Fry 3 slices diced bacon. Dissolve 1 Tbs flour in ¾ c very hot water. Mix ¼ c cider vinegar, three packages sweetener and one beaten egg together and combine with flour mixture. Add liquid to bacon. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, adding water as needed. Can be made several days in advance and reheated

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