Monday, August 2, 2021

The PA Melting Pot - Part 1 - Germany - German Sects 1-1

If you missed the Introduction to this series
please click on this link below:
The PA Melting Pot - Introduction

Also DON'T MISS the link below
"Link to 282 German Recipes. 
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Now to Part 1 - 1 - German sects 

(NOTE:  Pennsylvania has the largest population of German-Americans in the U.S. and  home to one of the group's original settlements, Germantown (Philadelphia), founded in 1683 and the birthplace of the American antislavery movement in 1688, as well as the revolutionary Battle of Germantown. The state of Pennsylvania has 3.5 million people of German ancestry.)
(NOTE 2:  13.68% of American population is of German ancestry)
(NOTE 3:  44,164,758  of Americans stated they are of German ancestry in 2018)

Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from Alsace, SW Germany and Switzerland. 

(If you want to read about east of the areas click on the orange links directly below. You will ALSO find an audio file on each section with national anthems)
who settled in Pennsylvania originally but also emigrated to 
West Virginia 
and Ohio in the 17th & 18th centuries
and to other parts of the US.  

Historically they have spoken the dialect of German known as Pennsylvania Dutch or Pennsylvania German (Deutsch) which also includes the Amish and the Mennonites. (I personally lived 5 miles from an Amish community and on Saturday mornings they would hitch up the horses & buggies & go to town to shop for the week.)


 According to Wikipedia:

German Americans established the first kindergartens in the United States, introduced the Christmas tree tradition,
 and introduced popular foods such as hot dogs and hamburgers to America.


Very important in the cuisine were Noodles that can be served with anything: (flat noodles, spaetzle noodles, etc.)
    • in soups
    • as a side dish with any fish, beef or fowl
    • as an appetizer
    • as a dessert with a rich sweet sauce


  • They had many soup recipes.  Soup making was considered an art:  hot & cold soups, fruit soups, light broths, chowder soups and more!!




 Chow-Chow is a German relish made with green tomatoes and more!!  I love it!  You can make it sweet, hot and mild.  We like semi-hot and not sweet.  You can put it on beans or hot dogs or anything you like relish on.  


Root Beer and Birch Beer (not Beer beer - that's a
 different pack of Germans)

  





Photos below part of the faspa or Sunday Dinner or day of rest.  
Prepared on Saturday. 
Meats, cheeses, zweibach rolls, mennonite sausage, 








  
Check out Rhonda Nickel of Mennonite Foods
She has a nice presence on Pinterest.  Here is a link: You need a Pinterest account!!

  


The Pa Dutch, Mennonites, Amish liked sponge cake. I think they would have liked this one!!


Pies were a big part of the Germanic ethnic cuisine in America. 
Homemade whoopie pies

ALSACE - FRENCH OR GERMAN?
Photos of Colmar, Germany
  




I have been to Alsace (Colmar and Strasbourg, etc) and believe it is part of my German heritage.  It is a mixed province along with Lorraine which was conquered several times by the Germans and then given back to the French.  Legally part of France it is VERY MULTICULTURED because of the many occupations by the Germans.  The menus are in both languages; you can hear both languages being spoken and the food is a mixture of French and German.  You must check out this webpage I found below and you will see what I mean:







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SOUTHWESTERN GERMANY included:
Bavaria
Baden-Wurttemburg
Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland

LINK TO GERMAN FOODS BELOW

that are shared with Austria and Switzerland








Northern Switzerland
North eastern Switzerland and Liechtenstein
Zurich area
Basel Area (I was married in Basel, Switzerland)

Photos of areas above:  









  Recipes from the German part of Switzerland


Älplermagronen: (Alpine herdsman's macaroni) is a frugal all-in-one dish making use of the ingredients the herdsmen had at hand in their alpine cottages: macaroni, potatoes, onions, small pieces of bacon, and melted cheese. Traditionally Älplermagronen is served with applesauce instead of vegetables or salad.



  • Fotzel slices: Nobody really knows how this dish got its name. Literally, "fotzel" means a torn-off scrap of paper, but in Basel dialect it means a suspicious individual. Stale bread can be used to make fotzel slices, which made it an ideal recipe for homemakers accustomed to never throwing bread away.
  • LINK TO SWISS FRENCH TOAST - BASEL

"Birchermüesli" was invented by Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner (1867-1939), a pioneer of organic medicine and wholefoods.


  • Riz Casimir is a preparation of rice with curry sauce and minced pork blended with tropical fruits: pineapple, banana and cherries, sometimes with currant grape. It was first served in 1952 by the international chain of hotel and resorts.
  • LINK TO RIZ CASIMIR with photo step by step

Rösti: This simple dish, similar to hash browns, is traditionally regarded as a Swiss German favorite. It has given its name to the "Rösti ditch", the imaginary line of cultural demarcation between the German and French regions of Switzerland. However, it is also eaten by the French-speaking Swiss.

Tirggel are traditional Christmas Biscuits from Zurich. Made from flour and honey, they are thin, hard, and sweet.  
  • Zopf (bread): There are dozens of types of bread in Switzerland. However, Zopf is a typical Swiss specialty for Sundays.  
  • LINK TO ZOPF RECIPE