The Melting
Pot: A look at the evolution of food in
southwestern Pa. – Alsace-Lorraine
Part 2 Alsace –
French or German?
(see photos and links below column)
U.S immigration records could have been flawed, faulty or
just incorrect. The Alsace and Lorraine
provinces were bandied about by the Holy Roman Empire and German nations. Both languages are spoken in both locations. Due
to heavy immigration the recordation officials could have registered the
countries of origin at the US entry portals by the language spoken, the
spelling of the names and the European ports of exit paperwork language.
An
interesting note is that during Germanic occupations the French Alsatians were
forced to change their French names to German from an “acceptable” list of
German names. The names of towns,
cities, etc. were changed to German and by observation of an Alsatian map one
can see the German names. The names of
foods were changed to German and the French were forced to speak German
especially in public. During parts of
the war-ridden 20th century the maps of France used in school to
study geography featured Alsace & Lorraine blacked out as if they didn’t
exist!!
Some years
ago I had the pleasure of spending several days in Colmar, Alsace, France where
the languages and menus were duel and the foods served were both French and
German. Since Alsace is adjacent to
Germany the German influence on the cuisine was strong. Alsatian cuisine combines the robust
earthiness of German fare and the subtleties of French cooking.
Traditional
foods are: (French names first if the names are different):
Choucroute or
Sukrut (sauerkraut), Backenoffe (stew of pork, mutton and beef), Berawecka
(rich fruitcake), Boudin Noir or Blutwurst (blood sausage-not as bad as it
sounds), Tarte Flambee or Flammenkueche (bacon and onion tart), spaetzle (a
type of noodle dumpling), waffelpsteta (truffled foie gras wrapped in pastry), Brioche
(highly enriched bread with high
egg and butter content), Tourtiere (pork and beef pie), Bouchées à la Reine or Suppepaschtete (meats and vegetables served in
puff pastry), Cervalas (short fat sausage similar to a hot dog), Jambon en Croute
or Schinken mit Rinde (ham cooked in a pie crust), Foie gras or Fettleber (food product made of a specially fattened duck or goose livers), Tarte au Raisins (grape tart) and Pain d’Epices
or Leb-und-Gewürze (pain d’épices is not a gingerbread as some translate it; pain
d’épices features whole-grain flour, anise seed, ginger and luscious French honey.) (I order it from a catalog near holiday time.)
Alsace is
very famous for its traditional clear, unsweetened fruit brandies called eaux-de-vie
which are distilled from pears, raspberries, cherries, plums, holly berries,
rowan berries, ginger, pine buds, rose hips, gentian and even celery’s country
cousin lovage.
Alsace is an
important white wine-producing region. Vins d'Alsace (Alsatian wines) are white and display a strong Germanic influence. Some of those are the world's most noted
dry Rieslings and Gewurztraminers. Other traditional whites include Muscat, Tokay
d’Alsace, Sylvaner and Pinot Blanc. They
do, however, produce one red which is Pinot Noir.
Beers are produced at Strasbourg area breweries
which include Fischer, Karlsbrau, Kronenbourg and Heineken International.
This is the question. Could some
of the citizens of south central Pennsylvania really be Alsatian (French)
rather than German because of the German influence on language, names, foods
and immigration records?
Christine Willard, a native of
western Pennsylvania, researches and blogs about the food unique to western
Pennsylvania. She currently resides in North Carolina. Her blog is www.ThePAMeltingPot.com.
Alsatian links
Menus with French and German names and photos below
http://www.marga.org/food/int/alsace/ VERY INTERESTING POST WITH
BIBLIOGRAPHY LINKS
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