John Hostetler on Amish food

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From Amish Society, Fourth Edition:

‘…there are many myths about Amish foods.  There is the legend of “seven sweets and seven sours” on Amish tables.  The only place I have ever eaten seven sweets and sours is in a tourist hotel.  The tourist industry has done well in capitalizing on myths, judging by the number of restaurants that cater to “Amish” foods.  Advertised items such as “Amish soda,” “Amish highball,” or some kinds of pastries are obviously an outsider’s capitalization on the tourists’ determination to find something distinctively Amish.  Over fifty “Dutch” restaurants have emerged in some Amish localities.  Mennonite or former Amish persons serve as cooks in these kitchens.  Most outsiders are not able to distinguish between restaurants that serve “real” Amish dishes as opposed to “fake” ones.’

Amish highball?!

I say go straight to the source.

I’ve had the good fortune to share meals with Amish friends a number of times.  Last time was in Ohio at Johnnie and Kathryn’s.  On finishing, I told Kathryn, in all sincerity, that what I just ate qualified for meal of the year.

(Except for every one of yours, Mom, of course!  Especially the spaghetti.  Uhh, I may land in hot water for this one.)

Bonus: More food!  Sunday snitz pie, Amish ketchup and other condiments, and ‘haystacks’.

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    7 Comments

    1. Oops! I think you just opened mouth and inserted foot! LOL! it is almost laughable the things one can sale just by putting the word Amish on it!

    2. In Middlebury, Indiana there is a big restaurant on the outside of town, Das Dutchman Essenhaus. Google it and you’ll see. Some Amish people do work there, but it’s mostly a tourist place.

      But there is a small, old-style restaurant downtown where a lot of the locals eat, including a lot of Amish people. That’s where we go anymore.

    3. I get sucked in by any restaurant that advertises Amish meals. I guess I’ll never know what real Amish food is. Maybe I should get a cookbook and try making it.

    4. yeah michelle hopefully that one slides by…

      John I used to drive by Das Dutchman when I lived in Goshen…never ate there though, not in the one in downtown Middlebury. Next time for sure.

      My favorite in Berlin is Boyd and Wurthmann. Amish peanut butter on every table and delicious bread.

    5. Some of those places probably get it close enough, Rhea…the real stuff is basically just down home hearty fatty warm-feeling-in-your-tummy type food, kind of like my Grandma used to make…Some stuff like the snitz pie is probably best found at the source, though. I kind of got the idea from the Lancaster Amish that that is one pie you don’t see a lot of non-Amish places making and selling, if at all.

    6. A great place for cheese in is in Dover, Ohio. They make many types of cheeses to choose from and have many Amish customers.

    7. Oh – and it is called Broad Run Cheese, btw….