Angel food cakes are not an extravagance on a farm where eggs are plentiful. In fact, the cake was often baked on the same day as noodles were made. Noodles required the yolks; angel food cakes the egg whites. An experienced cook, who learned to bake the delicacy as a 14-yearold, says that the cake turns out best if the eggs are beaten by hand rather than with an electric mixer. “If you beat the eggs too fast, the foam goes down. I always used a wire whisk at home.” This light, mildly flavored cake is enhanced when crushed strawberries are served over it.

A woman born at the turn of the century recalls, “We baked a lot of sponge cakes.” The favored cake came from Germany and continued as a specialty here. Eggs were usually plentiful and could be put to good use in this batter. The cake was also adaptable—the cook could add her choice of flavoring before baking, or she could leave it out and serve the cake with fresh strawberries (or whatever fruit was easily at hand).

Pecans were a rare treat, but not unknown to the Amish because of eastern Pennsylvania’s access to goods that passed through Philadelphia and Baltimore. Pecan pie is another demonstration of the preference for a salty-sweet combination of flavors found throughout the Amish died (sweet and sour bacon salad dressing, ham and green beans with sweet and sour cole slaw, and syrup over mush and scrapple are other examples).

Black walnut trees used to grow wild along the fencerows bordering many Amish farms. The wood from these trees is now in such high demand that comparatively few of them remain. Despite the fact that the nuts were difficult to shell and stained the hands of the sheller with a black, acidic liquid, the nuts were freely harvested and mixed into cakes and pies. Their flavor is strong and penetrating, so only a relative few are needed to enliven the taste of the dessert of which they are a part. This is a rich dish for special times.

Amish cooks can only speculate about the origin of green tomato pie: “In the fall people wanted to use up their excess tomatoes so they made this pie.” Suggests another, “Maybe it was to help out in an emergency—‘What shall we make for supper?!’” “Maybe green tomato pie developed to supplement the apple supply, which at that season of the year was nearly depleted.” Another remembers, “Mother used to make it because she really liked it and so did my father. I think she made it as a special treat for him. I didn’t care for it that much, but we didn’t have to eat dessert! It did provide a little variety in the pies we ate.” It has been noted that the seasonings that accompany the green tomatoes are much the same as those that flavor mincemeat pie, another fall dish.

Mincemeat pie likely had its beginnings during medieval times when spiced meat dishes were the order of the day and served as the main meal rather than dessert. It is probable that the Pennsylvania Germans learned this recipe from their English neighbors. Mincemeat pie fits well the needs of German farmers—it is a hearty meal; the meat was a by-product from home-butchering; the additional fruits could be varied according to the dried or canned supply that was in the attic or cellar. One grandmother remembers, “We’d eat it at butchering time. But Mom canned the mincemeat so we could have it anytime. Now I think I can’t make it because we don’t butcher. You see, Mom would cook the beef bones and then pick off the last bits of meat. Using the bones gave the meat and broth a full flavor you don’t get otherwise, and it used up every corner of the meat!”

“Huckle picking was an outing,” recalls an Amish grandfather. “We’d get up early, pack our lunches, and go down to the Welsh Mountain. There had been a forest fire years before and huckleberry bushes grew up where the trees once stood. “We would pick while the day was still cool. When it got hot we ate our lunches, picked some more, then took the berries home to can them. Often several of us families would go together.” Huckleberries are a kind of wild blueberry. Blueberries may be used in this recipe; the sugar may be adjusted depending upon the tartness of the berries.

Raisin pie was not on the weekly menu. “We had to buy the raisins. It just wasn’t as common as cherry because we grew our own cherries.” In contrast to some groups of Germanic heritage, the Lancaster Amish of this century do not—and have no memory of—serving raisin pie at their funerals. “We often have stewed prunes, but raisin pies are not a funeral tradition,” said a minister’s wife, whose explanation was corroborated by several others of varying ages. The most traditional pie is one in which the raisins are stewed in water and that juice is thickened, rather than a cream pie to which milk is added.

Concord grape arbors shade many Amish porches. Their summer fruit yields gallons of juice, batches of jam, and an occasional pie. The skins and seeds are obstacles to overcome, but the tangy flavor makes the effort worthwhile.