Chow Chow

Chow Chow

This canning project works well in late summer as gardening begins to wind down. Chow chow does not require the youngest, tiniest vegetables, so it is a way to use the last of the season’s yield. In some families, sisters get together for chow-chow making. That relieves the tedium of chopping and cooking the numerous vegetables that go into the most subtly flavored, variously textured, and brightly colored chow chow.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cook each vegetable separately until tender but not mushy.
  • When each is finished lift out of hot water with a slotted spoon, and rinse with cold water to stop its cooking and preserve its color.
  • Drain, then layer into large dishpan.
  • Combine the sugar, vinegar, water, and spices into a 15-quart stockpot (or do half a batch at a time in an 8-quart kettle) and bring to boil.
  • Make sure the sugar is fully dissolved, then spoon all the vegetables (or half of them, depending upon the size of the kettle) into the syrup and boil for 5 minutes.
  • Stir gently, only to mix the vegetables well.
  • Spoon into hot, sterilized jars.
————————————————————————————————–
Cuisine; Amish

Bread and Butter Pickles

Bread and Butter Pickles

Couverts8 pints
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Gently mix together the cucumbers, onions, green peppers, and salt.
  • Cover with crushed ice and let stand for 3 hours.
  • Continue to add ice as it melts so cucumbers become crisp and cold.
  • Drain well.
  • Meanwhile, combine sugar, spices, and vinegar in a large kettle and bring to a boil.
  • Add drained vegetables and heat to boiling point, but do not boil.
  • Spoon into hot, sterilized jars.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Side Dish
Cuisine; Amish

Sweet Pickles

Sweet Pickles

short process
Couverts8 pints
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine cucumber chunks and salt.
  • Place in large dishpan or crock and add boiling water to cover.
  • Let stand overnight, then drain.
  • Mix together sugar, vinegar, and spices in a large saucepan.
  • When it comes to a boil add the pickles and return to the boiling point.
  • Spoon into hot, sterilized jars.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Side Dish
Cuisine; Amish

Boiling-Water Bath Processing

Boiling-Water Bath Processing

Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Instructions

  • Place the metal jar-holding rack in your canner.
  • Add enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches once you’ve put them all in the canner.
  • Bring the water in the canner to a simmer.
  • Fill a teakettle with water and bring it to a boil.
  • Keep hot so the water is available to maintain the water in the canner at the proper level.
  • Using a tongs with a strong grip, lower each jar into the simmering water until the canner is full of jars.
  • Add water from the teakettle if needed so that the water covers the jars by 1-2 inches.
  • Cover the canner and increase the heat under it so the water comes to a full boil.
  • When the water has reached a full boil, continue a rolling boiling for 20 minutes.
  • Check periodically to see if you need to add more hot water from the teakettle in order to maintain the desired water level.
  • When the 20 minutes are up, use a tongs to lift the jars out and onto a counter covered with a towel.
  • Be sure the hot jars are not in a draft, and that there is at least an inch of space around each one.
  • Let the jars cool for 12-24 hours.
  • Do not move them during this time or touch the lids or tighten the rings around the lids.
  • At the end of the cooling period, check that all jars have sealed.
  • Remove the rings from those that have.
  • Refrigerate or re-process any that haven’t, starting over with a clean jar, and new lid and clean ring.
  • Follow the full process above.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Basic recipe
Cuisine; Amish

Seven Day Sweet Pickles

Seven Day Sweet Pickles

Couverts7 pints
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Scrub the pickles, put them in a large dishpan or crock and cover them with boiling water.
  • Let stand for 24 hours.
  • On day 2 drain them, then cover them again with fresh boiling water.
  • Repeat that process on days 3 and 4.
  • On day 5 drain the pickles, then cut them into ¼” slices.
  • Combine the vinegar, sugar, and seasonings and bring to a boil.
  • Pour over the sliced pickles.
  • On day 6 drain the syrup into a saucepan, bring to a boil and pour over the pickles once again.
  • Repeat that process on day 7, then spoon the pickles and syrup into hot, sterilized jars.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Side Dish
Cuisine; Amish

Fourteen Day Sweet Pickles

Fourteen Day Sweet Pickles

Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Wash cucumbers well.
  • Cut off the stem ends into the flesh of the cucumbers, so the brine and syrup can penetrate them thoroughly.
  • Place in large dishpan or crock.
  • Dissolve salt in water and pour over cucumbers, being sure that all are fully submerged.
  • Weight the cover in order to keep cucumbers under the brine.
  • Let set for 6 days.
  • On day 7 drain the cucumbers, then prick each one 3 times with a sharp fork or paring knife tip.
  • This allows further penetration of the pickles with the brine to prevent shriveling and wrinkling.
  • Cover with fresh boiling water.
  • On day 8 drain the pickles and cover again with fresh boiling water.
  • On day 9 drain the pickles.
  • Mix the alum with fresh boiling water and pour over pickles, being sure they are covered.
  • On day 10, drain the pickles and cover them with fresh boiling water.
  • When the mixture reaches room temperature, drain the pickles again.
  • Mix together 2 cups of sugar, all the vinegar, and all the spices (place in a cheesecloth bag to make removal easier).
  • Bring to a boil, then pour over the pickles.
  • On day 11 drain the pickles and reserve the syrup.
  • Stir in 2 more cups of sugar into the syrup, bring to a boil and pour over the pickles.
  • Repeat this process on days 12 and 13, each day adding 2 more cups of sugar.
  • On day 14 drain all the syrup into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
  • Meanwhile spoon the pickles into hot sterilized jars.
  • Pour boiling syrup into each jar to cover the pickles.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Side Dish
Cuisine; Amish

Applesauce from Phillis Pellman Good

Applesauce from Phillis Pellman Good

Applesauce belongs to all meals and all courses in the traditional Amish diet. It has most often filled the place of a salad, standing against the rich meats and mainstays, lightening their effects on stomachs. Applesauce may be served with dessert, but seldom alone as dessert. It accompanies cake and cookies well. In fact, some Amish cooks admit to mixing applesauce and apple butter to fill their schnitz pies rather than beginning from scratch with dried apple slices. Applesauce goes well with fried potatoes, scrapple, and eggs for breakfast. It even works as a snack—ladled over hot toast! Fresh applesauce is best, contend these aficionados. The fruit press stands ready in the cellar stairway of many Amish kitchens, since the apples that drop from the trees in the yard or orchard furnish enough for day-to-day use. Each cook knows which apple makes the sauce her family most enjoys. When that apple comes into season she gears up for a major producing canning operation. It is the moment to secure a year’s-worth of applesauce for family and guests.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs. ripe apples
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 –1½ cups sugar

Instructions

  • Cut apples in half and core.
  • Remove any spots, then cut apples in quarters.
  • Put apples in deep, heavy saucepan.
  • Add water and cook.
  • Stir occasionally to keep cooking even throughout and to prevent apples from sticking.
  • When apples are thoroughly soft, pour into food press, standing in a large pan.
  • Press apples through sieve and stir in sugar (lesser amount initially) while sauce is still warm so sugar dissolves.
  • Taste.
  • Add more sugar if needed.
  • Allow to cool and serve, or pour into canning jars while still hot and process.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Fruit / Sauce / Side Dish
Cuisine; Amish
Diets; Vegetarian

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

The cooked, thickened dressings traditionally favored by the Pennsylvania Germans are eaten widely today, especially on potato and macaroni salads. It is likely that these dishes, especially potato salad, filled the vegetable gap that developed near the end of the winter and before the garden was producing. All necessary ingredients were present, even at that time of the year. If the chickens weren’t laying well, eggs could be eliminated from the salad itself; flour could be used in their place in the dressing.
Couverts10
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Dressing

Instructions

Salad

  • Cook potatoes in their jackets until soft.
  • Peel and dice.
  • Mix potatoes gently with the remaining five ingredients.
  • Pour dressing over and stir.

Dressing

  • Mix eggs with sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
  • Add vinegar, cream, and mustard.
  • Cook until thickened.
  • Remove from heat and beat in butter.
  • Add salad dressing and mix until smooth.
  • Fold into potato mixture.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Salad
Cuisine; Amish
Diets; Vegetarian

Cucumbers and Onions

Cucumbers and Onions

Couverts4
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Peel cucumbers and slice thin.
  • Layer in shallow dish, sprinkling each layer with salt.
  • Let stand overnight.
  • In the morning, drain cucumbers and rinse.
  • Let dry on paper towels.
  • Slice onions thin.
  • Mix gently with cucumber slices.
  • Beat together the mayonnaise or salad dressing, sugar, and vinegar until creamy.
  • Stir into mixed cucumbers and onions.
  • (The dressing should be plentiful so the salad is creamy.
  • Increase amounts of dressing ingredients, proportionally, if needed.
  • )
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Salad
Cuisine; Amish
Diets; Vegetarian

Homemade Salad Dressing

Homemade Salad Dressing

Couverts3 cups
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Mix thoroughly the oil, egg, mustard, salt, and ⅓ cup sugar.
  • Set aside.
  • Over low heat blend flour, ⅓ cup sugar, vinegar, and water.
  • Bring to boil, stirring constantly until thickened.
  • Combine well with first mixture.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Dressing
Cuisine; Amish