Good Eats in Penn Dutch Country
Whoopie, Shoofly and Pumpkin pie – oh my!
Buttery mashed potatoes and tender fried chicken can be a dream meal or a dieter's dilemma. Healthier foods are available - but when in Amish land eat like the Amish!
With all the things to do while vacationing in southeastern Pennsylvania’s Dutch country food is often the biggest memory. Whether is be vine fresh tomatoes, savory chow chow or a big helping of ham loaf - eating is a favorite activity.
Ready to plan your culinary caper? Let us start with some definitions:
APPLE BUTTER – Think of a thick and flavorful applesauce. Now think of it spread on a slice of homemade bread. It is permissible to drool.
CHICKEN POT PIE - Forget Grandma’s version unless Grandma combined pieces of dough with small pieces of chicken. There is no pastry pie crust here.
CHOW CHOW - The sweet and sour mixture can include:carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, beans, onions, cabbage, celery, corn and peppers. It is usually made with whatever vegetables are still in an Amish garden at the end of the season.
FASNACHTS – Similar to doughnuts except made from potato flour, and served fried with either granular or powdered sugar. A Fat Tuesday treat!
FUNNEL CAKES – Now a common snack at almost every ballpark, street fair or large event the origins started in Penn Dutch country. Fried dough with powdered sugar sprinkled on them is best eaten when hot.
SCHNITZ and KNEPP - Take an apple, slice it, dry it and you have “Schnitz”. Now cook them with ham chunks, and add some bread dumplings (Knepp) until a thick sauces develops. This is a true “stick to your ribs” meal.
SCRAPPLE – Just keep reminding yourself it is delicious, and do not concentrate on how it is made - like a hot dog. Lots of little bits of pork stuff are boiled down with spices and blended with grains to make a mush. Then the mush is fried – enough said.
SHOO FLY PIE – If there is a Penn Dutch signature sweet this is it! They can be found at every restaurant, market and roadside stand. Basically it is a pie loaded with brown sugar and molasses. If you order a wet bottom pie – the molasses layer is thick and gooey at the bottom. Dry bottom pie has a sliver of molasses. These are super sweet and attract both humans and flies – thus the name.
WHOOPIE PIE – Take two pieces of chocolate cake and pile high with white icing before bringing them together. Eaten as is, or frozen the concoction is enough to make any chocoholic scream, “Whoopee!”
Many Penn Dutch restaurants are family style meaning you are eating with strangers. As platters and bowls of food are passed along any uncomfortable feelings are usually replaced with goodwill to all.
Some of the best-loved facilities are Bird-in Hand Family Restaurant, Good N’ Plenty, Plain and Fancy andthe Stolzfus Family Restaurant.
Could you pass the potatoes and gravy, please?
Looking for fun things to do in Penn Dutch Country? pennsylvania-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/fun_times_in_pa_dutch_country
