Williams Rachel Diver - Amish cooks across America : recipes and traditions from Maine to Montana

Amish Cooks A cross A merica

Amish Cooks Across America copyright 2013 by Kevin Williams and Lovina Eicher. Photography copyright 2013 by Rachel Diver Williams. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4494-2604-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012931246

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Lured by William Penns promise of religious freedom, the Amish first settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania , in 1740. Known as the Northkill settlement , this community established the Amish identity in the United States. Among the early settlers were Yoders, Troyers, Hostetlers, and Hershbergers, surnames that would become synonymous with being Amish in America over the centuries ahead. Northkill was largely frontier country, and life there was hardscrabble. Native American raids resulted in casualties and clashes, which caused the Amish to gradually fan out to other areas, usually gravitating to available farmland and to places where local laws assured them of religious freedom and where clashes with the natives would be minimal.

Back then, the Amish werent that much different than anyone else. Everyone dress ed similarly and traveled by horse and buggy, said Kathryn Miller , an Amish woman who now lives in St. Ignatius , Montana , one of the farthest settlements from the Berks County beachhead. It would be almost two centuries before the Amish would settle that far west (see ). In the 1700s and early 1800s, the Amish settled first in other parts of Pennsylvania and then in Delaware , Maryland, and eventually points west.

Today, Pennsylvania is home to a varied Amish population, from enclaves of the most conservative Amish found around New Wilmington and in Mifflin County, to some of the most progressive Old Order Amish in Lancaster County . The Amish of Mifflin County are known as the Nebraska Amish (so named because an early faction of this sect lived for a time in the Cornhusker State) and are the most conservative Amish anywhere. Their followers usually wear only dark clothing, but their conservatism contrasts with some Old Order Amish in Lancaster County, who can be seen using motorized farm equipment and chatting on cell phones.

Around New Wilmington, Pennsylvania , buggy tops are a distinctive chocolate color, while elsewhere, they are yellow.

Eastern Amish settlements are home to such classic fare as shoofly pie and chicken-corn soup, but a wide variety of other foods can be found in other places. For example, apples are king in the lush Mohawk Valley of Upstate New York , homemade maple syrup infuses the baked goods in the Empire States rural Conewango Valley, and blueberries and potatoes are a colorful yin and yang on the supper table in rural Maine . Some Amish even partake in moose hunts in the far north, enjoying game that their Midwestern counterparts could only imagine.

Because Pennsylvanias Amish population has saturated the state, the Amish are constantly in search of new places to settle. Upstate New York has seen the biggest boom in the plain population as Amish have settled in the Mohawk Valley and the states rugged North Country. But the largest settlement of Amish in the East is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Such confections as shoofly pie and whoopie pies join such dishes as funnel cakes and homemade pretzels to make Lancaster Amish synonymous with hearty culinary traditions.

Heavily populated New England statesConnecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshiredo not have any Amish presence. However, as the Amish population grows, it is possible that rural areas of western Massachusetts and New Hampshire could prove appealing in the years ahead. Following are some tasty stops across the East.

CONEWANGO VALLEY CHERRY CREEK, NEW YORK

AT A GLANCE

Date established: 1949

Number of church districts:

Culinary highlights: homemade maple syrup

Tucked away in the far southwestern corner of the Empire State lies a world far different from that of the gleaming Manhattan skyscrapers that most people associate with New York . There are no subways, checkered cabs, or trendy shops selling the latest fashions. This part of New York is marked by a quiet stillness that hangs over the hills. The Old Order Amish have farmed these valleys for generations, living off the land and scratching out a living in a variety of home-based businesses, including quilt shops, harness makers, fabric outlets, and furniture builders. An Amish candy shop and a toy store attract outsiders to this area, dubbed by local tourism officials as New Yorks Amish Trail.

The Conewango Valley is home to New York States oldest and largest Amish settlement, with fourteen sprawling Amish church districts. Because the settlement is so spread out geographically, Amish parochial schools can be found on main roads every few miles, so no child has more than a 2-mile trek to class. On some snowy winter days, of which there are many in this lake-effect snow belt, Amish children can be seen getting to class in many manners: on foot, by sleigh, and sometimes even on cross-country skis.

While Upstate New York has experienced a surge in its Amish population over the past decade, Amish life in this western New York valley has continued as it has for more than half a century. The Amish here are steeped in traditions that define their day-to-day lives. Dutch boy haircuts for the men, bright blue doors, and some of the nations finest homemade maple syrup distinguish this area from other Amish settlements. No one seems to know anymore why the doors are blue, but the tradition is adhered to and passed down from generation to generation.

I just go to the hardware store and theyll do a color match of the blue paint that I want, explained Barbara Miller , who, along with her husband, runs an Amish bakery on Route 62 outside of Cherry Creek. The store features several bright blue entryways. The Miller bakery is known locally for its tire-size maple-dipped doughnuts, coffeecake s, whoopie pies, and other confections. Like many of the Amish businesses in the area, the bakery doesnt have a name. Oh, were just called the bakery on Route 62, Barbara said matter-of-factly when asked what her businesss name was.

The spring and summer seasons bring plenty of tourists into the area, many stopping by the bakery for one of Barbaras doughnuts. But a second busy season occurs at the bakery in the weeks prior to Thanksgiving, when her pies are the prize.