Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book

As one of the other reviewers mentioned, this is quite an old book. The original edition was published in the mid 19030s. The author knows the cuisine well, and being of PA Dutch (German) descent, he avoids the "Lancaster County/Amish/Dutch Country" stereotyping, and presents the cuisine for what it really is, a regional ethnic cuisine that grew out of the South German and Swiss immigration to the Mid-Atlantic states during the 17th and early 18th century. This is sometimes referred to as the Palatine German immigration, as many of the immigrants originated in German speaking lands adjacent to the Rhine river and were named, in archaic English, the "high Dutch".For a cookbook oriented toward regional cookery, Frederick does a nice job presenting the historical background and also provides some nostalgia with his season by season account of the rural life of his grandparents, who lived on the banks of the Tulpehocken Creek outside of Reading PA. This area is part of the "fancy Dutch" area mostly settled by Lutherans, Moravians and German Reformed, or as they were known collectively, the "church people". He waxes a bit overly nostalgic at times, but presents good information and also discusses technical aspects of the cuisine.In addition to being a "Dutchman" himself, Frederick was the president of the Gourmet Society of New York, having had a successful business career that allowed him to indulge in his love of good cooking and feasting. Although the majority of PA Germans, like most Americans of the early days of the USA, were farm people, the regions around the larger towns and cities also had famous inns and restaurants, whose passing Frederick laments. Thankfully, he provides recipes from these famous eateries, such as Kuechler's Roost, Frank Lauer's and Carl Schaich's, to mention a few. Some recipes are quite interesting, and promise hearty and tasty eating. I can't wait to try the baked lobster, seasoned with paprika and served with pretzels and beer. As Frederick mentions, the PA Dutch living in areas where fish and seafood were available were fond of ingredients not normally associated with this cuisine, such as oysters, eels, shad and shrimp. You will find recipes using these in abundance in the book.In addition to these types of recipes, the book covers the whole range of cooking, including hearty and interesting soups, dumplings/noodles, meat dishes galore....sausages, goose, duck, chicken, pork and one of my favorites, Berks County Hasenpfeffer. He also gives many recipes for baked goods, both traditional "Kuchen" and American style pies, but with a PA Dutch twist You will also find the "stereotypical" one pot dishes, such as Schnitz un Gnepp, and of course there are the expected German elements, such as sauerkraut based cooking. One could spend years going through the recipes.Most of the recipes have English names that give a pretty good idea of the recipe, but some are named with the PA Dutch (German dialect) names, or names in standard German. The latter names are no surprise as the PA Dutch of the 18t and 19th century had access to German language cookbooks, both from Europe and America.This is not a tourist version of the cuisine, but authentic regional-American-German-influenced cooking. If you are new to authentic PA Dutch cuisine, do pay close attention to the ingredients and suggested complementary dishes, as they make or break the recipe. PA Dutch cooking at its best relies on contrasting flavors and combinations, so you will want to pay attention to those. If you are a lover of German foods, regional cooking of both Europe and America, or interested in historical cuisine, this book should be a welcome addition to your cookbook library.

Old time recipes, quick delivery.

I love Pa Dutch cooking , which is why I bought the cookbook .

The book was not exactly what I thought it was going to be in terms of recipes. It had many recipes that I myself would not cook regularly, such as several for rabbit and even the desserts were just a little too different for my taste. I was looking for more maybe German type recipes such as bratwurst & Pepper slaw, etc. Not what I was expecting and therefore, I am less than excited about the book.

I am from PA and I purchased this more for the memory aspect than the need to learn to cook PA Dutch food :) This is my heritage & I will be able to share this with my Grand daughter who was born in CA.

This is a book that contains many old recipes that offer a lesson in the culture of the PA Dutch community, containing culinary favorites of a specific region of our country. PA Dutch cooking is very delicious, and the recipes in this book are not difficult to replicate in spite of being so wonderful.

Good example of more PA Dutch Style Cooking

It's ok and I did find a few receipes that I was looking for. Good story about the author's grandmother.

Prompt delivery but the recipes in this are bizarre! Eel stew, that sort of thing. Interesting to read but I’ve not made anything from it.