Pennsylvania Dutch delicacies abound at the 70th Kutztown Folk Festival and there is a reason food is such an integral part of the culture.
“The early Pennsylvania Dutch were mostly an agrarian community and that culture of an outdoor agrarian lifestyle burned a lot of calories,” said Steve Sharadin, executive director of the festival.
After working the fields all day, starch-laden meals were needed to replenish energy and fuel bodies for the next day.
“Potato filling is not exactly a low-calorie side dish,” Sharadin said, referring to the mix of potatoes, onions, bread cubes and eggs.
A new feature this year at the festival is that up to eight members of the public get to sample the full meal prepared in the Country Kitchen demonstration stand. The meals are sold out for this year.
On Monday, historian Terry Berger of Lehighton, Carbon County, cooked a full-course Moravian meal for guests. The menu included Moravian hot slaw, Moravian chicken pie, dried corn, pickled eggs, pickled beets, applesauce, apple butter, cottage cheese, semmel, butter, blueberry pie and mint tea.
While cooking items for the meal in a wood-fired stove, Berger explained that in the 1700s Moravians were a communal people in the Hutterite tradition. Multiple families ate meals together. When they emigrated from Europe to America, they brought that tradition with them.
“You may be surprised that chicken was not a mainstay like it is today,” Berger said. “It was used more for weddings, festivals or special occasions.”
He said the closed commune way of life was abandoned in the 1860s.
Vegetables were the most common meal ingredients for Moravians and Knabrus is an example of a dish made in Berger’s home as a child. It is a simple casserole of cabbage and onions served with butter bread.
If a person ate three meals a day all week at the Kutztown Folk Festival, all different items, he or she would still be hard pressed to sample half of all the foods available.
To help narrow the choices, get to know some of the PA Dutch dishes available at the festival, which runs through July 7, at the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
Apple butter
“Traditionally, apples would be cooked in a copper kettle,” Joyce Esser of Kempton said. “The mothers would be peeling the apples and the children would be stirring them for 10 to 12 hours.”
What it is: Bauman’s Apple Butter is just apple cider and apples.
Cost: $5 for a 9-ounce jar at Esser’s stand next to the demonstration kitchen .
Chicken and waffles
“You got chicken and you got waffles, what else do you need?” asked Brad Kline, who was serving up meals at the Chicken BBQ stand.
“It’s just a different kind of starch instead of bread that has that little bit of slight sweetness,” said second-generation chicken stand operator Bill Hertzog, of the new waffle option.
What it is: Hand-pulled roasted chicken, the drippings are used to make a gravy and then both are poured on top of a freshly made Belgian waffle.
Cost: $7 a la carte or $11 for the dinner platter which includes two sides and a buttered roll.
Chicken pot pie
“This is not a dish with a crust,” explained Jolene Terleski who operates the Island Expressions stand with her husband, Jeff. “It is more like a thick soup.”
What it is: Chicken, bowtie noodles, carrots, potatoes, chicken broth and thickener.
Cost: $5 a bowl at Island Expressions (available at other locations).
Chow chow
What it is: A sour relish made of lima, green, yellow and kidney beans, celery, onions, pickles, carrots, sweet peppers and cauliflower.
Cost: $2 at the Chicken BBQ stand.
Dried corn
“You get ripe, in-season corn and I blanch it and cut it off the cob,” said Terry Berger, who is the cook at the demonstration kitchen. “You dry it in the oven at 150 to 175 degrees until it is hard.”
What it is: Reconstituted dried corn (1 cup of corn to 2 cups of water), butter, salt and pepper.
Cost: Sold out. Was available as part of a $12 meal at the Country Kitchen on July 1.
Funnel cake
Sandra Hill of Hamburg, who was working the Virginville Grange stand, explained that it is essential that that baking soda and baking powder both be used as ingredients.
What it is: A batter made of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, milk and water is drizzled from a funnel into a deep fryer. The Virginville Grange uses soy oil and offers King Syrup or powdered sugar as a topping.
Cost: $4.50 each, two for $8.
Fun fact: According to the Virginville Grange, funnel cakes were first served at the Kutztown Folk Festival in 1951.
Hem schnitz und knepp
“The dough balls are a lot like biscuits,” said Robin Laudenslager of Pennsburg, Montgomery County, who was working at the Oma’s Kitchen pavilion. “It’s all made with a lot of love.”
What it is: Ham with dried apples and dough balls made with apple juice and brown sugar.
Cost: $8.95 a la carte or $14.95 as a platter with two sides and a regular drink.
Mint tea
“I don’t care much for sweetener,” said Joyce Esser of Kempton, whose tea is just leaves and water.
What it is: Meadow mint leaves are pulled from the stalks and placed in boiling water that has been removed from the heat. It is steeped for two to three hours.
Cost: $3, sweetener is available.
Moravian chicken pie
“This is kind of a different chicken pie because it has no vegetables,” said Terry Berger, who is the cook at the demonstration kitchen.
What it is: A savory pie with a top and bottom crust, thick gravy and chicken seasoned with bay leaf, mace and nutmeg.
Cost: Sold out. Was available as part of a $12 meal at the Country Kitchen on July 1.
Moravian hot slaw
What it is: Steamed cabbage, bacon fat, flour, onion, salt, pepper, vinegar and caraway seeds.
Cost: Sold out. Was available as part of a $12 meal at the Country Kitchen on July 1.
Pork schnitzel
“We take the pork and hammer it out from 1.25 inches to .25 of an inch,” said Mike Davenport of Knoxville, Tenn., who has operated a stand at the festival for 14 years.
“If I asked for a weiner schnitzel back home, they wouldn’t know what to do,” said Linda Fox of Ashburn, Va., who was making an annual visit with her father, Ira Fox, of Lebanon.
What it is: Pork cutlet that has been hammered thin, dipped in flour, an egg wash and bread crumbs and then deep fried. Served with lettuce and tomato on a bun.
Cost: $9 a la carte or $15 with fries and tea.
Sausage sandwich
“These round loops are country fresh sausage from Dietrich’s Meats and the large, dark sticks are hickory smoked,” said Billy Reese of Bloomsburg who was cooking sausages at the Das Wurst Haus stand.
What it is: Choice of a mild bratwurst (fresh pork, veal and a little parsley), knockwurst (fresh pork, beef and garlic), smoked sausage or a cheddarwurst (sausage with cheese inside of it). Optional topping of white onions, sweet peppers in a sweet brine. Served on a bun.
Cost: $7 to $7.50
Semmel
What it is: A roll made from yeast dough with, flour, mashed potatoes, salt and sugar.
Cost: Sold out. Was available as part of a $12 meal at the Country Kitchen on July 1.
Fun fact: Semmel is the German word for roll.
Shoo-fly pie (wet bottom)
What it is: The gooey sweet filling is made from King Syrup (a golden sugar-derived product), eggs, baking soda and water. The topping is clumps of batter made from flour and brown sugar. On the bottom is a homemade pie crust using vegetable shortening.
Cost: $1.75 per slice, $8 for a whole pie at the Virginville Grange stand.
A brand-new, 9-foot-long spit with a heating system custom-designed in Texas is being fired up this year to bring back the ox roast. The spit can hold up to an 800-pound steer according to festival director Steve Sharadin.
When: July 4 and 6
