Wood Stove Cooking
Both an art and a skill, woodstove cooking is also a way of life for the Amish housewife. A wood cook stove can be made of cast iron and covered with nickel plating or porcelain. It is a versatile kitchen appliance which sends heat out into the house in addition to serving as a cooking and baking appliance. Another function of the cook stove is to supply the family with hot water which is heated in a reservoir attached to the stove.
The stove layout generally follows a usual arrangement. There is a firebox on one side and the water reservoir on the other side with an area for baking in between. The top of these units serve as the cooking surface and above this there is generally a warming oven to place breads or dishes the cook has already finished and wants to keep warm while finishing up the rest of the meal or baking.
Amish women learn to cook by watching and learning from their mothers and grandmothers. There is a definite art to baking using a wood cook stove. For starters, the baker needs to learn which type of wood to use. Oak wood, for instance, burns at a slower rate than pine-an important consideration when one wants a long lasting more even heat. Another factor to consider in the baking is that each stove has its own quirks especially when it comes to evenly distributing the heat throughout the baking or cooking surface. The cook will need to learn where to properly place her pans in order for her dish to turn out well.
Once the Amish baker has fired up her stove in the morning she’s likely to start with making a filling breakfast to feed the children before they head off to school and likely to feed those family members who have done a sizable number of chores well before breakfast. When the rest of the family members have left the home (aside from those too little to attend school) she’ll spend some time baking. One delicious dessert is the Amish Brown Sugar pie. Here’s a recipe for this easy decadent dish:
1 unbaked 8-inch pie shell
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pats
Ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Place the brown sugar, flour and salt into the pie shell. Mix the dry ingredients together in the shell. Pour the evaporated milk over the flour and sugar, but do not stir or mix in. Dot this mixture with the butter pats. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Bake for fifty minutes or until the filling bubbles up in the middle. The filling will not set completely.
As long as the stove is fired up, you may as well make a second pie. Neither of these pies will last long due to their delicious flavor! Here’s another sweet treat from the Amish:
Amish Carmel Pie
2 baked pie shells
3 c. brown sugar
3 c. water
2 tbsp. butter
1 c. all-purpose flour
3 c. milk
6 egg yolks
Place brown sugar, water and butter into a heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Boil for three minutes. Slowly stir flour into boiling syrup while stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for five minutes and then stir once. Pour into the baked pie shells and allow to cool. Garnish each slice with whipped cream.
After all this rich sweetness a basic tummy filling recipe is called for. Here’s a tasty Amish cornmeal bread recipe to finish out a morning spent baking:
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. flour
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp melted shortening
Preheat oven to 400 ° F. Grease a square 9 x 9 baking pan. Mix cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg, milk and melted shortening. Beat until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until the bread has risen and golden brown crust forms on top. Cut into squares to serve. Great right from the oven or allow to cool. Serve with butter, jams, jelly or cheese.
