The Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center is an open-air folklife museum and research center dedicated to preserving and celebrating Pennsylvania German folk culture, history, and language in a unique educational setting at Kutztown University.

Eating Like A Pennsylvania German

Eating Like A Pennsylvania German

19th Century Foodways: Connected Through Time

Curated by Keiyana Mosley, Kutztown University, History Department (’27)

One of the earliest memories from my childhood was baking drop sand tarts with my great-grandmother, Virginia (Ginny) Magners of Boyertown, Berks County, Pennsylvania. This is both an homage to my late grandmother and to the ongoing history of foodways. Cooking and eating traditional recipes might be the only way a person can feel connected to their culture; I felt a similar way growing up. This is a common experience for people globally. I hope to create a bridge of understanding through this exhibition, creating connections that were not previously there. Handwritten recipe cards can travel faster than one would think.

The importance of food within the Pennsylvania German culture should not be looked over briefly, as these traditions have been woven into our daily lives since childhood. There is a story to be seen in every artifact. Recipes are direct products of the lives our ancestors were experiencing, passing knowledge down in every dish. Within this exhibition, I will explore a variety of recipes and culinary artifacts from as early as the eighteenth century. It will contain over a dozen artifacts, with a few of them paired alongside translated recipes from the classic cookbook Die Geschickte Hausfrau by J. Martin Lutz and Theodore F. Scheffer, written in German and published in two editions between 1848 and 1851. I chose to include these recipes to show the similarities between present day recipes and recipes of the past. As you look through each artifact, try to think of the differences between old and new traditions. Technological advancements may have altered recipes, but that does not erase the traditional cooking methods entirely.