Customer Reviews

Mennonite Community Cookbook

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OK, it's a little old-fashioned, but it's a relic of a bygone age, and many of the recipes deserve to be given new life.

The weaknesses are mostly in some of the main-course recipes that, by all appearances, can be extremely fatty and greasy. Speaking as someone who just lost 30 pounds, I don't need that! But they're probably good for an occasional indulgence.

The cookie, cake and pie recipes are the book's strongest point. Saucepan Fudge Cake is easy and unbelievably good, and Rochester Cake (also labelled as Grandmother's Favorite Cake) is outstanding, a layered spice cake with a raisin filling and topping. It's a great favorite of mine for parties.

The recipes for pickles, jams and jellies will probably interest a lot of people in reviving the dying art of home canning.

There are recipes that probably don't work at all in today's world, or are probably not up to modern tastes. A Russian "birthday cake" is pumpernickel bread, sliced and spread with cottage cheese, and the recipe is probably presented more as a historical curiosity than anything else. Another recipe, for a "Pork Cake", is something like a cross between a fruitcake and a meatloaf and will probably make modern cooks gag.

Still, there are many good good good recipes in this book. Hearty old-fashioned fare, not something to base one's diet from, but a great addition to a cook's library.

This cookbook often gives more than one recipe for a given dish, some simpler, some more difficult. That makes this a great cookbook for a beginner, as well as for those looking for good old-fashioned recipes. I was a vegetarian from the big city when a college roommate introduced me to this cookbook. Even though this is not a vegetarian cookbook, there is a wider variety of meatless recipes, particularly soups than one might expect. Not only are there many terrific recipes, there are also helpful household hints - my favorite being a list of what to cook for a barn-raising. Not that I expect to need that, but it is very interesting.

I acknowledge the Madman's points: most of the recipes in this book do not conform to today's dietary standards. But bear in mind that this book was first written over 70 years ago. That's when my mother got her copy. She still has it with the cover's half-torn off and pages stuck in loose and scribbled on. This was a Pennsylvania Dutch housewife's book of recipes for Pennsylvania Dutch housewives. They weren't worried about waistlines or BMI numbers. They needed to feed their families who worked in the fields or guests over for a holiday feast.

I also agree that the strength is the desert section, but that is the specialty of the PA Dutch. My brother, sister, and I would spend winter days with mother making cookies from the recipes and I even took a turn at making the cream puff recipe once for a church social. They turned out great!

Not only is this a wonderful recipe book, but to me, it is a family treasure.

It is a tradition in my dad's family that every bride receives a copy of this cookbook. It is one of the best for good, stick-to-your-ribs, downhome cooking. There are NO light,low fat recipes here, but you can adjust the fat and sodium in the recipes. The Devilsfood chocolate cake recipe is my all-time favorite, and the Maraschino Cherry Cake is a good one, too. Try the 7-minute Icing on it! Can't say enough about it!!

The recipes in this book are for farmers, who are cold all winter and hot all summer, so they are hearty and filling. However, if you are trying to cook light, they are easily modifiable. Use ground turkey instead of ground beef or sausage. Use turkey sausage instead of pork sausage, etc. You can often substitute canola oil for butter. You really only need to use shortening or lard when it effects the consistency, like in pie crust. Even made as they are written, these recipes are much healthier than the average fast food or restaraunt meal. They are also healthier than the average prepared meal out of the grocery store freezer. They are meant to be served up with heaping helpings of fresh vegetables. Some are great simple fare to serve up when you don't have time to cook. I find that the farmer's summer supper (a mixture of torn bread, fresh fruit and fresh milk) is great on hot summer nights when its too hot to turn on the oven and heat up the kitchen. I have used the sour milk griddle cake recipe for decades (substitute buttermilk if the idea of using sour milk bothers you, or sour fresh milk with a tablespoon of vinegar). Recently, I have gotten totally hooked on the buckwheat pancake recipe. I love the cornbread recipe, and I often make it by substituting a can of creamed corn for the milk. Its much healthier than eating store bought bread, with whole grain and vegetables both in the same bread.

I bought the original publication of this book at an auction in Phillipsburg, Ohio. It was the summer of 1980. The property and all the household goods of an Mennonite family were being liquidated. The book was a signed gift dated September 21, 1950. Upon opening the book, I discovered it was loaded with clover leaves. Those weren't the only treasures in the cook book. It was loaded with lots of easy recipes that could be used to create home style meals. I am buying another copy now so I can retire the book I have come to depend on. The only regret I have is that I didn't buy the old applesauce pot and the recipe file. The recipe for apple sauce read.. "fill the pan with apples", "cover with water", "cook until the sauce reaches the mark on the stick"... there was no stick to be found.. I wish the cook knew how much her recipes mean to me.

I love this cookbook from the Mennonite Community. The meals are hearty and delicous. I much rather take the time to make these meals then to eat processed and store bought foods.

This is fantastic collection of everyday hearty foods, made only with the simple ingredients you'd find in a turn-of-the-last-century farmhouse larder. The fanciest spice is black pepper. This cookbook has been cherished on my shelf for 25 years. The authentic recipes were culled by Ms. Showalter from Mennonite housewives -- idenitifed by name and location -- over 50 years ago. I am fortunate to have actually known some of the fine contributors, the grandmothers and great-grandmothers of high school friends. This collection of recipes is a genuine as you get.

This is a whole cookbook full of comfort food. I grew up with this cookbook and learned a lot about cooking from it. The peanut butter cookie recipe is our family's standard recipe - we wouldn't think of using any other recipe! Many of the recipes are also economical to make - always a good thing when feeding a family. Buy a copy now, before it goes out of print (again)

The Mennonite Community Cookbook is a major compilation of eleven hundred recipes drawn from Mennonite cookbooks and updated with standard measurements and directions but otherwise unaltered. These simple yet flavorful dishes were contributed by Mennonite families all over the United States and Canada, and include such offerings as Old-Fashioned Bean Soup, Salmon Roll with Egg Sauce, Toasted Spice Cake, and Baked Stuffed Turnips. Each recipe is quite short, yet the instructions are crystal clear and easy for cooks of all skill and experience levels to follow. The Mennonite Community Cookbook is a simply superb repository of old country flavor and culinary creations that have weathered the test of time.