Amish recipes are simple yet flavorful, making them perfect for a home-cooked meal. Daily dishes often include hearty meats such as pork chops, ham, roast beef, or meatloaf; dairy products like eggs and cheese; potatoes and vegetables; and desserts like shoofly pie or doughnuts.
The Amish Have No Dietary Restrictions
Having no dietary restrictions means they can eat whatever their heart desires. While many Amish stick to a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch diet, we've seen Amish dine at Olive Garden and take their buggies through the Burger King drive thru line.
Amish people enjoy pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, taco salad, etc. And they eat plenty of casserole dishes. But commonly, you will find a hearty full-course meal of meat, potatoes, a vegetable, salad, bread, and dessert, for an Amish dinner. Most Amish women serve a hearty breakfast every morning.
Traditional Amish food includes dishes like tasty roasted chicken, creamy mashed potatoes & gravy, seasoned vegetables, fresh bread, and homemade jam. The Amish are also known for excellent baked goods, especially pies, cookies, breads, cakes, and fry pies.
After giving birth, Amish mothers breastfeed their babies for as long as possible.
The Amish do use sugar. It's a common ingredient in their meals, and not only the sweet treats. However, this sugar intake is balanced out by the fact that they don't consume sugars in processed foods and sodas like non-Amish tend to do.
The Amish also believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. Same-sex relationships are not allowed within the Amish community. Unmarried Amish men and women aren't supposed to have any physical contact with each other. This includes kissing, hugging, and even holding hands.
If the youth go dating outside their community, they may expose themselves to worldly temptations that distract them from their duty to their faith. Like the youth in non-Amish societies, Amish teenagers are allowed to date each other.
As a general rule, Amish cuisine is plain and rich in carbohydrates and lipids (1,2). Most Amish tend to have home gardens that provide fresh fruits and vegetables for seasonal consumption, as well as for canning, pickling, and storage for use during the winter months (1,2).
Many Amish people enjoy beer or wine at feasts or even at home, and some even produce their beers. It's a part of their Germanic heritage and as such is seen as part of their culture. Therefore, it's not unusual for Amish men to turn one of their barns into a space for creating community craft beers.
Do Amish drink coffee? They do. In fact, coffee soup is a common breakfast dish in Amish country. It's made of coffee and generous amounts of cream and sugar.
The languages most commonly spoken by the Amish are Pennsylvania Dutch and English. Amish community members use Pennsylvania Dutch when conversing with each other in their community. English is only really used for communicating with outsiders.
As part of their Ordnung, Old Order Amish forbid owning automobiles; tapping electricity from public utility lines; owning televisions, radios, or personal computers; attending high school or college; joining the military; and initiating divorce. All Amish groups expect men and women to wear prescribed clothing.
Amish men and women usually assume traditional and well-defined gender roles. Husbands carry the primary responsibility for the financial well-being of the family. Wives typically devote themselves to housekeeping and motherhood.
Marriage in the Amish community is seen as a passage into adulthood. To get married in the Amish community, members must be baptized in the church. Outsiders, non-Amish, or 'English', as they call the rest of the world, are not permitted to marry within the Amish community.
Sixteen is the age when courtship begins, but couples will likely be 20 or older when they marry. Both parties must be church members. Although it is obvious to all when a couple becomes serious, the intent to wed is kept secret until July or August.
According to the Schwartzentruber Amish Ordinance Letter, Amish women are not permitted to shave their legs or underarms. Amish ordinances also forbid women from cutting their hair.
Amish. All types of birth control, and also all forms of natural family planning such as calendar-based methods, are forbidden in Old-Order Amish communities. However, especially in recent years, more Amish women have begun using contraception.
The use of technology is acceptable but not celebrated in Amish communities. Amish individuals who use technology will never try to show their cellphones or computers and will always keep that separate from their Amish way of life.
Remember, the Amish community cherishes the practice of gift-giving as a means of strengthening relationships, expressing gratitude, and celebrating life's special moments. While they may refer to outsiders as "English," they are more than willing to accept gifts from those outside their community.
Amish, also called Amish Mennonite, member of a Christian group in North America, primarily the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. The church originated in the late 17th century among followers of Jakob Ammann.