What is Amish Food? | Amish Cooking (2024)

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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. The Amish culture and lifestyle, along with the resources they had around them over the past 300 years have shaped their food into what it is today.

What is Amish Food? | Amish Cooking (2)

Culture

Food is a large part of Amish culture. Amish families typically eat a large meal together every day. The Amish are very generous and hospitable, so making a large meal for guests is common practice. You’ll be hard-pressed to find an Amish event that doesn’t revolve around food. Reunions, funerals, weddings, and even auctions will have a full meal, or sometimes several on the schedule.

What is Amish Food? | Amish Cooking (3)

Lifestyle

From craftsmanship, to farming, to cooking and baking, the Amish know how to work with their hands. Many have their own gardens and put a lot of their effort into growing fresh foods, including meat for their families. They spend time preserving and canning and teach their children to do the same. Amish girls are taught from a young age how to cook as they help their mothers, sisters, and aunts.

What is Amish Food? | Amish Cooking (4)

Resources

When the Amish settled in America in the early 1700s, they settled in areas where wheat, rye, corn, and barley flourished. These resources worked their way into the diet. Additionally, life on a farm made resources like milk, eggs, garden vegetables, and apples readily available. They practiced preserving their foods and growing their own meat. Their resources shaped their diet, which is why we still see delicious bread, hearty vegetables, creamy potatoes, and large variations of meat in their traditions today. Modern-day Amish will eat “other” foods like lasagna and taco salad, but traditional meals are still made and enjoyed, especially at special occasions like weddings and holidays.

Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen, in the heart of Amish Country, Ohio, brings these staples to the public by serving traditional Amish foods and sourcing our ingredients locally. If you get a chance to stop by, come hungry!

What is Amish Food? | Amish Cooking (2024)

FAQs

What is Amish Food? | Amish Cooking? ›

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.

What is Amish food? ›

Thanks to this, the Amish have kept their culinary traditions alive for us to enjoy while visiting Ohio. Although modern Amish people occasionally enjoy regular meals such as tacos or lasagne, most of their foods comprise fresh farm-grown vegetables with a high focus on dairy, meat, and eggs, too.

What is a typical Amish breakfast? ›

In fact, they eat lots of things in soup form—even breakfast! A typical Amish breakfast includes coffee soup, a bowl of creamed coffee served with freshly baked bread for dunking.

What is different about Amish cooking? ›

The beauty of Amish dishes lies in their simplicity. There are no long lists of exotic ingredients and no intricate culinary techniques. Instead, there's a focus on freshness and quality. Butter is churned at home, bread is baked fresh every morning, and vegetables are plucked straight from the garden.

Do Amish eat sugar? ›

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.

Can Amish eat pizza? ›

The Amish Have No Dietary Restrictions

Having no dietary restrictions means they can eat whatever their heart desires.

Do Amish eat canned food? ›

Peaches, pears, apples, and cherries are canned to enjoy year-round. Green beans, corn, peas, and carrots are common canned vegetables. Sauerkraut. Fermented foods like sauerkraut are another popular canning tradition with the Amish.

Can Amish eat bacon? ›

Are the Amish Allowed to Eat Pork? Because there are no food restrictions, or notions of pigs being unclean, the Amish can eat pork.

Do Amish eat rice? ›

This is a common dish on Amish farms, but it makes for a hearty supper. Amish chicken and rice casserole contains chicken, rice, and a wonderful cheese sauce that's amazing enough on its own. But you can pair it with some corn on the cob or fresh fruit as well. Cook the rice in a rice cooker.

Do Amish eat out at restaurants? ›

The Amish don't have any eating restrictions or rules. Individuals can eat anywhere, ranging from large food chains to local restaurants. Discover Amish-owned restaurants in Lancaster County and dive into an array of delectable meals.

Why don't Amish have mirrors? ›

They don't live without mirrors. However, they use mirrors differently from many other people. The Amish use mirrors for purely practical reasons. For women, this includes making sure that their head covering is pinned securely, and for men, it's primarily about helping them shave their moustaches.

Do Amish eat potato chips? ›

Snack foods include homemade cookies because there are usually some around. They also like potato chips and pretzels, and a lot of popcorn is made.

Is the Amish diet healthy? ›

Distinct from American diets, Amish diets are sometimes considered “healthier” but not always. On the one hand, compared to common American diets, the Amish diet includes more home grown fruits and vegetables (Gillum et al.

Why are Amish baked goods so good? ›

While baking, fresh butter is used generously to achieve that ideal, moist consistency. From pie crusts to cakes, Amish baking never tastes dry or crumbles apart thanks to its addition. The butter is the key to holding everything together and making it extra savory.

Do Amish people eat rice? ›

This is a common dish on Amish farms, but it makes for a hearty supper. Amish chicken and rice casserole contains chicken, rice, and a wonderful cheese sauce that's amazing enough on its own. But you can pair it with some corn on the cob or fresh fruit as well. Cook the rice in a rice cooker.

Can Amish drink soda? ›

That said, some Amish, especially New Order, like Gloria and family, tend towards healthier diets where soda pop of any kind is a rarity. But among certain Old Order groups, “pop” has become a mainstay. This recipe comes to us from a Mennonite in Canada. You can bake the chicken in the recipe or baste it and grill it .

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