Amish cooking often reflects the culture around it. For instance, foods like blueberries and lobster did not have a long history in Amish culinary culture, but once the Amish took residence in Maine where those foods are popular, they embraced them also.
And when the Amish moved to Colorado, they adopted native foods and made them their own.
🍯 Amish Cooking Meets Southern
And when the Amish established themselves in the South, they began exploring and sampling traditional foods like cornbread and okra. The Amish now have thriving communities throughout Tennessee and they've embraced some of the state's native food traditions. Here are some popular southern food traditions that are now popular among the Amish:
- cornbread
- okra
- Half-runners
- Hush puppies
- Frogmore Stew
🚜 Why The Amish Have Been Slow To Move To the South?
The answer to this question is fairly straightforward. With most Amish not having electricity for fans or air-conditioning, the appeal of living through a sweltering southern summer was traditionally not very appealing for the Amish. But eventually cheap land and the ability spread out won some over and you are seeing a slow increase in southern Amish populations.
Farming is also more viable in the south for the Amish. Crops such as cotton, sorghum, and even tobacco are more profitable.
🗺️ Notable Southern Amish Settlements
There are now Amish settlements throughout the south, some of the more notable ones include:
- Ethridge, Tennessee
- Pontotoc, Mississippi
- Beeville, Texas
- Union Gap, North Carolina
- Pinecraft, Florida
🏴 Tennesee Amish Recipes
So I thought today it'd be fun to look at 5 recipes that capture that community's cooking.
I have visited Amish settlements all over the USA and Canada and I have to say that Ethridge was among the most insular/conservative that I've been to. It doesn't make the top of my most conservative community list, but it's close. The cooking style among the Ethridge Amish is very traditional Amish infused with a hint of southern. Sorghum, for instance, is a mainstay in recipes here
If you ever have a chance to visit Ethridge, you'll see Amish farms with signs advertising homemade sorghum for sale in much the same way you'll see eggs or maple syrup elsewhere.
And a word to the wise: Ethridge is HOT during the summer, it's a classic humid southern heat.
TENNESSEE BUTTERSCOTCH PIE: This is a classic, traditional, cool, creamy butterscotch pie with just a hint of sorghum molasses. This butterscotch pie is a Tennessee treat, with it being a hint darker and creamier because of the molasses. So if you want butterscotch with a twist, try Tennessee Butterscotch Pie.
SOUTHERN GAL BISCUITS: This recipe came to me from a talented young Amish cook in Ethridge, Tennessee...she was/is very traditional, she didn't want my camera anywhere near her, not even to photograph her food which is a little unusual. These are amazing biscuits, enjoyed in Ethridge by drizzling homemade sorghum molasses onto them. So if you want an easy basic biscuit, Southern Gal biscuits are a super treat in Ethridge.
ETHRIDGE PORK N BEANS: The same cook gave me this, I never got to try hers but, wow, I bet they are good! Click here.
OAT BRAN BREAD WITH A TENNESSEE TWIST: Try this one! Amazingly good. The molasses is just a hint, you don't notice it much, but what you do notice simply makes the bread pleasant...Click here.
TENNESEE AMISH GREEN TOMATO PIE - When I first heard about this recipe, I assumed it was a savory pie, but green tomato pie is a sweet dessert pie, a perfect summer treat. Here is a bit more about it: Tomatoes are a summer staple in Amish gardens and kitchens. The ruby red delights find their way into sauces, salads, and even breads. But what if you are just itching to eat those tomatoes even before they are ripe? Well, we've all heard of fried green tomatoes. Yum! Dipped in a little ranch and, wow, oh wow (anything fried and dipped in ranch qualifies for a wow, oh wow). But what about green tomato pie? . .....click here.
Rebecca Wellington
I love your recipes please send more pictures of the girls. My sister and I were about there age difference. I was the oldest.