Amish in the News: Amish Bakery, Corn Chowder, Kentucky Horse Scrap Continues, Ben's, and Scrapple

By Kevin Williams

This is our weekly whirl through cyberspace in search of anything and everything Amish.

AUBURN, KENTUCKY:  Okay, this whole situation flummoxes me.   We've been talking about the situation in Auburn, Kentucky for months with the town going after Amish people for not cleaning up after their horses.  But why is this an issue only in this town?  There are Amish people all over the USA and while, occasionally, horse droppings raise the dander of the non-Amish, I can't think of anywhere else where it has been this contentious.  So I am just wondering why?  What is it about this particular town that makes horse droppings such an issue but not in, say, Holmes County, Ohio or Lancaster, PA where the Amish population is so much larger?  I can't make sense of it.  Meanwhile, more citations over the issue, click here to read more.    Maybe life is just really pleasant in Auburn because if my biggest worry in life was some horse poop on the street, I'd be thrilled.

TASTE OF AMISH BAKERY:    This is just a feature about a woman who has opened up a bakery in Zionsville, Indiana (a suburb of Indy) featuring baked goods from an Amish bakery in northern Indiana. I wish the article had said where the baked goods came from, just because I'm familiar with a lot of bakeries in northern Indiana and would be curious.  This is the type of business that would seem to live or die with gas prices.  If gas goes back up to $4 a gallon it just seems like it'd be too tough to make a profit off a low margin item like a doughnut.  Click here to read more.

MY AMISH HOME - CORN CHOWDER:   Millie Otto is an Amish woman in eastern Illinois who is not affiliated with Amish365.com But she writes a weekly column for the Champaign paper and I occasionally like to share her exploits with you.  This week she writes about her life and shares a recipe for homemade corn chowder (yum).  Check out her recipe here.

MORE BEN'S SOFT PRETZELS:   I had just posted a small piece about Ben's Pretzels last week and then coincidentally saw a larger press release about them this morning.  Apparently Ben's is planning to expand and one of the area's they are planning to expand into?  Cincinnati! Awesome, I am looking forward to Ben's arrival soon and when it does come to town I'll definitely (I know, tough job I have) sample them and report back! Ben's Pretzels originated in the northern Indiana Amish settlement from an Amish man named Ben.  Some outside investors took notice and created a company called Ben's Pretzels and have expanded from there.  It'd be interesting to know how much the Amish founder is still involved, you'd think it'd be tough for him to do too , too much without running afoul of church and traditions, but maybe not.  Anyway, click here to read more.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH CUISINE:  This is a great article and video (not a long read, but very thorough and readable) about true Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine, not the "faux Amish" kind that tourism agencies push.  Among true PA Dutch creations are dishes like scrapple and chow chow pickles.  Click here to read the article.

SPEAKING OF SCRAPPLE:  Grit Magazine (they've been around quite awhile)  recently re-posted an article they published several years ago about "scrapple", sometimes known as "Pon Hoss" by Amish cooks.  Click here to read more about scrapple and get a recipe!