Mennonite cuisine is food that is unique to and/or commonly associated withMennonites, aChristian denomination that came out of sixteenth-centuryProtestant Reformation in Switzerland and the Netherlands. Because of persecution, they lived in community and fled toPrussia, Russia, North America, and Latin America. Groups like theRussian Mennonites developed a sense ofethnicity, which included cuisine adapted from the countries where they lived; thus, the term "Mennonite cuisine" does not apply to all, or even most Mennonites today, especially those outside of the traditional ethnic Mennonite groups.[2] Nor is the food necessarily unique to Mennonites, most of the dishes being variations on recipes common to the countries (Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Latin America) where they reside or resided in the past.[3]
Mennonites do not have any dietary restrictions as exist in some other religious groups. Some conservative Mennonites abstain fromalcohol, but other Mennonites do not, with Mennonite distilleries existing as early as the late 16th century.[4]
Russian Mennonite cuisine combines features of various countries due to the history of migrations and most dishes would generally fall under the umbrella of Dutch, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian cuisine. Mennonites in Latin America also adopted local dishes to their cuisine. The result of all these influences is a particular cuisine unique to Russian Mennonites and not synonymous to cuisines of any of their host countries. Common ingredients in Russian Mennonite dishes include cabbage, potatoes, sausage, and a range of dairy products.
Common dishes for Russian Mennonites include:
Dishes typically served once per year are:
Mennonite-style cheese is also famous worldwide.Queso Chihuahua or queso Chester are produced by Mennonites in northern Mexico andBothwell Cheese is created by Mennonites inManitoba, Canada.
Russian Mennonites also commonly participate in a late-afternoon lunch calledfaspa, which usually consists of zwieback, deli meat, raisin buns, pickles, and cheese (especially cheese curds). This meal is easy to prepare and intended to give farmers a mid-afternoon lunch and Mennonite women a rest on Sunday.[8]
Because they immigrated to North America much sooner than the Russian Mennonites, there are fewer identifiable dishes associated with the Swiss Mennonites or Pennsylvania Dutch. German beer sausage, schoofly pie, apple fritters, and Amish glazed donuts are a few notable dishes.[10]
A variety of cookbooks have recorded and preserved Swiss and Russian Mennonite recipes. First published in 1960 bySteinbach, Manitoba's Derksen Printers,The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes (commonly calledThe Mennonite Treasury) popularized Russian Mennonite cuisine and is the third-best-selling Mennonite book of all time, surpassed only recently by the writings of best-selling novelistMiriam Toews.[11] The "Mennonite Girls Can Cook" series also popularized Russian Mennonite dishes,[12] and theMore-with-Less Cookbook is found in many Mennonite kitchens.The Mennonite Community Cookbook by Mary Emma Showalter was originally published in 1950 and features Swiss-German Mennonite recipes.
