This page was compiled by Nova Scotia genealogy researchers who simply love to eat!
A Collection Of Recipes-compiled by genealogy
researchers whose ancestry is alive and well in Nova
Scotia. Several recipes are from the local kitchens
and cookbooks, when possible, acknowledgement has
been given. Many of these recipes have been around
since the arrival of the first German settlers who
were referred to as "Dutch" by the English speaking
people of Halifax. Though not always appreciated by
Lunenburgers, the name has held to this day. Although
the Germans were loyal to the British Government they
dearly hung onto their customs, traditions, and
superstitions which crept into their cooking. For
more on tradition,customs and superstitions visit
Folklore of Lunenburg County
Peel and slice quite thin the potatoes and apples.
Boil together in the same pot until tender. In the
meantime, peel the onions and slice thin. Melt butter
in frying pan and lightly saute onion slices. Drain
the apples and potaoes and spread on a hot platter.
Over these spread the onions. Sprinkle with salt and
pepper to taste. Lastly pour the hot cream over all
and serve at once. Serves 4-5.
Our ancestors had the knack of turning the hardest
labour into fun and frolic. This is indicated by the
various "bees" that were the great social events of
the rural areas. The butchering of the animals and
the preparation of meats for winter storage was
indeed hard work and the chores had to be carried out
with the utmost speed. The man of course, did the
butchering, while the women kept busy in the kitchen,
separating the fat for rendering, the intestines for
sausage casings, and the head and feet for "Head
Cheese". Nothing was ever wasted.
Home Made Pigs Pudding
Soak liver, lights and fat from entrails in salt and
water for one hour to remove blood. Pour boiling
water over tongue to permit removal of skin. Cut all
meat in small pieces and boil for one hour. Place fat
from entrails in a pan in the oven to render out fat.
This may be used for cooking purposes. When cooked,
cool meat enough to handle, then put it through a
meat grinder, also the residue from the fat (this is
called cracklin's). Grind onions and fry in a small
amount of fat to brown. Mix meat, onions and spices
well and if not flavourous enough, more spice may be
added to taste. Casings for this may be purchased at
some meat packers but if not available, simply fry
until hot, as all ingredients are cooked. No extra
fat is needed. These are Dutch or Lunenburg puddings.
Lunenburg Sausage
Grind the pork and beef together, add spices, and mix
thoroughly, put ingredients back in the mill and roll
on casings, fill sausages, twist them according to
length desired and hang for a few hours in a cool
place. Cook or fry with Sauerkraut. A real
delight.
The Dutch Oven Cookbook
Hodge-Podge
Wash lamb, add water, cook 1 hour. Add beans, carrots
and potatoes cook 25 minutes. Add peas and cook until
tender. Stir flour in heavy pan until light brown and
add to rapidly boiling vegetables.
Cucumbers with sour cream
Peel cucumbers and slice thinly. Put in a bowl and
sprinkle with salt. Add onion if desired. Put saucer
on top and press with a weight for several hours.
This removes the juice from the cucumbers. Pour off
the juice and mix cucumbers with a dressing made of
sour cream, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Pour over
cucumbers and blend thoroughly.
Dutch Mess
Soak cod fish in cold water for 6-10 hours, changing
the water once or twice. Pick the cod fish apart.
Peel and cut potatoes in large pieces and cook in the
water in which the fish has been soaking. When the
potatoes are about half done, add fish and cook until
the potatoes are tender. Fry pork scraps until golden
brown and pour off excess fat brown onion with pork
scraps add cream, if desired. Drain the potatoes and
cod fish and place on a platter; add onion and salt
pork.
Kartoffelsuppe
The German settlers relied on this thick chowder to
sustain them in lean times. Some people nowadays
prefer to cook the sauerkraut seperately and serve as
a side dish.
Drain the sauerkraut and cook in enough water to
cover. Add diced potatoes and cook until soft. Fry
salt pork until light brown in color. Remove the pork
scraps to the sauerkraut and potato mixture saving
the fat to the frying pan. Stir the flour into the
fat and brown well, stirring constantly. Add the
browned flour to the potatoes and "kraut" and stir
until the flour is disolved.
South Shore Boiled Dinner
Boiled dinners were the most common fare in the days
when all cooking was done in an iron pot over the
open hearth. This pertained as much to fish as to the
better known Corned Beef Dinners, and there are many
who prefer theirs served with a taste of the sea.
Soak fish overnight in cold water. Drain and cover
with fresh cold water; bring to the simmering point
and cook until tender. Drain. Fry bacon until crisp.
Combine the vegetables and cook in salted water until
tender. Place cod on platter; surround with
vegetables and top with the bacon and vegetables.
Cover with the white sauce and garnish with parsley
and eggs.
Solomon Gundy
The German name for this dish is "Salmagundi"
Remove tails and heads from herring. Clean inside and
remove the skin. Cut in pieces about 1 inch thick and
fillet the pieces. Soak in cold water about 24 hours.
Squeeze the water from the herring. Place in bottle
with slices of onion, in alternate layers. In a
saucepan, heat the vinegar and add pickling spice and
sugar. Let cool; then pour over the herring in the
bottles.
Kohl Cannon
Kohl Cannon is made in various ways. The Irish simply
used mashed potatoes, cooked cabbage and onion, while
the Lunenburg Germans like to include turnip and pork
scraps, with the pork scraps being removed before
serving. The Scots add carrots. But no matter how it
was made the eating of Kohl Cannon was a common
custom on Halloween. In it would be buried a penny, a
match, a ring and a button, all well wrapped (it is
hoped) in wax paper. These favors would signify
marriage, spinsterhood, money or poverty,
respectively, and much excitement was aroused,
especially amoung the young maidens who were hopeful
that Kohl Cannon would fortell future happiness.
Cook cabbage and turnip for about 45 minutes. Add
potatoes which have been sliced, and cook until
tender. Drain and mash all together. Add butter, salt
and pepper.
Kohl Cannon
Shred the cabbage and bring to a boil. Drain off the
water and add cold water. Summer cabbage does not
take as long to cook as winter cabbage. Boil the
cabbage, then add the potatoes and finish cooking.
Drain off the water when cooked, add butter, salt and
pepper and mash the two vegetables together.
Doughboys or Dumplings
Helen Creighton in her "Folklore of Lunenburg County,
Nova Scotia" tells the amusing story of Abraham of
Mahone Bay. It seems he had difficulties controlling
his hunger during the lengthy services. One Sunday
morning before leaving for church he boiled some
"doughboys" and stuffed them in his shirt. The
minister quoting from the bible of another Abraham,
boomed forth "Abraham what hast thou in thy bosom?
And our Abraham of the Doughboys thinking he had been
found out, yelled back,"Doughboys, damn you."and in
his rage he threw one at a most surprized preacher.
Here's the recipe for Doughboys.
Rub shortening into the sifted dry ingredients.
Gradually add the milk and mix lightly with a fork to
form a soft dough. Drop by spoonfuls on top of stew,
being careful not to have the liquid higher than the
vegetables. Cover tightly and do not peak for 12-15
minutes. The Stew recipe follows
Beef Stew With Dumplings
Roll the cubed beef in flour seasoned with salt and
pepper. Brown well in hot fat. Using enough water to
cover the meat, simmer slowly in covered kettle for
about 2 hours. Add vegetables and cook about one hour
longer. Serve with the doughboys.
Glorified Doughboys
Head Cheese
Cut up pigs head and remove all the undesirable
parts. Soak in cold water a couple of hours to draw
out the blood. Wash thoroughly and place in pot;
cover with cold salted water and simmer until tender,
when the meat begins to fall from the bones, it is
sufficiently cooked. Remove all the bones and chop
the meat. Return to the pot and add a little more
water, onion, summer savory, salt and pepper. Simmer
20-30 minutes. Pour into wetted molds or bowls and
put in a place to set.
Soused Mackerel
Clean and cut the mackerel into small pieces. Layer
it in a baking dish. Add pickling spices by tieing
them up in a small piece of cloth to form a bag. Add
the bag to the dish and cover with vinegar. If you
don't care for the vinegar taste, you can use water
instead. Dot the top with butter and bake at 350° for
about half an hour. Good hot or cold. Herring can be
prepared the same way.
Smoked Mackerel Pate'
Process all the ingredients in blender about 30
seconds until paste is formed. Transfer to a glass or
ceramic bowl and chill. Serve with vegetables, toast,
or crackers.
Tongues and Sounds
Put in a saucepan and add enough water to cover.
Bring to the boiling point and simmer gently for
20-25 minutes. Drain. Fry cubes of salt pork and
minced onion until crisp. Add to the fish and
serve.
The following story is written by Julia (Zwicker)
Trachsel and used here with her permisson.
An Old Fashioned Lunenburg
Breakfast or Supper Dish
submitted by Lynette Mason
(Lunenburg Sausage)
submitted by-Maureen Brown
submitted by George Newbury
Coveted traditional recipes from the kitchens of
Lunenburg. Compiled by the Ladies Auxiliary of the
Lunenburg Hospital Society-1953
Mrs.H.B.(Frances Himmelman)
submitted by-Nancy Hood
from "Out of old Nova Scotia Kitchens"
submitted by Susan P.King-Wilson (given to her by
Muriel (Peggy) Young Hiltz)
from "Out of old Nova Scotia Kitchens"
submitted by Lynette Mason
"Out of old Nova Scotia Kitchens"
submitted by Lynette Mason
"Out of old Nova Scotia Kitchens"
submitted by Lynette Mason
"Out of old Nova Scotia Kitchens"
submitted by Lynette Mason
"Out of old Nova Scotia Kitchens"
submitted by Lynette Mason
submitted by George Newbury
"Out of old Nova Scotia Kitchens"
A house recipe of the Marquis
of Dufferin Lodge in Port Dufferin
Sounds are the "lungs" of fish, and since codfish
used to be of a good size, so were their lungs. It is
just a 1/8-inch thick piece of skin (for lack of a
better word) that hold the air between it and the
backbone of the fish. These "sounds" were a favourite
of my grandmother Crooks in Drum Head, Nova Scotia,
and because removing them was a tedious job, they
were hard to come by. When she would start
reminiscing about them, I would wander down her lane
to the fishplant at the bottom of the hill, and get
one of the men (mostly my relatives) to cut a dozen
or two out for her. She was well liked in the
community for her excellent cooking, so the fisherman
would oblige my request on her behalf.(She was a
"sought after" cook in various lumbercamps back in
the 20's and 30's and again in the 40's).
After washing them, (my job), she would bread them in
a mixture of flour, salt, pepper and a little white
sugar to help in the carmelizing process to make a
crispy coating. They were fried in whatever grease
she had available. (I don't ever remember her buying
shortening or oil, which she would have thought it
was a waste of good money. Frying was done if left
over fat from animal sources, was rendered, and kept
refrigerated in a can or bottle). They were served
with mashed potatoes and vegetables.
Fasnaks
(raised doughnuts)
The Germans of Lunenburg County made these
on Shrove Tuesday as it was their custom.
The German word derived from this is Fasnakdei.
In lukewarm water dissolve the sugar and yeast. Scald the milk, add butter and salt. Cool milk to room temperature, add yeast mixture. Add the sugar and yeast mixture to mashed potatoes mixing well. Add beaten eggs and 6 cups flour. Reserve the remaining 1/2 cup flour for rolling. Put the soft dough in a warm dry place to rise until doubled, 3-4 hours. Roll out on a board to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out donut shapes. Let rise 1 hour. Cook in deep fat, turning as desired until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Icing is optional.
Dutch Ripe Tomato Relish
Peel tomatoes and cover with vinegar. Let stand overnight. Drain and add sugar and cloves (tied in a bag). Simmer until thickened about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cloves and pour into sterilized jars. Makes about six 6-ounce glasses. ~Mrs. Hugh Wm. Stewart
Indian Relish
Boil until thick.~Mrs.Christine Jordan, New
Glasgow
RECIPE LINKS
Canadian Living~Recipes
Christmas Dinner Menu
~from the Royal Hotel, Saint John, 1901