Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking,... I like farmer sausage,..and I like ice cream. I wonder if I could combine these two worlds? Well wonder no more! That's right folks. Varscht (worscht) has now found it's way into the world of sweet delights at the ObaYo test kitchen!
Just fry up some farmer sausage. (just fry until it's still tender) Place a few scoops of ice cream and a piece of varscht in a dish. Top with farmer sausage bits and a good dollop of rhubarb jam! The sweet and salty come together in a Mennonite matrimony of tastiness.
Enjoy one of most well know Mennonite food sayings on a t-shirt! Makes a great gift for anyone who likes forma worscht!
Plautdietsch word of the day: silltjees
Pronounced: sill-ch-eye-eez
What it sounds like: A childhood game played by certain tribes in Africa
What it really means: head cheese. A Mennonite recipe which is made with ground-up scraps of meat taken from cooked hogs head, which resembles a grey past with a mushy texture. Sounds like something that granny might make lol!
It should be noted that the making of head cheese differed greatly among Mennonites. Some used only skin and meat that was scrapped off of a cooked hog’s head and finely ground through a meat grinder. Some added the brains to this mixture, which remained “pasty” and mushy when cooked.
Mmmmm mmmmm good! :-) Mennonites,....we waste nothing!
Still other made head cheese with rendered connective tissues from the hog (collagen) and mixed it with finely cut chunks of pigs feet and pork hocks. This mixture solidified and could be sliced after it cooled. And yet others considered “head cheese” whatever was leftover that could be put though a meat grinder and mixed together.
Preparation was simply heating a portion in a cast iron pan. Many doused the head cheese with vinegar and some added sliced onions.
Silltjees has definitely remained an acquired taste over the years. You generally never had someone wondering what type of wine would pair with head cheese on tweibach. :-)
Don't forget to check out our funny Mennonite greeting cards!
Follow The Menno Tribune on facebook!
Make sure you don't miss out on the Plautdietsch word of the day and other stories and articles on our facebook page. You haven't done that yet? Na oba! Click on Leina and Hein below and it will take you to the Menno Tribune and hit the "follow" button. Daut es emm sonnst! And remember to forward the Menno Tribune facebook link to your friends and frintshoft!
