Plautdietsch SLANG word of the day: preestje
What it sounds like: second prize in a Mennonite beauty contest.
What it really means? Example: Dee koa haft zimlje preestje! That car has quite large "mocassins" (boots). The slang Plautdietsch saying came about in the 1970s and refers to a car with big (wide) tires.
While many Mennonite young men spent their time under the hood of a car, young Mennonite girls learned the skill of baking tweibach. A flashy car might attract the attention of an eligible young lady. And knowing how to bake tweibach just might attract a handsome young Mennonite man! (although it would be difficult to make tweibach as good as mom's ;-)
It’s been said that tweibach and bread speak to the heart of the Mennonite culture. So I thought it might be fitting to post an article about the funny looking “buns” that are so well known. Tweibach are of course part of a bigger faspa tradition - but let’s stick with tweibach for now.
A short history lesson: Russian Mennonite tweibach is a centuries old food tradition that was enjoyed almost daily, as well as at special celebrations. Pronounced Tweebak in Plautdietsch, it is a yeast bread roll formed from two pieces of dough that are pulled apart when eaten. Placing the two balls of dough one on top of the other so that the top one does not fall off during the baking process is part of the art and challenge that must be mastered by the baker. Traditionally, this type of tweibach is baked Saturday and eaten Sunday morning and for afternoon Faspa, a light meal. Tweibach originated in the port cities of the Netherlands and the Danzig area. The toasted, dried buns were used to provision ships. Mennonite immigrants from the Netherlands, who settled in around Danzig in West Prussia, continued this practice and brought it to Russia when they migrated to new colonies in what is today Ukraine.
Faspa: A light mid day lunch tradition of the Mennonites which consisted of tweibach, butter (lard was used if no butter was available) jam (usually rhubarb, strawberry or saskatoon berry jam), coffee and sometimes a few cold-cuts (ham or sausage). The more "deluxe" faspa was generally reserved for Sunday jast (guests) which may also include cheese (usually Bothwell cheese or cheese curds) and pickles. If you really wanted to roll out the red carpet for faspa, you might also include raspberry or cherry preserves (see below).
A great coffee mug for any faspa! Available in our gift store. Click on heart to view
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