Midwest Heartland Cuisine: A Meld of Native American and German Flavors

1. Midwest Unit Foods 2

2. Midwest Region • North Dakota • South Dakota • Nebraska • Kansas • Iowa • Minnesota • Missouri • Illinois • Indiana • Wisconsin • Ohio • Michigan • Oklahoma

3. Midwest-HeartlandInfluences on Cuisine • Geography- rich soil, grasslands, plains, not many trees • Climate- mild summers, long cold winters

4. Crops: ( Breadbasket) • corn, wheat, soybeans, oats, durum, barley, sunflower seeds, flax, llamas, beef, pork, lamb, poultry, buffalo, emu, wild game

5. Why settle here? • Natural bounty of the area: Great Lakes and fertile plains. • Homestead Act: Free land • To gain religious freedom • Valued the hard toil farm lifestyle: Living off the land

6. Ethnic Influences: • Scandinavian • German • Native American • Swiss, Czechoslovakian, Irish, French, Italian, Greek, Polish, Spanish, Chinese, English, Scottish, Russian • Melting pot

7. Patterns of Cookery: • Robust, Hearty foods • Practical, no- nonsense approach

8. Traditional Foods: • Corn, cereal, mashed potatoes, gravy, dumplings, soups, meatballs, steak, sausage, ham, bread, sauerkraut, lefse, lutefisk, knoephla soup, kuchen

9. Native American Cuisine

10. Native Americans • Believed that the earth offers food to be shared equally by all. • Food is served from communal bowls so that each person feels free to eat as much as they want. • Much of the food present-day Americans think of as their own, was really inherited from Native Americans. (ex. beans, corn, and squash)

11. Native Americans • Corn was the single most important crop and the main ingredient for many dishes. • Ground into a coarse meal and was the base for making bread. • Pilgrims learned how to plant corn from Native Americans- 4 kernels buried in a mound with a fish head added for fertilizer.

12. Food was the object of much ceremony and ritual. • A good salmon catch was reason to celebrate among other Indian tribes. • Cuisine was high in protein and vitamins thanks to the use of fish, corn, vegetables in the same meal. • If fish was not available, they substituted deer, buffalo, or fowl.

13. Example: Pemmican • All-purpose, all-weather food upon which the Plains Indians depended. • A crumbly paste made from ground dried meat, berries, and animal fat. • Kept indefinitely

14. Native Americans • Indian diet was originally without dairy. • They did gather eggs when available. • Wheat was not commonly used by native Americans. • There was a mixing and sharing of foods among new settlers and Native Americans. • The pig was introduced by settlers. • The colonists were often hostile to the Natives which did not help them to assimilate into our society. • Each region of the US owes some food specialty to the Native Americans.

15. Native American Influence on the Midwest • Plains people now eat traditional native dishes including: • Venison and buffalo meat • Game birds with rice and hazelnut stuffing • Eggs and wild onion • Baked potatoes • Even popcorn!

16. Native American CuisineBuffalo- Bison Meat • Heart Healthy Red Meat!

17. Buffalo • You can eat 3.88 times as much Bison as beef to equal the same fat grams and calories. • Bison Meat is NON-ALLERGENIC • Bison has more IRON than beef: • 69% more iron to your diet than does the same serving of beef Your Money’s worth: • You are not paying for fat that has to be trimmed off or cooked out, ground bison is all lean meat.

18. Fry Bread Taco Instructions • Taco Filling: • 1 lb ground beef or buffalo • ½ c. water • 1 Taco seasoning mix • Brown ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess grease. Add water and taco seasoning mix. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

19. Fry Bread Taco Instructions • Indian Fry Bread: • 1 loaf frozen bread dough (thawed) • Cut the dough into 3-4 sections. Shape the dough into a circle about the size of a dinner plate. Carefully place the dough into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Remove with tongs. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

20. Taco Garnishes • Shredded lettuce • Shredded cheddar cheese • Tomato • Sour Cream • Hot sauce • Salsa

21. Fry Bread Tacos • Meet with your lab group and read over recipe • Discuss responsibilities among members

22. German Cooking

23. German Cuisine In the north, food preferences reflect the influences of the nearby Scandinavian countries and the sea. In the central region of rolling hills and forests the cuisine is richer and heavier. In the south, one finds lighter cuisine, with strong influences from neighboring Italy and Austria.

24. The Truth About Germany

25. German Dishes • Bratwurst: a sausage made of freshly ground, seasoned pork that is usually cooked by grilling • Hasenpfeffer: a rabbit dish that is braised in a marinade of wine, vinegar, onions, and spices. • Spatzle: small dumplings made form wheat flour. A popular German side dish. • Preiselbeeren: small, cranberry-like fruits that are often served with game dishes.

26. German Dishes • Westphalian Ham: a richly flavored, smoked uncooked ham that is served throughout Germany. • Kasseler rippenspeer: a whole smoked pork loin that is roasted and served with sauerkraut, apples or chestnuts, peas, white beans, mushrooms, and browned potatoes. • Sauerkraut: a fermented or pickled cabbage that is usually flavored with caraway, apple, onion, or juniper berries and served with pork dishes.

27. German Dishes • Braunschweiger: a type of liver sausage that was first produced in Braunschweig, Germany. • Schnitzel: a breaded, sautéed veal cutlet. • Stollen: a rich yeast bread filled with almonds, raisins, and candied fruit that is served at Christmas time. • Pumpernickel: a bread, made from un-sifted rye flour.

28. German Dishes • Sauerbraten: a sweet-sour marinated beef roast. It’s popular beef dish in Germany. • Strudel: a dessert made with paper-thin layers of pastry filled with plums, apples, cherries, or poppy seeds. • Kartoffelpuffer: potato pancake which is famous throughout Germany.

29. German Dishes • Gebildbrote: breads baked into fanciful shapes, which means picture breads. • Salzkartoffeln: potatoes cooked in salted water that are drained and steamed until dry. • Eintopf: stew made from leftovers, very popular.

30. More German Cuisine • Meats have played a leading role. Examples: • wursts (sausages) • schnitzels (breaded veal cutlets) • Braten (roast)-Germany’s National Dish. • Wheat is grown in southern Germany which supports baking. Examples: • black forest cake • Stollen – rich yeast bread like fruit cake • plain hard rolls

31. Scandinavian Cooking

32. What is Scandinavian? • Norway • Finland • Sweden • Denmark • Iceland

33. Foods of Scandinavia • Protein Group: Diets high in fish, whale, oysters, mussels. Also ate mutton, pork, poultry, deer, bear, elk and horsemeat (also knows as “hamburger”). • Fruits and Vegetables: Diet of beets, potatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, apples, onions, berries and nuts. • Dairy: They eat a wide variety of pungent cheeses.

34. Although all these foods are part of the Scandinavian culture, here in the midwest they are most known for their contribution of desserts such as… • Lefsa (a flat tortilla like bread) • Krumkake • Danish pudding • Rosettes • Romegrot • Rice Pudding

35. Krumkake- how to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz_u7T5uZTc • Instructions: • Put 3 eggs in a large mixing bowl. • Beat ¾ cup of sugar in at a medium speed. • Increase to high for 3 or 4 min. once sugar has been beat in. • Beat these three ingredients in on low speeds: • 1 cup of flour • ½ teaspoon of salt • 2 teaspoons of vanilla • 2/3 cup of unsalted melted (but not hot) butter. • Finally fold warm water into dough gradually, only until a medium consistency. Keep water on hand throughout the process to maintain medium consistency.