The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook: Plainly Delicious Recipes from the Simple Life

This is a preliminary review which I intend to update once I have made more of the recipes. What prompted me to order this title are the bead recipes and to that end I have not been disappointed. I made the "peasant bread" and it turned out great, although I will admit that I was somewhat confused by the instruction to use "flour" vs. specifying all-purpose or bread flour. (I ended up using a 50/50 mix.) I live at high elevation and was concerned the bread would not turn out but it did, although most of the rising caused the loaf (round in shape) to expand laterally making the loaf rather wide and shallow. Next time I may bake it in a large pie dish to try to promote upward rising vs. outward expansion.The one thing that surprised me is how many of the dinner recipes call for hamburger. I haven't purchased ground beef in years. I know I can substitute ground turkey in those recipes and I look forward to trying a few of them — but it is interesting to note, by contrast, that there is only one recipe that calls for chuck roast. I expected to see a bit more selection on cuts/types of meat.I would characterize the recipes as geared toward economy. They are family-style recipes of the type that were popular with American home cooks from the 50s-1980s (meaning they do not shy away from canned goods). With inflation on the rise, simple recipes using everyday ingredients could very well be a plus. However, given that the Amish are farmers I expected to see many more recipes that allude to what is found on an Amish farm (the use of in-season vegetables, raising chickens, pigs or cows, etc.). While I realize that the selection of recipes in this book would be geared toward what average readers can find in a grocery store — because, let's face it, few of us are farmers — all things "farm house" are big in cooking and interior design and so one would expect that a book on the Amish would capture that aesthetic/lifestyle more, not less, than most.There are no illustrations in this book in keeping with the "simple life"; however, there is a column on the right of each page that offers interesting tidbits/trivia about Amish life — such as the fact that the ice delivery trucks still make the rounds in Amish country given that they do not use electricity for refrigerators. (Although, for the record, references to refrigeration are common throughout the book.)I enjoy baking homemade pies so I am always on the lookout for new recipes/techniques. In the baking section I expected to pick up a few new tricks on how to make moist breads and flaky crusts but so far the recipes look like your standard fare. (For example, I have yet to see any discussion/direction regarding lard vs. shortening.) Perhaps the secret of Amish baking is in the fact that they use old-fashioned stoves/ovens? Or perhaps it is because they hone their techniques from a young age as opposed to a particular method or ingredient that stands apart from "English" recipes? That said, many home cooks hold back their best baking secrets so perhaps it is asking too much to think that the Amish would divulge their secrets for publication to English audiences.In conclusion, I look forward to trying additional recipes in this book — particularly the sourdough bread — but for those who expect to find recipes that reflect farm-raised ingredients or stand apart from family-style cookbooks such as the Gooseberry Patch series, this cookbook may be somewhat of a letdown. The main thing that sets these recipes apart is that they are entirely stovetop and oven-based, reflecting the fact that the Amish do not use electric gadgets such as slow cookers and electric pressure cookers.

It starts out with plain and delicious. Amish and Mennonite recipes are great on their own but they also always make an amazing base recipe. So buy this book!!

Arrived on time in great shape.

This is an amazing cook book for someone who is looking to be frugal. The mixes that it gives you in the back saves you a Fortune. I have purchased 7 copies of this book for friends and family members. Definitely a must buy!

The recipes and selection in the book are fabulous. I've made a couple of recipes (including the delicious strawberry pie!) and have no complaints about that. However, the Kindle edition has some formatting issues. Some of the numbers are inexplicably missing, and obviously in a recipe, the numbers are important! It's not a huge problem, most of the numbers are there, but there are a few recipes I won't be able to make because of it. So beware if you're buying for Kindle.

I am a cookbook addict and can honestly say this is probably my favorite one so far! Simple recipes, simple ingredients, great meals, all with interesting facts on amish living and bible verses throughout. I will definitely be ordering more of these for friends and family for the holidays.Some reviewers have mentioned it doesnt seem authentic due to a few questionable ingredients such as the use of velveeta... the author addresses this in the book and states that the amish frequently use it because of the fact it is shelf stable as they do not have refrigerators to keep food cold in. Regardless of the "validity," it's still a great cookbook especially for the price.

Easy to follow recipes. Great addition to my kitchen collection.

I love this cookbook and recommend it to everyone with a large family. I've been using it just about every day. I was pleased to cut or replace the ingredients in just the basic white bread recipe alone and not have any trade off in great taste and texture of the bread. I think that little tip has actually paid for the book itself. I'm really glad I bought this particular book. My daughter originally brought the first copy I saw home from the library and I liked it so well that I wanted one of my own and so looked on Amazon for a good used book. So glad I did.

I was expecting to see recipes with simple basic from scratch ingredients, "self-reliant" recipes as described.I was disappointed to find ingredients such as velveeta cheese, cream of whatever soup, kitchen bouquet seasoning sauce, dry onion soup mix, taco seasoning, hot dog wieners, jello, powdered non-dairy creamer, instant chocolate drink mix,Haven't tried the recipes yet. I'm sure they are probably tasty though. This book reminds me of Company's Coming which I do like, but isn't what I thought this would be.This is a collection of everyday recipes, branded as Amish. If you are looking for a recipe collection that is truly from scratch, this isn't really it.As an aside, I found the pages hard to turn. It's coil bound to lay flat, which is nice, but the holes in the paper fit very tightly to the coils. The pages squeak when turned and take some fiddling to lay flat.

Lots of recipes and not all pictures like a lot of recipe books....good basic recipes where you don't need a big shopping list before you make them.

Great for a gift! Bought for my mom for a Mother’s Day gift!

I love the book and on each new page is a recipe I can't wait to make.

Good recipes with good instructions. The pictures are wonderful and very helpful.