Okay, so I’ve been diving deep into the whole Amish lifestyle thing lately. It’s fascinating, right? Their simplicity, their self-sufficiency… it just makes you think. And their kitchens? Forget about it! So much cool, old-fashioned stuff. I decided I had to try using some Amish kitchen tools myself, just to see what it was like. So, here’s what happened:
Getting Started
First, I needed to figure out what kind of tools I could even get my hands on. No electric gadgets, obviously! I started looking around online for some basics. I knew I wasn’t going to be churning my own butter anytime soon, so I aimed for some things that felt, you know, doable.
The Tools I Chose
- A manual hand-crank mixer. Forget KitchenAid, we’re talking pure elbow grease!
- A good old-fashioned potato masher. The kind with the sturdy handle and the wavy metal plate.
- A simple wooden rolling pin. No fancy silicone or marble here, just plain wood.
- A cast iron skillet. Because, seriously, every Amish kitchen has one, and I needed an excuse to get one.
The Experiment
I decided to make a basic meal: mashed potatoes, some biscuits, and maybe some pan-fried veggies in the skillet. I figured that would give me a good feel for the tools.
First up, the mashed potatoes. Boiling the potatoes was the same as usual, of course. But then came the mashing. Oh boy. Let me tell you, that potato masher gave me a workout! It was definitely more effort than using my electric hand mixer. But, I gotta admit, there was something satisfying about it. Really feeling the potatoes break down, you know? Plus, the texture was different – a bit chunkier, more rustic. I liked it!
Next, the biscuits. I used the rolling pin to roll out the dough. Again, it was simple, but effective. I think I even got a better feel for the dough’s thickness than I usually do. Kneading the dough by hand before rolling it out and using a simple glass cup to cut out my circle shaped dough was a satisfying experience as well!
I preheated the cast iron skillet and the first thing that I noticed was how evenly the heat was distrubted. The cast iron skillet. Wow. I’ve heard people rave about these, but now I get it. It heated up beautifully and gave my veggies this amazing sear. Clean-up was a bit different – no soap, just hot water and a good scrub – but it wasn’t too bad. I have to do more research on how to keep the skillet “seasoned” properly.
I did use my hand-crank mixer to whip up some cream. I added a bit of vanilla and a tiny bit of sugar to the heavy cream and got to work! It took forever. Seriously, my arm was burning! But, eventually, I had whipped cream. It wasn’t as fluffy as what I get with my electric mixer, but hey, it worked!
My Takeaway
Honestly? It was fun! And a little tiring. But mostly fun. It made me appreciate how much work goes into cooking without electricity. It also made me realize how much we rely on convenience. Using these Amish kitchen tools, I felt more connected to the food I was making. Like I was really part of the process, not just pushing buttons.
Would I do it every day? Probably not. But I definitely want to incorporate some of these tools into my routine more often. It’s a good reminder to slow down, appreciate the simple things, and get your hands a little dirty in the kitchen. And the taste? Surprisingly, pretty darn good. Maybe there’s something to this whole “old-fashioned” cooking thing after all.
