Oddities from the Vaults: Blood Pancakes & other German Heritage Recipes

Painting above: The Pancake Bakery c.1560 by Pieter Aertsen

Thanks to one of my great-Aunties, I have in my possession a little cookbook called German Heritage Recipes Cookbook put together and published by the American/Schleswig-Holstein Heritage Society based in Iowa*. The copy I have appears to be from 1991.

While I cannot claim to have actually cooked anything from this, I kind of adore how strange and old-fashioned it is and simply had to share pictures of a few of the recipes.

It's a labour of love, many of these family recipes with little comments about whose recipe it is and on what occasion these recipes were made. For example, the recipe for "Magic Milk" above being a treat for cabin-fevered kids during a snowstorm.

These little comments are a peek into food history in 'middle America*' for sure, often detailing what was made during the Depression, inclement weather, and celebrations, like the Soda Cracker Pie above.

The cookbook is divided into the usual chapters (Appetizers, Cakes, Soups, Salads, etc) with lots of German-American lore and handy household tips in between. For example, I love the reassurance above that actually adding peanut butter to salty dried beef or vegetables, "won't taste like peanut butter" - too cute.

I love this "Emergency Spiced Peaches" recipe above, having never experienced a emergency that necessitates such a dish myself. 

Some of these are just too good to be true- I think the winner for me is the recipe for Blood Pancakes above, included in the "Butchering and Smoking" chapter. Calling all vampires!


*The state known as Iowa is the traditional territories of the Ioway, Meskwaki, and Sauk peoples.