affected by many factors: weather, the background of the settlers, the food available. Since most of the settlers came from the regions of Europe which are now Switzerland and Germany, Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine tends to be hearty, with many starch dishes.

These authentic Amish recipes also reflect the simplicity of life to which these people subscribe, a life where exotic ingredients, additives and preservatives are as alien as hi-tech kitchens.

MINCEMEAT This recipe dates back to the early 1800's.

2 lbs. round steak, freshly ground 1 lb. suet, mixed with beef 2 lbs. brown sugar 2 lbs. seedless raisins 2 qts. apples, pared and ground 1 pt. blended whiskey COMBINE all ingredients in a very large basin and mix thoroughly with your hands. Store in pint jars in the refrigerator for about a week before freezing. When making pies add cinnamon and 1 cup more whiskey. Bake at 400 degrees F. for about 40 minutes or until brown.

BAKED CHICKEN PIE Chicken 1 cup cream or rich milk Flour 1 or 2 hard-cooked egg yolks Chopped parsley Pastry dough Diced potatoes Minced onions Finely diced celery BOIL chicken until tender. Remove from bones and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Add cream (or milk) to the chicken broth, bring to a boil and thicken with flour paste. Boil several minutes, then crumble egg yolks into the gravy, also add chopped parsley. Keep hot after adding chicken meat.

Prepare your favourite pastry recipe. Roll out to the thickness of about 3/16 of an inch. Pierce with fork, cut pastry into squares and bake on a cookie sheet.

Pare and dice potatoes. Cook in salted water with onions and celery until vegetables are soft. Serve chicken and gravy, hot pastry and vegetables in separate dishes or platters. Each person first helps themselves to a few squares of pastry, then potatoes over the top, and finally chicken and gravy, with another square of pastry on top.

OLD-FASHIONED BAKED BEANS 1 lb. navy beans 1 onion, finely chopped 3 cup molasses 1 cup brown sugar 3 cup catsup 1 lb. bacon, cut in small pieces SOAK beans in cold water overnight. Drain, add 21 quarts fresh water in the morning. Cook slowly until soft, approximately 11 hours, until skins burst.

Drain, place in a large casserole dish or crock, add remaining ingredients.

Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 hour or until brown. These should be very moist; if necessary, add some of the liquid beans were boiled in.

POTATO SLICES WASH and slice potatoes into 1 -inch slices. Place in a 400 degree F. oven and bake for 1 hour. If not blistered and brown, place under broiler until brown.

Butter and salt, eat with fingers. These need not be put in a pan or in foil, just place on the rack in the oven. Great for snacks or supper.

BAUER KNEPP This recipe is very, very old and was the standby of pioneers travelling on foot or otherwise. Their store usually consisted of flour meal, salt and bacon. They mixed the flour, salt and hot water, and fried the cakes in bacon fat. Serving with milk and sugar was left for those who owned a cow and could buy sugar.

1 tsp. salt 3 cups stone-ground flour Boiling water Shortening Milk Sugar MIX salt and flour. Slowly pour hot water over flour while stirring. Pour just enough hot water so that flour clings together but is still rather dry. Heat shortening in a heavy pan. Put tablespoons of dough in hot fat and press down flat to 1 inch or less. Fry until golden brown. Turn and brown other side.

When all of the batch is finished, serve in flat soup dishes with milk and sugar. This sounds terrible but is delicious and chewy.

RAW POTATO CAKES 2 eggs 2 cups grated raw potatoes 1 tsp. salt 2 tbsp. flour Chopped onion (optional) BEAT eggs, add potatoes and salt. Stir in flour and onion. Form into patties and fry in hot fat. Turn to brown on both sides.

FRIED PUMPKIN 1 neck pumpkin Milk 1 egg Salt and pepper 1 cup flour PEEL pumpkin, slice very thin. Make a mixture of milk, egg, salt and pepper.

Dip pumpkin in the mixture and roll in flour. Fry slowly in shortening until brown.

WARM DRESSING FOR LETTUCE 3 strips bacon 1 egg, beaten 4 tbsp. vinegar 4 tbsp. sugar FRY bacon slowly until brown and crisp, drain and crumble. Add a mixture of egg, vinegar and sugar. Heat until mixture boils or thickens. Fold lightly over lettuce.

POTATO SALAD DRESSING 2 eggs 1 tbsp. mustard 1 cup sugar 1 cup vinegar 1 cup water Flour BEAT eggs and mustard together. Add sugar, vinegar and water. Stir to mix.

Bring to a boil. Let boil about 8 minutes. Thicken with a little flour and water as you would for gravy. Remove from heat and add it to cooked, diced potatoes mixed with celery, onions and hard-cooked eggs. Add salt and pepper for taste.

SOFT PRETZELS This is a very old recipe and a surprising one. Who would ever think of boiling soft pretzels in baking soda water before baking? 1 envelope yeast Pinch of sugar 2 tsp. salt 4 to 5 cups flour Butter as needed 4 tsp. baking soda Coarse salt for sprinkling DISSOLVE yeast in 1 cup warm water, then stir in an additional cup warm water and sugar. Pour yeast mixture into bowl, add salt. Beat in flour to make stiff dough.

More hearty, starchy Amish dishes From Page 23 Knead for 10 minutes, until dough is elastic. Place in bowl and spread with butter. Cover. Let rise for 45 minutes or until double in bulk. Shape pretzels into sticks or twists. (Make into 1 thickness of desired pretzel). Bring 4 cups of water to boil with baking soda. Drop 3 pretzels in at a time and boil for 1 minute or until they float on surface. Remove and drain. Place on buttered cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt. Bake in 475 degree F. oven for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from sheet and place on rack.

CHICKEN WAFERS 4 cups flour 2 tsps. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1 cup lard OR 2 cup vegetable shortening 1 egg Milk COMBINE flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening (lard is preferred because it imparts a special old-fashioned flavour), then stir in the egg and enough milk to make a stiff dough. Roll out on cookie sheets, 1 - to 1 -inch thick. Cut into small squares and bake at 400 degrees F. until crisp and brown. Eat as a snack, or pour chicken broth over them in a dish.

CRACKER PUDDING 1 cup sugar 2 eggs, separated 1 qt. milk 2 cups soda cracker crumbs 1 cup shredded coconut 1 tsp. vanilla 4 tbsp. sugar COMBINE sugar and egg yolks. Heat milk to boiling point. Add a few tablespoons hot milk to egg yolks. Beat egg yolk mixture into hot milk, stirring constantly. Stir in cracker crumbs and coconut. Bring to a boil for 1 or 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Pour into buttered dish. Prepare meringue by beating egg whites until stiff and adding sugar. Spread meringue on pudding and bake at 350 degrees F. until golden brown.

SUET PUDDING 1 cup ground suet 1 cup thick buttermilk 1 cup molasses 1 tsp. soda 1 cup seedless raisins 3 cup candied cherries 3 cup candied pineapples 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ground cloves 2 eggs, unbeaten 23 cups pastry flour 1 tsp. salt COMBINE ingredients. Place in greased pudding basins, steam 21 to 3 hours.

Serve hot with the following sauce.

Suet Pudding Sauce 3 cups water 2 tbsp. butter 1 tsp. salt 3 tbsp. cornstarch 1 cup sugar 1 cup water BRING water, butter and salt to a boil. Add cornstarch, sugar and additional 1 cup water for thickening and boil together. Add more sugar or honey to taste.

Serve hot on pudding.

DUTCH PUDDING (Apple or Cherry) 1 egg 1 cup sugar 11 tbsp. butter 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1 pint flour 3 cup milk 1 cup sour cherries or diced apples BEAT egg, add sugar and shortening, and stir. Sift together baking powder, salt and flour; add alternately with milk. Gently stir in a cup of apples or cherries, whichever is desired. Bake in a loaf pan, for 35 to 40 minutes, at 350 degrees F.

PLUM PUDDING A traditional holiday dish 11 cups flour 1 tsp. cloves 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 egg 11 cups sugar 4 tbsp. butter 1 tsp. baking soda 1 cup raisins 1 cup currants 1 cup bread crumbs soaked in 11 cups milk COMBINE ingredients and pour into a tube pan. Steam for 11 hours on top of the stove (in Dutch oven or large covered pot). Pudding can be made the day before and resteamed. Serve with the following sauce: Plum Pudding Sauce 1 qt. milk 1 tbsp. cornstarch Brown sugar Vanilla DISSOLVE cornstarch in a little milk. Mix with the quart of milk and bring to a boil. Sweeten to taste with brown sugar and vanilla.

BAKED APPLE PUDDING 4 apples Sugar Cinnamon 1 pt. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1 cup sugar 1 egg, well beaten 2 tbsp. melted lard 2 cup milk PARE, core and slice apples, and cover bottom of 1-inch deep baking dish.

Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Add a little water and cover with batter made by mixing the other ingredients. Bake 1 hour. Cherries or peaches can be substituted.

MORAVIAN MINTS 1 lb. confectioners' sugar 5 tsp. water 6 drops peppermint or wintergreen oil MELT sugar with water before putting over boiling water in a double boiler.

Boil sugar and water until it forms a skin on the top, then take off fire, add the oil. Drop right away on waxed paper.

GRANDMA'S CHOCOLATE CRACKERS A Christmas favourite 1 lb. brown sugar 1 lb. sugar 1 lb. butter 4 eggs 1 lb. flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 lb. melted chocolate CREAM sugars, butter and eggs. Add chocolate, flour and baking soda. Chill overnight and roll out paper thin on floured surface. Cut into designs with cookie cutters and bake at 300 degrees F. for 8 minutes.

AMISH SHOO FLY PIE 11 cups sifted flour 1 cup brown sugar, packed firmly 1 cup butter 3 cup boiling water 3 cup dark molasses 1 tsp. baking soda COMBINE flour, sugar and butter until crumbly. Combine water, molasses and baking soda and pour into a 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Mix with crumbs, starting with the liquid and ending with the crum s. Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 375 degrees F.

SHOO FLY PIE II 4 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1 cup shortening 1 tsp. baking soda 1 cup molasses 1 cup water 1 tsp. ginger, OR 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. ginger Pinch of baking soda MIX first four ingredients with the crumbs. Mix molasses, water, ginger and soda and pour into two unbaked pie shells. Divide crumbs on the top of each pie. Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 1 hour.

FUNERAL PIE The Amish serve this only for funerals 1 cup seeded raisins, washed 11 cups sugar 4 tbsp. flour 1 egg, well beaten 2 tbsp. grated lemon rind Juice of a lemon Pinch of salt SOAK raisins for 3 hours in water. Mix sugar, flour and egg. Add rind, lemon juice, salt and raisins. Cook in double boiler for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When mixture is cool, pour into a dough-lined pie plate. Cover raisins with a lattice top. Bake pie in oven at 400 degrees F. for about 40 minutes or until nice and brown.

HARD GINGER COOKIES A 200-year-old recipe brought to the US from abroad 1 cup dark molasses 1 cup lard 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 2 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 tbsp. vinegar 6 cups sifted flour Cinnamon sugar IN a double boiler melt molasses, lard and sugar. Cool and add egg, ginger and baking soda. Add flour and roll out very thin. Cut and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 7 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees F.

MOLASSES COOKIES 2 cups lard 2 cups molasses 2 tsps. baking soda Flour COMBINE lard, molasses, and baking soda which as been dissolved in a little water. Add enough flour to make batter easy to handle. Roll thin and cut with a cookie cutter on floured surface. Bake at 350 degrees F. until crisp.

NANNY'S COCONUT DROPS 1 lb. butter 1 lb. sugar Meat of 1 large coconut 1 lb. flour 2 tsp. baking powder CREAM butter and sugar. Grind coconut meat coarsely in a meat grinder and stir into mixture. Mix in flour and baking powder and stir into creamed mixture.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees F. for 12 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

KRUMMEL KUCHEN This prize-winning Pennsylvania Dutch recipe was made especially in farm homes and kept on hand at all times. In those days tramps came along almost every day. This is one cake they all enjoyed.

2 cups flour 11 cups granulated sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 1 cup butter 2 eggs, well beaten 1 cup milk Few drops vanilla SIFT dry ingredients together, work in butter. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture.

Add eggs, milk and vanilla and beat well. Pour into a buttered and floured 9-inch cake pan, top with the reserved mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired. Bake in moderate oven, 350-375 degrees F., for 50 minutes.

DOUGHNUTS 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 2 tbsp. melted butter 5 cups flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. salt 1 cup sour milk mixed with 1 tsp. baking soda BEAT eggs, add sugar and butter. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt, add to egg mixture. Add mixture of sour milk and soda. Roll out on floured board. Cut with a doughnut cutter. Drop into hot fat, 375 degrees F., brown on one side, turn and brown on the other side. Drain. Shake in bag of confectioners' sugar.