Mennonites are a christian based religious group that tend to live in communities fairly segregated from the rest of the world. They are very self-reliant and usually tend to live on farms. Because of this, they usually only consume what they can produce on the farm. In general there are three main meats they tend to eat accompanied by sides. Beef Every Mennonite farm has a some form of dairy cows. These cows are used for their milk but also eventually become food themselves. After a lifetime of producing milk for the family, they eventually dry up, don’t have any more offspring and become virtually useless. At this point they are culled and butchered. These are typically older cattle who’ve spent their entire life on the farm. More often though, Mennonites will also have several bulls on the farm in order to both reproduce with the cows but more importantly to become food. These bulls are barely grown to full maturity. It cost too much to feed them for a full lifetime so they are are only fed until they reach sexual maturity and then become dinner for the family. Chickens Most Mennonites will also have a chicken coup or at least allow a few chickens to run around the yard. These are much quicker to raise and provide a decent amount of meat. Much like the cows, they are used for their eggs first and then become a source of food themselves. Since chickens grow much faster, they can be replaced much quicker so there isn’t necessarily a need to raise them for an entire natural lifetime. Pork Not as many Mennonites will raise pigs but on average, the majority of Mennonites do. The purpose of having these on the farms is that they can be feed leftovers from the kitchen. Items they might be feed is watermelon shells, scraps and old food. It’s a great way to not waste food as well as offering a third meat source down the road. Sides The sides of a Mennonite meal aren’t particularly exciting either. Typically, a side for a Mennonite meal will be either potatoes, rice or pasta. The potatoes are all grown in the garden. Depending on the location, the potatoes might be replaced by local favorites such as the Yukas of South America. Pasta is usually homemade and done in large batches so they don’t have to make a fresh batch of dough every time. Rice is one thing Mennonites don’t produce themselves but rather purchase from the outside world. Non-traditional meals Mennonites tend to move around a lot from country to country and usually tend to pick up one local food item in the respective country. For example, when the Mennonites were living in Russia, the picked up some of the borschts native to the aforementioned country. Another example would be the empanadas of South America. David Yoder grew up as a Mennonite and is a proud member of The Quiring Administration. we govern ourselves and share the things we like.
Related Articles -
mennonites, food, eating, pork, beef, chicken.,
| 
