An old folk saying:
St. Gertrude leads cows to green fodder,
sends bees into spring flight,
and draught horses to their yokes.

When you drive north or west of Philadelphia, you soon enter the rich farming soil of Lenapehoking, which became known as the German Crescent. The German Crescent gets its name from the large numbers of original European settlers in this area coming from Protestant German-speaking areas. These German settlers retained their language, their faith, and many of their traditions, which distinguished them as separate from the predominantly Anglo society around them. Prominent at this time of year is St. Gertrude. Celebrated on the same day as St. Patrick (March 17), St. Gertrude is more closely linked to agriculture and the fertility agriculture requires.

For St. Gertrude’s Day, these settlers and their descendants would bake a bread called Datsch. St. Gertrude’s Datsch contains most crops forecast to be grown in the spring, such as spring grains, potatoes, onions, and various garden herbs. Once baked, some of this bread would be crumbled and distributed in the four corners of the garden or even into a field that was to be planted to please the die Gleene Leit (the wee folk), the friendly fairies who lived there since they were thought to protect the garden from pestilence and disaster.

To read more folk tales, purchase William Woys Weaver's Folk Tales Of The Pennsylvania Dutch from our online store.

Table Talk Tidbits

Things are growing and springing up! We started our seeds in flats inside, where the window sills were crowded. Now, we are moving them outside. For the last few years, we just had one greenhouse. Now, we have grown to two greenhouses! Thank you, donor, for the greenhouse. The plants will remain growing in both of our greenhouses until the ground temperature and overnight temperatures are warm enough to move them into the garden proper.

Order your seeds now and let us know how your garden is growing.

WE NEED YOU-- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

If you live in SE Pennsylvania, we need volunteers to maintain our gardens. You will go home with produce, so contact us.

The following recipe can be found in the book, Dutch Treats: Heirloom Recipes from Farmhouse Kitchens, by William Woys Weaver.

We do not currently carry this book in our online store but it can be purchased from St. Lynn's Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

St. Gertrude's Day Datsch

Trudisdaag Datsch

Yield: Serves 8 to 10.

Fine breadcrumbs for dusting
¼ ounce (7g) dry active yeast
1 cup (250ml) lukewarm potato water (98F/37C)
2 cups (250g) shifted barley flour
1 cup (125g) sifted bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground caraway
1 cup (200 g) mashed potatoes
1 cup (125 g) chopped spring onions or chives
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 teaspoons whole fennel seed
2 teaspoons whole flax seed
1/3 cup (65ml) honey
Proof the yeast in lukewarm water sweetened with a little sugar. While the yeast is proofing, sift together 1 cup (125g) of barley flour, the bread flour salt, ground coriander and caraway. Work in the mashed potatoes to form a fine crumb, then add the chopped onions, poppy seeds, fennel, and flax.
Once the yeast is proofed and foaming vigorously, add the honey and whisk until the honey is dissolved. Make a valley in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast mixture. Stir to make a sticky batter, then cover and allow this to double in bulk in a warm place.
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Grease a 10 ½ inch (ca.26cm) iron skillet or frying pan and dust with breadcrumbs or cornmeal. Once the Datsch has doubled in bulk, knock down and knead in the remaining 1 cup (125g) of barley flour or enough so that the dough no longer adheres to the fingers. Put this in the skillet and spread out so that it completely fills the bottom. Cover and set aside to recover. Once the dough has risen (allow 20 to 30 minutes), remove the cover and bake and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the Datsch taps hollow in the center. Remove from the skillet and cool on a rack. Do not slice while hot; serve at room temperature.

Hearth Cooking

The St. Gertrude’s Day Datsch was initially baked in a three-legged iron skillet with a tight-fitting lid called a spider. Hot embers were put on top of the lid and underneath the spider, and it took a certain amount of cooking acumen to know just when the Datsch was finished. When you are baking down hearth place a small bunch of spring onions on top of the dough before covering it with the lid. The steam from the onions will create a delicious onion-flavored glaze on the top surface of the Datsch. Most of us will be using a modern oven and the onion-flavored glaze can be replicated if the skillet in which the Datsch is baked is covered with a heavy iron lid.

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107 Old Lancaster Road
Devon
PA
19333
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