Last night we enjoyed one of the Communal Meals the Amana Heritage Society is hosting this summer.
The meal was held at the Communal Kitchen Museum in Middle Amana. The meal is prepared by the Amana Meat Shop and the menu is from the old Amana days. We had cottage cheese with chives, applesauce, cabbage salad, Swabian meat patties, fried potatoes and gravy with red cabbage. For dessert it was rhubarb cake or cherry pudding. All very tasty.
We ate in the actual dining room of the mid-1800s to early 1900s.
We sat on the wooden benches at three long tables where 39 people ate three times daily before the communal structure was dismantled in 1932. We were served family style. The servers kept filling to bowls to pass again and again. We had plenty to eat.
Both before and after the meal the museum was open, Elise was available for answering questions. She gave information on the communal kitchens in general and on the specific Ruedy Kitchen, where we were eating. We enjoyed visiting with the people at our table, both the locals or people with connections to the Amana Colonies, as well as the tourists visiting from other states. It was a beautiful evening to explore the outbuildings on the site.
The meals will be served approximately every two weeks until mid-Sept. The remaining meals are July 19, Aug. 2, 16, and 30. Sept. 13. Purchase tickets on the Amana Heritage Museum website for $30/person.
