Amish Recipe Series... Amish Beet and Apple Relish

Pennsylvania German (Deitsch, Pennsylvania Deitsch, Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch, Hinterwäldler Deutsch, usually called Pennsylvania Dutch) is a variety of West Central German spoken by the Amish and Old Order Mennonites in the United States and Canada, closely related to the Palatine dialects. There are possibly more than 300,000 native speakers in North America.

It has traditionally been the language of the Pennsylvania Dutch, descendants of late 17th- and early 18th-century immigrants to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina from southern Germany, eastern France (Alsace and Lorraine) and Switzerland. Although for many, the term 'Pennsylvania Dutch' is often taken to refer to the Amish and related Old Order groups exclusively, the term should not imply a connection to any particular religious group.

In this context, the word "Dutch" does not refer to the Dutch people or their descendants. Instead it is probably left over from an archaic sense of the English word "Dutch"; compare German Deutsch ('German'), Dutch Duits ('German'), Diets ('Dutch'), which once referred to any people speaking a non-peripheral continental West Germanic language on the European mainland. Alternatively, some sources give the origin of "Dutch" in this case as a corruption or a "folk-rendering" of the Pennsylvania German endonym "Deitsch."

Today's recipe... Remember... Disclaimer: The Amish don't always follow updated USDA canning methods, they follow methods passed down from generation to generation. Use this recipe at your own discretion, or adapt it to your own method. I am sharing these recipes EXACTLY as they were sent to me and take no responsibility for them. Also, this is not a canning recipe, although some folks might try to adapt it to canning.

Amish Beet and Apple Relish

Found on a harmony of flavors

This relish is lovely as a relish, full side dish, alone, or as an appetizer. If you love beets as I do, this recipe is for you. Makes about 4 or 5 cups

1 pound beets 

2 Granny Smith Apples, or apple of your choice 

½ medium onion, chopped 

1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil 

3 tablespoons honey 

2 tablespoons cider vinegar 

½ teaspoon Kosher salt 

Freshly ground pepper, to taste 

Nutmeg - a few grinds, to taste

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Wrap beets, clean but not peeled, in foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours, or until very tender. Remove from oven and allow to come down to just warm, still wrapped in the foil.

Combine the honey, vinegar, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet with the olive oil and add in the onions. Saute until soft and translucent. Peel and core the apples (may be left with skin on, if preferred) and cut them into ¼ inch cubes. Add to the softened onion in the skillet and toss until the apples are just slightly softened. Pour on the dressing to combine and remove from heat.

Slip skins off the beets and cut into ¼ inch dice and add to the rest of the mixture and allow to rest for at least 2 hours for flavors to meld.