Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Happy Fasnacht Day!

That’s the Pennsylvania Dutch version of Shrove (Fat) Tuesday.  On Fasnacht Day, we eat fasnachts, which are kind of like donuts.

I can't get real fasnachts in DC, so Krispy Kreme will have to do.
I can't get real fasnachts anywhere in DC - I didn't realize how regional they are until I moved here - and because I'm not getting up at 5 in the morning to make fasnachts before work, I bought a dozen glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme, which is a southern chain (if you didn't know).  It doesn't get much further from Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine than Krispy Kreme.

I do find sometimes that I miss the food of my youth; so much of it is regional and can't be found outside central PA.  It never occurred to me that this was all part of my cultural heritage.  Some of it is odd or gross, but it's still part of my heritage.  And I love telling people about Fasnacht Day.  Where I work, there's a significant international population, and the Americans here are very interested in and aware of other cultures as well, but no one seems to know about Fasnacht Day.  So I feel like this is my way of contributing to the multiculturalism at work.

Are there any regional or culturally significant foods from your childhood that you find that you can't get anymore and miss?