Of all the virtues a person might develop, simplicity was one of the most highly regarded by the Shakers. It was something they sought in their peaceful lifestyle, built around the precept "hands to work, hearts to God."
Simplicity was something praised in song, which was an important part of Shaker life as well. "Simple Gifts," which proclaims " 'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free, 'tis a gift to come down where you ought to be . . . ," is probably the best-known of the Shaker songs. But another song promises "I'll be simple, I'll be lowly; in it flows such heav'nly mirth; to be humble, to be holy, is the prettiest thing on earth."The desire for simplicity was also reflected in the clean, uncomplicated lines of their buildings and furniture, which have long been praised for both their beauty and their practicality.
So it is no surprise that Shaker cooking checks in on the simpler side of the scale.
"Cuisine, of course, is much too fancy a work to be used when thinking of the Shakers," notes Evan Jones in the foreword to "The Best of Shaker Cooking" (Miller and Fuller, Collier Books). "The term Shaker cookery, on the other hand, has a fullness to it, like the thought of bread dough made of stoneground flour as it rises imperceptibly under a towel."
But if the food was on the plain side, it was never dull or drab. In a life otherwise filled with austerity, food was one allowed indulgence. Mealtimes were an important time to get together and enjoy the fruits of their labors. In the great kitchens built for communal living, assigned cooks worked long and hard to create meals worthy of each occasion. "No cook is really good without a lively imagination and the will to use it," a Sister Lisset wrote.
A typical meal was described as "bread and butter, pye, strawberry sauce, fried potatoes, fresh meat, stewed beans and green tea sweetened with leaf sugar."
Shaker cooks did not subscribe to the "pinch of this and dab of that" school of food preparation. They ate all meals together, and cooking for hundreds of hungry people three times a day meant they needed definite rules and exact measurements. Thus the Shakers have left behind a rich legacy of recipes, which are coming into increasing popularity today.
"Today, Shaker food is comfort food and more," says Bobbie Crosby in "Shaker Cooking" (Crescent). "The subtle use of herbs combined with meats and vegetables makes it both fresh tasting and refreshing. The traditional choice of ingredients makes it timeless and unintimidating."
And, add Caroline Percy and Arthur Tolve in "Shaker Cookbook" (Gabriel's Horn), "Their principles of lots of vegetables, little meat and plenty of breads fit in with today's nutrition recommendations."
Officially known as the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, they became known to the world as Shakers because of their ritualistic dances, their "shaking out of sins" as it were.
The movement, started by Mother Ann Lee, began in New York shortly after the American Revolution as an offshoot of the English Quakers. By the 1840s, nearly 6,000 Shakers lived in communities from Maine to Kentucky, making them one of the largest and best known communal societies in 19th-century America.
The Shakers were celibate, living together as brothers and sisters in the Lord's work. Their quest for simplicity and perfection was of utmost importance, but they were also practical and innovative people. Although they seldom applied for patents, Shakers were inventors of a rotary harrow, a threshing machine, a wood-burning stove, a fertilizer spreader, a slint-cutting machine for the manufacturing of baskets, a pea sheller, a butter churn driven by water, a self-acting cheese press, an apple parer and a revolving oven.
They were skilled horticulturists, developing new species of apples, plums and peaches. They were careful workmen, marketing brooms, preserves, garden seeds and herbs that were known throughout the country for their quality.
Thrift and industry were practiced in every aspect of their lives, but particularly in meal preparation. Nothing went to waste. A great iron soup pot was kept by the glowing fire at all times, and into it went trimmings of meat, bones of roasts and broth from all cooked vegetables.
Careful and thrifty though they were, the Shakers were also gracious hosts, feeding and putting up countless hungry travelers who came for food and shelter.
"The table is completely furnished with food at intervals of every four plates," wrote one such traveler, "and waiting sisters, who take monthly turns at this work, replenish the food-plates as fast as emptied."
The Shakers were concerned not only with the food but also with making mealtime pleasant. "It is necessary at the table that we consider the happiness of those about us," wrote Mother Lee. "Therefore a system of rules must be observed during the time occupied at table in order to make it a pleasurable satisfaction as well as a physical necessity.
"Our lives are primarily for the purpose of giving pleasure to others, to those about us, therefore, we must practice orderliness and cleanliness."
The term "Shaker your plate" came into use to describe the practice of eating everything one took and taking no more than one could eat.
Above all, the Shakers looked upon preparing food not as a labor but as a glorious opportunity to serve God joyously by feeding his children. And they were ever grateful for their sometimes meager, sometimes plentiful supply. "Every day is Thanksgiving Day at the Shaker communities," wrote a North Union elder, "for the Believers never cease being thankful for the great bounty God bestows upon his children."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Simple gifts
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'till by turning, turning we come round right.
Best known of Shaker Folk Music, sung and written by Shakers
RECIPES
TOMATO CELERY SOUP
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 10 1/2-ounce can tomato soup
1 teaspoon minced parsley
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can water
Saute onion and celery in butter; do not brown. Add tomato soup, water, parsley, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. Celery will remain crisp.
Top with unsweetened whipped cream and chopped parsley.
- From Pleasant Hill
- Each serving contains 129 calories, 7 g fat, 16 carb, 780 mg sodium, 15 mg cholesterol.
CORN PUDDING
2 cups corn
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 cup milk
Blend butter, sugar, flour and salt. Add eggs, beating well. Stir in corn and milk. Pour ingredients into buttered casserole and bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees F. Stir once, halfway through cooking. When done, pudding will be golden brown and silver knife inserted will come out clean.
Note: Mixture can be prepared ahead and kept in a jar in the refrigerator. Shake well and pour into baking dish.
- From Pleasant Hill
- Each serving contains 524 calories, 18 g fat, 76 g carb, 750 mg sodium, 191 mg cholesterol.
SHAKER LEMON PIE
2 large lemons
4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups sugar
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell and top crust
Slice lemons as thin as paper, rind and all. Combine with sugar; mix well. Let stand 2 hours, or preferably overnight, blending occasionally. Add beaten eggs to lemon mixture; mix well. Turn into pie shell, arranging lemon slices evenly. Cover with top crust. Cut several slits near center. Bake at 450 degrees F. for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for about 20 minutes or until silver knife inserted near edge of pie comes out clean. Cool before serving.
- From Pleasant Hill
- Each serving contains 417 calories, 11 g. fat, 78 g carb, 184 mg sodium, 142 mg cholesterol.
PUMPKIN MUFFINS
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup flour
Cream sugar, molasses and butter; add egg and pumpkin and blend well. Mix the flour with soda and salt, stir into pumpkin mixture. Fold in nuts. Fill well-greased muffin pans half-full with batter; bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes.
- From Pleasant Hill
- Each serving contains 226 calories, 10 mg fat, 33 g carb, 201 mg sodium, 38 mg cholesterol.
PORK CHOPS WITH MUSTARD SAUCE
4 thick pork chops
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cider
1 teaspoon mustard
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
In a large skillet, over low heat, brown the chops very slowly in the butter. This should take 30 to 40 minutes, keeping the pan covered. Add cider and cook for 10 minutes or longer until chops are tender (cooking time will depend on thickness of chops).
Remove chops to heated platter and keep warm. Add the mustard, seasonings and cream to liquid in skillet; heat until hot. Pour over chops, garnish with parsley and serve at once.
- From Shaker Cooking
- Each serving contains 454 calories, 39 g fat, 5 g carb, 675 mg sodium, 133 mg cholesterol.
SHAKER DRIED APPLE CAKE
1 cup dried apples
1 cup molasses
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves or allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Place dried apples in a bowl and add cold water to cover. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 6 hours. Drain and chop finely. Place in a saucepan with molasses, and when it begins to simmer, cook for 20 minutes. Cool. Combine cream, sugar and egg and beat until smooth. Combine remaining dry ingredients and sift together several times. Add liquids to dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Stir in fruit and molasses mixture. Pour into a buttered and floured 8x8x2 pan and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F. oven for 45-50 minutes or until done. Dried apricots or prunes may be substituted for apples.
- From The Shaker Cookbook
- Each serving contains 244 calories, 3 g fat, 53 g carb, 248 mg sodium, 23 mg cholesterol.
CARAMEL BREAD PUDDING
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup bread crumbs
2 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Melt 1/2 cup sugar in small frying pan and cook slowly until it browns. Add to milk and crumbs and soak for about 20 minutes. Add eggs, 1/4 cup sugar and spices. Mix well. Pour into greased 1-quart ovenproof dish, set dish in shallow pan containing hot water. Bake at 350 F. for 1 hour or until done.
- From The Best of Shaker Cooking
- Each serving contains 206 calories, 6 g fat, 27 g carb, 277 mg sodium, 116 mg cholesterol.
ROSEMARY BISCUITS
2 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons dried rosemary or 3 teaspoons crumbled fresh rosemary
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in butter. Combine milk and egg and rosemary. Stir into dry mixture. Mix well but lightly. Roll out dough on a floured bread board, cut into rounds. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 450 F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until done.
- From The Best of Shaker Cooking
- Each serving contains 156 calories, 8.5 g fat, 17 g carb, 351 mg sodium, 39 mg cholesterol.
BAKED CARROTS
3 cups grated carrots
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Put grated carrots in an earthenware casserole. Add butter, salt, pepper, ginger and brown sugar. Cover and bake in a moderate 350 F. oven for 30 minutes.
- From The Best of Shaker Cooking
- Each serving contains 83 calories, 6 g fat, 8 g carb, 433 mg sodium, 15 mg cholesterol.