FOOD

A German Sense for Flavor

As a German community the Aurora Colony was renowned for the food. Nowhere was this more evident than in the food served at its popular hotel across from the train depot. The food would have been similar to what was served in the separate homes. Naturally the food came from the Colony farms, and the members of the community would gather together during the appropriate seasons to harvest apples or butcher hogs. The large sizes of cooking utensils and tools in the museum collection show the large scale on which food was prepared or preserved in the Aurora Colony.

The Colony’s reputation for fine cooking spread to regional renown thanks to the hotel and to a Colony restaurant set up for many years during the Oregon State Fair. German-style meals drew crowds who waited in line to enjoy the home-style cooking.

Henry T. Finck in Food and Flavor

“One of the most precious things that the Colonists brought from the old country was the skill to cook a savory meal. It was plain German cooking; but the sausages were made of honest pork and the hams had the appetizing flavor which the old-fashioned smoke house gives them, the bread was soft but baked thoroughly, the butter was fresh and fragrant and the pancakes melted in the mouth. As for the supreme effort of Aurora cookery—noodle soup made with the boiled chicken, the mere memory of it makes my mouth water.

“We also used to peel and cut up apples for drying. Very few people know the most delicious way to eat apples. We knew it. Turn the wheel of the peeler round two or three times; that removes the skin. Then, keep on turning till all the pulp has peeled off into your left hand.  Drop this into your mouth and you will know the meaning of flavor.”

Spinach

The German folk of the colony were very fond of spinach and it was to be found in every garden along with the turnips, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, garlic, onions, corn, potatoes, mustard, peppers and squash.