Not too many years ago the H.J. Heinz Company, famous Pennsylvania food processors, entertained 140 newspaper food editors who were holding their annual conference at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The dinner given was Pennsylvania-Dutch, a sampling of what a housewife of the old school might do when company came.

Here’s the menu for the evening: sauerbraten in rich brown gravy, geschmelzte nudle, oven-baked beans, tomatoes, fried eggplant, sweets and sours shoo-fly pie, cheesecake, cider and coffee. On every table a lazy Susan gaily painted with Dutch design was loaded with a tempting array of the traditional seven sweets and seven sours.

The sweets, of course, were the jellies and jams, spiced fruits, marmalades, and fruit butters. The sours, the pickles, relishes, and tangy sauces, with any number of vegetables marinated in vinegar and spice. One of the best of the best of them is the sweet and sour beans. Also, I want you to have the sauerbraten recipe, as no dish is more typical of Pennsylvania than this spicy pot roast.

Clementine Paddleford, How America Eats (1960)

SAUERBRATEN

Yield: 6 portions

1½ C cider vinegar
½ C red wine
1 C water
12 peppercorns, plus an additional ½ tsp
2 Tbsp sugar
2 large onions, peeled, sliced, plus an additional 1 onion sliced
4 bay leaves
12 whole cloves, plus an additional 6
1 tsp mustard seed, plus an additional 1½ tsp
2 tsp salt, plus an additional 1½ tsp
4 lb round or rump of beef
2 Tbsp flour, plus an additional 1/3 C
Dash pepper
¼ C shortening
1/3 C crushed gingersnaps

Two to four days before serving, combine cider vinegar, red wine, water, 12 peppercorns, sugar, 2 large sliced onions, bay leaves, 12 whole cloves, 1 tsp mustard seed, and 2 tsp salt in a large bowl, place beef in mixture, cover, and let stand 2 to 4 days in refrigerator, turning each day. At the end of marinating period remove meat and dry on paper toweling. Reserve marinade and strain. Combine 2 Tbsp flour, additional 1½ tsp salt, and pepper, coat roast with mixture on all sides, and brown roast on all sides in hot shortening in a Dutch oven. Add strained marinade, additional 1 sliced onion, additional 1½ tsp mustard seeds, additional 6 whole cloves, and additional ½ tsp peppercorns, cover, and simmer 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat to heated platter, “slicing beforehand, if desired.” Strain cooking liquid. Combine additional 1/3 C flour and crushed gingersnaps in same Dutch oven used to cook meat, slowly add reserved cooking liquid, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Pour some of the grave over the meat and serve remainder at table.