The Hillel-Stammtisch Cooking Project

Growing up in Houston, I had this one… difficult… great-aunt. She turned her genuinely tough family life into an obsession with Texas Primitive, that is, furniture and household items from the early pioneer days in Texas. For a long time, she slept on a “rope” bed, and her sofa and chairs were stuffed with straw. I think she even churned her own butter.

She frequented estate sales, perhaps paying $500 for an entire household of goods. This great-aunt would sell furniture and household items from her shop at the corner of West Dallas and Dunlavy – shop’s name was Planks and Platters – but things like books, she gave to me.

Most books, recipes, and magazines were auf Deutsch. Little known Texas trivia: Until World War I, Texas schools were bilingual, either Spanish-English or German-English. A great many estate sale books were German-language textbooks used in public schools in areas like Schulenburg and Round Top in the late 1800s, until 1914. Also ballots and all public documents in Texas were printed in three languages: English, Spanish, and German. One of those ‘insignificant’ details the “speak English!” crowd forgets.

Among the books that entered my library in the 1970s: Henriette Davidis’ 1879 Cookbook for Germans in America. I lugged that book from one modest apartment to the next, intending “one day” to do something with it.

Once Center for White Rose Studies was founded in 2005, we knew exactly what purpose this ancient cookbook would serve. We envisioned a “fun” update of Davidis’ Cookbook as a primary, long-term fundraiser. I translated, and Joyce accepted responsibility for taking my literal translations of Davidis’ unusual recipes and playing with them until they conformed to modern expectations.

Her project included reducing serving sizes, since few households serve a family of twelve plus farmhands. Joyce also planned to make the recipes healthier – less sugar and butter, for example. And of course, she was going to make them simpler! Not even Julia Childs would likely have the patience that Henriette Davidis’ readers enjoyed.

But with Joyce’s death, we had to shelve the project. Rev. David Green of Oakland, California stepped in the breach and did yeoman’s work translating the bulk of the recipes. Correspondence with him after Joyce’s death once again brought smiles and laughter to the project we’d almost abandoned.

We’re following the original wording and format as closely as possible. When the cookbook is published, each recipe will show that original translation, plus a “real life” version. When possible, we’ll also include a much-simplified version that makes use of microwaves and crock pots.

“Real life” and simplified versions will be formatted the way you’d expect, with ingredients listed, plus step by step instructions. Additionally, [anything in brackets] is not in the original text. If the translator adds a comment, e.g., “There are no heating instructions,” that comment will be in brackets. If Davidis added a comment to the recipe, e.g., “You can substitute arrak for Madeira,” there will not be brackets around the note.

In the translation of Davidis’ recipes, we left measurements in their original form. Conversion chart for all known measurements (especially ounces to cups) is included in this section. If you know conversions we’ve missed, or if you disagree with what we show, please comment here!

If you’re in that sweet cross-section of “friends of the Center for White Rose Studies” and cooking enthusiasts, and you’d like to don aprons and dust off baking tins and frying pans, let me know! There are still plenty of undeveloped recipes. You could help us if you try some of the recipes, experimenting with measurements and ingredients.

If you have an old family recipe that sounds a whole lot like a recipe you see here, add YOUR version via “comments” – when the cookbook is finally finished, we’ll credit everyone who makes this a success. If your family recipe has a story connected to it, please add that as well. Our cookbook will be a history lesson too, reminding us how interconnected we all are.

Since many of Davidis’ readers were Jewish Germans who had emigrated to the United States, if your family has a version of a recipe that you enjoy at Pesach or High Holy Days, or on Shabbat, let us know about that as well. If it requires kasherizing, tell us how you did that. (Kasherizing will be most necessary in the meats section.)

Let the meals begin!

Postscript #1 (2026): This project is temporarily on hold, because it is now just me. Not only did my mom die, but so did the lovely Rev. David Green. It's backburnered, not cancelled. Although please do let me know if this is something you'd like to run with!

Postscript #2: Extra credit to anyone who tries out the stranger recipes, e.g., tongue. Although we really don’t expect anyone to cook sparrow or pigeon.

Note: Please do NOT try recipes that use endangered species, like heron. We have left them in this translation for informational purposes only! I’ve deleted recipes that call for ingredients we now know to be poisonous. Although it’s funny to consider ingredients Davidis thought were toxic! Eggplant, anyone?

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To order digital version of White Rose History, Volume I: Coming Together (January 1933-April 30, 1942), click here. To order digital version of White Rose History, Volume II, click here. WRH1 is © 2002, 2003, 2007 by Denise Elaine Heap. WRH2 is © 2002, 2007 by Denise Elaine Heap.

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