It’s not gibberish, rather, it’s the language of my people.
I say “my people” only in the colloquial sense of course, in that I am descended from Mennonites who emigrated from Russia, Poland and Germany on both sides of my family. I don’t practice the Mennonite tenets of faith (or any tenets for that matter) but I have a passive interest in the language, mostly in the context of Mennonite culinary traditions in which I am very actively interested. That language is Plautdietsch.
Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch influence, that developed in the 16th and 17th Century in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia, today Polish territory. The word is etymologically cognate with Plattdeutsch, or Low German. Plaut is the same word as German platt or Dutch plat, meaning ‘Low’, but the name Dietsch = Dutch Diets, meaning ‘ordinary language, language of the people’
Source: plaudietsch.ca
Understanding the language allows me to connect with the recipes and culinary traditions on a deeper level. When I call it Verenikja instead of perogies, there’s something extra that goes into it. Cabbage rolls are Holuptchi, fruit soup is Pluma Mous (or Moos). My grandmother used to make Zwieback, (twice baked bread – the cracker kind, not the double bun kind), but never in my life had I heard of bubbaht until last night.
Bubbaht is a sweet, pudding like stuffing for chicken or turkey. A simple cake batter of eggs, milk, flour, sugar and vanilla is mixed with a double dose of raisins and stuffed into a turkey before baking. The savoury drippings mix with the sweet cake to create a delightful alternative to traditional dressing.
Since I’m engaging in some Mennonite cooking this week (I made a batch of 64 cabbage rolls with the help of a sweet girl I’ve been lucky enough to connect with), and no doubt turkeys are on sale (it’s just after Christmas), I’m going to take a chance and try making some Wurscht Bubbaht.
Basically, I’ll make the traditional Bubbaht (as above), but instead of raisins I’ll use some Mennonite sausage (the aforementioned Wurscht) that came from a portion of piggy I purchased earlier this year. I can’t wait to stand next to the oven and inhale the sweet drippings as they mingle with the baking sausage and cakey pudding.
Frankly, I’m salivating just thinking about it. How about you?
Of note, I’m not sure what Bubbaht means – a preliminary Google search turned up mostly results for the Bruce Campbell film “Bubba Ho Tep”, which I’ve seen and love as I love Bruce and everything he does. If anyone can tell me, please do. Alternatively, I may just call this recipe Bubba Ho Turkey…