New Year tradition transcends miles, generations
Last weekend, from Saturday to Sunday, 2016 wrote its final sentence, and 2017 was welcomed with its blank page.
In celebration of the move from the old year to the new, typical, time-worn traditions included:
+ Counting down to midnight . . .
+ . . . While watching the ball drop in Times Square.
+ Remembering to write the new four-digit number for a new year.
+ Replacing the old check register with a fresh new one.
+ Getting up early after a late night to see the Tournament of Roses Parade.
+ Soaking in gridiron play from the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl et al.
PLUS
The pièce de résistance –
+ Making portzilke – those deep-fried in oil, raisin-filled fritters; also called New Year’s Cookies. (In Low German, Niejoash koake, is their name, and in High German, the word is Porzelchen.)
Just as verenike (cottage cheese dough pockets), ham slices and ham gravy define the Christmas holiday, portzilke signals the arrival of a new 365 days. (Related story on verenike at: http://www.cross-countiesconnect.com/2017/01/dry-curd-dried-up-for-just-a-bit/.)
The fritters, of Russian Mennonite history, transcend the miles between the “old country” of the Ukraine and the “new land” the immigrants found in Mountain Lake – as well as between the generations, those who relocated to this area in the late 1800s and those of today who continue the ethnic food tradition.
Whether made New Year’s Eve to be eaten in the new year, or fried on New Year’s Day to be eaten piping hot; whether eaten plain, rolled in powdered sugar or dipped in granulated sugar – the sweet dough and raisin special dessert heralds a new year and its new opportunities.
The High German name means “tumbling over,” because that is exactly what they do when dropped into the hot oil to be deep-fried – they turn over by themselves when done.
Here’s the recipe as found in the Off the Mountain Lake Range cook (and history) book combo, originally published in 1949 by local Gopher Historians sponsored by Elsa Kettler. The book was revised and edited in 1958 by a committee comprised of Margaret Dick, Mrs. George P. Eitzen, Mrs. Nic J. Hiebert, Mrs. W. J. Janssen, Mrs. H. J. Pankratz and Elsa Kettler:
2 cups milk
¼ cup melted butter
3 eggs
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups raisins
1 compressed yeast cake or 1 tablespoon yeast
4-5 cups flour
Scald the milk (heat it until it starts to bubble), then let it cool to lukewarm. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Knead the dough a bit and add the raisins last. Then cover and let rise until double.
Heat oil on medium heat to 350 degrees. Use a candy thermometer to keep the temperature consistent. Drop the dough into the hot oil and fry until brown. The raisin fritters will turn over when they are done.
Drain on paper towels, then top as you wish.
This past New Year’s weekend, families with roots that reach back to the early years of Mountain Lake and across the Atlantic Ocean to the land of those ancestors, shared via Facebook their own kitchen counter-celebrations of “putting on the portzilke.”
For Michael Stoesz, who grew up in Butterfield and now lives in Mountain Lake, it was all about, “The tradition continues. Hard not to think of New Year’s at Grandma and Grandpa Steinle’s, eating New Year’s Cookies and watching the Big Ten lose another Rose Bowl!”
Alison Rahn of Shakopee, but who is a native of Mountain Lake, posted reflections on keeping the tradition alive that included these passionate thoughts, “As I made these today, I savored memories from the past and the fact this food has been made for generations before me. I’m thankful my ancestors were able to find hope, peace and freedom of religion. I sincerely hope the same is true for all who hope and long for the same in 2017.”
That’s what the spirit of portzilke is all about.
