Kootchen? No wait. Kuchen. Yes the German dessert. I must be a tad bit dyslexic because for the majority of my life I have been pronouncing it wrong, but that is beside the point. I have tried this dish numerous different times but my family has never made it homemade. My mom and I were out for our Sunday stroll to Bronson's when we discovered this wonderful treat for sale. Quite thrilled with the find, we immediately purchased the kuchen and took it home for the taste test. Sadly, it was not as good as I remembered, so my amusement level quickly dropped. Our only hope is now to attempt baking our own.
Trying recipe after recipe on the internet also proved to be a fail. We were seriously struggling with the consistency and our flavor was a little too salty. So that brought us to the last resort: calling the 90 year old full-blooded German neighbor and beg her to teach us. Reluctantly, she accepted and we made an afternoon out of the deal. Not knowing what to expect, my mom and I patiently watched the clock until it was time for Ester to arrive. Three o'clock comes and not a moment later the door bell is ringing. My emotions run wild hoping we are successful with this final attempt to make the delicious dessert.
By five thirty it has turned into quite the productive day. We completed two peach kuchen, two strawberry rhubarb kuchen, three cottage cheese kuchen, and one pan of caramel rolls. It was not an easy day. Ester was quite particular with her recipe and the order in which everything must happen; however, her knowledge of the craft was remarkable. I am so thrilled we spent the day baking. I now have the memories and brains to replicate the recipe and pass it on to the next generation as well as share it with my family now.
I never really thought not knowing how to bake kuchen could be detrimental, but to put it in perspective, a whole part of our history could have easily just been erased. Without Ester's help my mom and I would never have tried to create kuchen again. It is extremely sad neither one of us ever took the time to learn how before. I am very grateful for this experience. It has shown me how important a simple recipe can become with time and age.
I really think you did this piece very well! The descriptive wording helped me visualize everything you were doing and the 90 year old lady sticks in my head as well. Kuchen is a delicious dessert! GREAT JOB!
ReplyDeleteI really like the description of your traditions. You also expressed your emotions about Ester very well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this memory with us! You did a great job describing everything that happened from when you went to the store and was filled with disapointment to when you had like 8 kuchens. This really shows how much traditions mean to you. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI thought this was well written. You could have added more detail in the taste. The description of how excited you were to buy that kuchen at the store was so vivid, then you kind of stopped once you talked about making your own. You used the word kuchen a lot too, I know it's hard to find a different word for something so specific, but maybe there was a possibility you could write it in German. You did a really good job with this otherwise!
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you started. I laughed a little because I have a cousin that pronounced it the same way so that was funny.
ReplyDeleteSam, I appreciate your love and desire for the art of passing on traditions like making German dishes. I would agree with Hunter, your attention getter drew me in. Careful to keep your writing in the same tense. I noticed some repetition in your writing, quite and now occur often. Be sure to proofread. It would be interesting to have you talk more about your overall experience of making kuchen--how did the dough feel, what lessons did Ester have to teach you? Those types of things.
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