The fall season brings the conclusion of this year’s Saturdays at Burnside (April-Nov.) Saturday, Oct. 30, historic interpreters Joanne Ritter and Carolyn Blaylock presented a wonderful tutorial and demonstration of traditional Moravian colonial cooking.

Mrs. Ritter has been a volunteer at Burnside for 19 years and Mrs. Blaylock for four years. Both declare a love for cooking and history. The ladies prepared traditional Moravian apple pasties, a type of fried apple tart. The filling “receipt” – or as we call it “recipe” – was based on that used in 1753 by Eliza Smith.

The puff pastry crust was based on the 1747 receipt of Hannah Glass. In the traditional fashion, the women “interpreters” prepared and fried the pasties in the 1740 summer kitchen, which is a small building near the main house traditionally used for summer cooking so as not to overheat the dwelling during the already hot summer days. Baking was a very long, hot process that required time and timber to meet the quantity and quality of baked products. Frying was often an alternative to baking and did not require the time or precision of baking.

From the authentic “receipts” to the stoneware used for cooking, the interpreters focus on using period appropriate replicas, attesting to the vast research and realistic detail provided in this presentation. History buffs, young and old, are encouraged to be part of the Burnside story. For more information, visit historicbethlehem.org