Few realize how much work is involved for a church to create an authentic pork and sauerkraut dinner for up to 200 people.

A 20th annual pork and sauerkraut dinner was held recently in St. John’s United Church of Christ in Emmaus. Church member Don Kaufman, who made it happen with a crew of volunteers, said the Nov. 2 dinner featured all homemade food, beginning with sauerkraut.

Approximately seven weeks before the dinner, cabbage was shredded and mixed with a little sea salt. The cabbage was placed into five-gallon plastic buckets and covered with plastic bags full of water to keep it air tight. Salted water was added to the buckets as needed to keep the cabbage wet.

“Next, we traveled to Lancaster County to find the best apples to make the applesauce,” Kaufman said. “This year we selected from 10 different varieties at Kauffman’s Apple Orchard in Bird In Hand.

“The apples were washed and sized before cooking, and then processed through an applesauce machine churned by hand. The skin and core were removed in this process.

“Next, we added sugar and cinnamon to taste. The applesauce was refrigerated until the event.”

The day before the dinner, volunteers peeled and sized 150 pounds of potatoes.

Around 8 a.m. on the day of the dinner, the volunteers loaded 200 pounds of pork into a whole row of electric roasters. Next, they cooked the potatoes, which were mixed with the best ingredients to make delicious mashed potatoes.

Around 12:30 p.m., they added the sauerkraut into the roasters and cooked it until done.

Volunteers began serving the dinners to both church members and the public 4 p.m. in the church’s fellowship hall.

Church members baked fresh pies and cakes for dessert.

The pork and sauerkraut dinner was started 20 years ago by a few church members who wanted to raise money for St. John’s, 139 N. Fourth St. and create more community awareness about the church.

One of the original organizers was the late Fred Bartholomew, of Allentown, who died in 2013.

“Fred got me involved with the cooking about 10 years ago, and when Fred passed, I decided to keep the event going,” Kaufman said.

“Today, we have many church members who volunteer their time to help, including our pastor, the Rev. Dr. Paul Knappenberger.”