Amana Colony Recipes Cookbook

The Homestead Welfare Club founded about 1919, published this popular cookbook in 1948-49 to help preserve recipes used in the communal kitchens before 1932. It was based on hardy, family style recipes to serve 30- 40 people but later revised to serve families of four. The recipes are of a wide variety-everyday, holiday,and those inspired by The Orient, rich in spices, fruit and nuts, as well as dishes from the ancestors in Europe. All were designed to take full advantage of present day Iowa harvests. Menus for the summer and winter season, special occasions, and evening meals are also shared in the book.
The illustrations represent scenes from old community kitchens, the brick hearth, the long, wooden sink,  large cooking pots, and baskets in which food was carried home.  The cover depicts old indigo Amana blue cotton prints, used for everyday dresses and aprons, that was resist dyed in the woolen mills.
 The cookbook funds helped pave streets and set up sewer systems in Homestead. It was a very popular cookbook compiled by the club volunteers. It has been reprinted many times  and still sold today. Look for it in local Antique Shops and general stores. The club will be celebrating its 100 year anniversary this year, 2019.