By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
The Ellis County Historical Society continued sesquicentennial celebrations with a Volga German cooking demonstration led by Ellis County Commissioner and longtime cook Neal Younger.
The event focused on traditional Volga German dishes and food customs passed down through generations of families who settled in western Kansas after immigrating from Russia.
Younger prepared both galrei and knockwurst for attendees as well as answered questions about cooking techniques and family recipes.
Younger said many of the recipes came from the Volga German community in Catharine and below is a recipe from Volga German, Joe Schmidt. Younger said specifically that 2 cups of pepper are needed for the recipe, both course and fine.
Younger said he learned to cook traditional Volga German food from family members at 9 years old at his hometown in Munjor and has continued cooking for more than 50 years.
“Hopefully, somebody will step up and carry the tradition on,” Younger said. “That is what I want for the future.”
Younger said his grandparents settled in Hays in 1876 during the migration from Russia.
Younger also shared he previously catered events across Kansas, cooking 220-pound hogs stuffed with dressing for weddings and other gatherings. Younger said he no longer caters but still regularly uses homemade smokers for cooking.
Younger said he has cooked so much over the years that he once burned one of his smokers through.
Younger said preparing the dishes for Thursday’s event took several days, with the galrei taking about three hours to prepare and the knockwurst requiring almost a full week because of the cooling process.
Cynthia Stone, administrative assistant for the Ellis County Historical Society, said the demonstration was one of several events planned during the county’s 150th anniversary celebration of Volga German migration to Kansas.
Stone said preserving traditional recipes remains important for future generations.
“Really the point of it, for people to understand the food customs and the traditions,” Stone said. “The only way we are going to be able to keep these recipes alive is to be able to teach them to the younger generation.”
Stone said the demonstration hosted at the Hays Public Library on Wednesday, was the first this year to focus mainly on meat preparation and butchering traditions. She also said the cooking demonstration was the fourth one conducted this year by the sesquicentennial action committee, with several more planned later this year.
