Ruff's Kitchen
You have probably noticed that I use proper names associated
with each of the buildings. This is because that is the way I was
taught them growing up. I have been teased outside of the Amanas
by people that were not raised this way. They say that it doesn't
make sense to them. It does to me so please hang in there!
This was one of the many kitchens in South Amana.
In the communal times, (pre-1932) there were usually between 6 to 8 functioning
kitchens in South. Each of these kitchens fed between 30-60 people
at each meal. That is a lot of food!
There were set meals for each day of the week.
You will have to visit some of the other kitchens in South to find the
menu. It is worth your time. All of the kitchens in
town served the same things at each meal. In this way, it didn't
matter all that much at which kitchen you ate.
The Kuechenbaas (kitchen boss) was the overseer
of that particular kitchen. This is why kitchens are named as above.
The boss of this kitchen, as you have probably guessed, had the last name
of Ruff. This job was very important. It was the duty of the
boss to organize and buy supplies, supervise the help, and watch over the
preservation of the food supplies. Most often this was in the form
of canning and drying the vegetables and fruits.
Each kitchen became known for something. It
might be a meal that it made well, temperment of the kitchen boss, or in
this case..... eggs. You may be wondering "Why eggs?". Since
this kitchen was located so close to the store, it became known for getting
things it needed from the store. In particular, eggs.
It is a building constructed from brick, as are most of the
structures in South Amana. It was erected in 1862 and is still standing.
The ground floor held the kitchen and the upstairs housed the kitchen boss and
her family. It is currently a private residence. 
Picture
courtesy of Amana Heritage Society.