Old Salem abounds with tasty treats made from old Moravian and German recipes that have been passed down for years. You can taste the excellent culinary culture and history in every bite.
Moravian Ginger Cookies: These thin, crisp gingersnap-like cookies are delightful – if you dip them in tea. I found them a little too crunchy that the spices didn’t quite come out when I first tasted them. However, after having them with hot tea I am a convert.
Lemon Ice Cream: Okay, so I got this at the Farmers Market, and you can only get it on Saturdays, but you must do it. A woman with a tiny cart makes it at home from her own cows’ milk and sells it for cheap (hopefully she stills does).
Mint Gelato: The same woman also sells mint gelato that ranked right up there with the gelato I had in Rome.
Sugar Cake: Something between monkey bread and a dense glazed doughnut topped with cinnamon, this sugar cake is best eaten fresh from the bakery where it is made.
Garlic Rosemary Bread: Also best fresh, this bread is herbed to perfection and is slightly crisp on the outside due to baking in a wood oven.
Free-Range Chicken Livers: Get these at the Tavern served with sauerkraut.
Gingerbread: Then, for dessert, get this at the Tavern topped with lemon ice cream. The spicy gingerbread and the tart-sweet lemon ice cream is the best of possible combinations.
Sugar Cookies: Crispy, but not as thin as the ginger cookies, these things are exactly what a sugar cookie should taste like. They aren’t the store-bought versions with the nasty frosting and (even worse) sprinkles, these are an excellent amalgamation of vanilla and butter flavors topped with sugar crystals.
Lemon Cookies: This cookie flavor can be a toss-up. Some lemon cookies taste artificial, some are too lemon-y, some are too faint. These are none of those things. The lemon cookies are made with fresh ingredients and an old recipe that makes them worth every penny.
– M. Ray Hall
