In the wintertime, there’s just a tremendous amount of activity in Pinecraft, Florida. This is the time of year when Pinecraft comes to life.
Buses come from the north with Amish couples. The town comes alive as old friends meet and new friendships are made.
I generally describe Pinecraft as an Amish and, and conservative Mennonite enclave within Sarasota county. Most visitors come for the food, especially those Whoopie Pies, but hang out for the people watching.
Pinecraft Amish Community
Most people that you will see people with distinctive garb are old order Amish or very conservative Mennonites. Most Mennonites can’t be distinguished and live in Pinecraft year round.
People don’t come to see the Mennonites. They come to see the Amish and to eat at an Amish Restaurant.
The Amish population swells in the winter from those traveling down from Northern communities and their history in this area can be traced back to 1931.
There were farmers from the north who wanted to do something in the wintertime. They came to Venice and planted, watermelon and a few other crops like that. The Land wasn’t suitable there. So they moved farther north to Sarasota.
It was very inexpensive land. They could build small houses. Some of the early people that came to the area actually lived in tents until, until they had little cottages built.
Now nearly a hundred years later, they come for a different reason. Sunshine, definitely sunshine. It’s good for the soul.
The homes in Pinecraft have electricity and many of the residents have cellphones and electric appliances.
Some people would say, no Amish should have cell phones. Well, some Amish do they, they will use electricity. They’ll go back north. And most of the old order Amish would not use electricity when they go back north. So there are some things that are different here. That’s just been accepted over time.
You won’t see horse and buggy travel here. Folks walk throughout the small community or ride bicycles.
Visiting in Pinecraft
In the evening, the community comes alive with folks walking and biking through the streets. As they go, they stop at various homes and speak with their neighbors sitting on the porch.
The shuffleboard court is always crowded and is alive with friendly competition and conversation.
Shuffleboard at Pinecraft
Next time you are near Sarasota, take time to visit Pinecraft.
Here are some of my favorite Amish communities to visit. There are over 600 Amish communities and I certainly haven’t visited them all. But here are some of my favorites.
Holmes County, Ohio.
What do I like about this community? Well, it’s a beautiful area. It’s a very friendly community. Overall. This is actually the second-largest Amish community. In Holmes County, Amish make up, nearly half of the population. It’s very heavily Amish.
If you want to see the full range of Amish in terms of the most conservative to the most progressive Amish, then this would be the place to go. You have everything from the very plain Amish, all the way up to the most progressive Amish that use tractors in the fields. There are lots of shops, lots of restaurants, and lots of places to see.
It’s just a real pleasant experience to drive through this community, and stop in at Amish stores.
Best Places To Visit The Amish
Etheridge, Tennessee.
General Store, Etheridge, TN
So what do I like about this community? These are the pretty much, the most plain of all Amish. What’s really attractive about this place is if you like to go to Amish businesses and stop in and buy things from Amish shops, or even from the front porch of an Amish home, this is the community for you because there are a ton of little stores selling, all sorts of Amish made goods, everything from candles to rugs, to furniture, to produce, to canned goods, and more.
If you want to meet Amish people, the best way to do that is to visit them out in their businesses.
Etheridge offers a lot of opportunities to do that. And it’s a plainer Amish group. You can learn how some of the plain Amish live quite simply in tech restricted conditions. This is such a great community.
Big Valley, Pennsylvania.
One of the largest Amish communities would be Big Valley, Pennsylvania. Big Valley is a nickname for the Kisha Coquis Valley.This is in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, right in the center of the state.
What’s nice about this community is that it is a beautiful area. As the name says, it’s literally a 30-mile long by about five-mile wide valley, and the Amish live all throughout the valley. The first time I drove through the valley, I was awed by the beauty. Two ridges of mountains line the 2 sides of the highway, and the valley is filled with farms and homes.
The other thing that’s very interesting is you find really three specific groups of Amish here, each distinct from one another. And that’s probably best seen in the colors of the buggies because within this one valley, you will find black buggies, yellow buggies, and white top buggies.
Why are there different colors of Amish Buggies?
When the Amish moved into the area, their buggies were made of the materials available to them at the time. The buggy styles then became a standard for the communities, even when they settled in new areas.
Nebraska Amish Buggy
The Nebraska Amish are considered the most conservative of the three, and you can see that reflected in the style of their buggies. They have open fronts. They only have lanterns on the side, not battery-powered lights, as most other Amish buggies will have.
There’s a weekly auction there in the town of Bellville, which is right in the middle of the valley. And you’ll see a lot of Amish people buying and selling things there a little bit off the beaten path as well
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, PA Amish Village
This community is the oldest of all Amish communities. It’s technically the largest, although it’s just, just a little bit larger than the Holmes county community. This is a really beautiful picturesque area. These are some of the neatest and most well-cared-for farms, which you’ll find among the Amish.
This area has a lot of history and it’s of course, it’s very well geared to visitors. Lancaster County has lot of restaurants and a lot of Amish businesses that you can visit places to stay. You do get a lot of people that visit Lancaster county. So it is the most popular community to visit of them all.
Brooks Garden, Virginia
Heading into Burke’s garden
Burke’s Garden is a bowl-shaped valley scooped out of the rugged Appalachian Mountains in Southwest VA. This is a very small Amish community. The main reason I put Burke’s Garden here is it is such a unique location and also very difficult to get to, which I think in my mind adds to its appeal.
Brooks Garden is a community that’s within a valley, that’s enclosed on all sides. And there’s really only one paved road going into the valley, very winding, a lot of switchbacks cutbacks to get into this community. So when you get there, you really feel like you’ve gone there on purpose. You meant to get there. You don’t accidentally drive through Brooks Garden.
Burke’s Garden General Store
Now it’s quite a small community. There are only maybe between the one and two dozen Amish households there. That said there are several Amish businesses there, including two general stores, well food stores where you can get food, canned goods, and those sorts of things.
These Amish are originally from Delaware. How did this unique valley get created? Well kind of looks like a dormant volcano from above, but that’s not what it is. It said that there was once a limestone mountain here that collapsed upon itself a long time ago, just a beautiful setting, very isolated, very off the beaten path. Very kind of interesting backstory to this community.
Pinecraft, Florida
Pinecraft, Florida
Pinecraft, Florida is a pretty unique community in that you won’t find any Amish buggies here. This is kind of the Amish vacation spot different from all other Amish communities. In that sense, one of the last places you’d expect a find Amish. It is a Sarasota area neighborhood, a neat and unique location.
I have a very close friend that has a house and winters in Pinecraft. I have visited him there and really enjoyed it.
Pinecraft has a large shuffleboard court that is a center for the community. In the evenings it is alive with folks visiting with one another. The streets are also busy with bicycles and people walking. They will stop along their way to visit with neighbors who are sitting on their porches. This is probably the friendliest community I have ever visited.
What’s your favorite community or communities that you’ve been to?
I was so surprised to find this recipe in an Amish cookbook. When I think of Amish recipes I think of casseroles, fruit pies, fry pies, plain cookies, whoopie pies, and wonderful chicken and gravy dishes. Coca-Cola seems to me to be a worldly treat. Few Amish homes have soda pops in their homes.
Yet, here is this delicious and unique pie straight from Amish Country.
As a bonus, I have included the recipe for a Coca-Cola Pecan Pie.
COCA-COLA PIE
9-inch graham cracker crust pie shell (you may substitute a prebaked pie crust)
What is Ganache? Ganache is made of an equal amount of chocolate and heavy cream. It is commonly used as a filling or a frosting.
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup of heavy cream (You may substitute half&half cream mixed with 1/4 cup butter for the heavy cream.)
DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan and place over medium heat.
Stir constantly with a whisk until thickened, 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Pour into graham cracker crust.
Cover and place in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.
Place chocolate chips and cream in a microwave-safe bowl.
Place bowl in the microwave for 45-second intervals, stirring after each, until chips are melted and the mixture is creamy and easy to blend.
Stir together until thoroughly blended and creamy.
Allow ganache to cool for five to ten minutes before spreading on top of refrigerated pie
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
Ingredients
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (you can make your own in a food blender)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoons brown sugar packed
7 Tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs (skip this step if starting with graham cracker crumbs).
Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.
Pour mixture into pie or springform pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of the pan and gently press up the sides. Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pie pan.
If the crust needs to be pre-baked, bake on 375F for 7-10 minutes. If using this crust as part of a different recipe, bake according to your recipe’s instructions. If this crust is for a no-bake recipe, refrigerate or freeze for 10-20 minutes before filling.
How To Make Coca-Cola Pecan Pie
1 pie crust
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup Coca-Cola
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees.
Unroll 1 pie crust and place in 9-inch pie plate.
Unroll the remaining crust and press over the bottom crust; gently press crusts together. Fold edges under and crimp.
STIR together eggs, sugar, corn syrup, Coca-cola, butter, vanilla and salt in large bowl
This is a delicious parmesan chicken recipe without the tomato-based sauce. Forgoing the spaghetti sauce allows you to enjoy the juicy taste of the meat enhanced with the crisp breading.
Quick and easy to make, it will soon become a favorite of yours, I am sure.
INGREDIENTS
3 pounds chicken thighsor boneless breasts
3 /4 cup cracker crumbs
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon basil leaves
1 /2 teaspoon oregano
1 /2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 stick butter
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix all dry ingredients.
Melt butter in a 9X13-inch pan.
Dip chicken pieces in butter and then coat with crumbs.
