Amid the rolling fields of Amish farms hides a local treasure: Kitchen Kettle Village. What started out as a small jelly business, out of a two-car garage in 1954, quickly grew into a booming tourist attraction.
But Kitchen Kettle Village is more than just a tourist attraction. It’s a cherished local gathering place, a visiting tradition. The village hosts an impressive 42 shops, 2 restaurants and 17 lodging rooms.
Fun Fact: Between 850,00 and a million people visit the Village each year!
At the center of Kitchen Kettle Village, visitors can find the most popular attraction, The Jam & Relish Kitchen, the villages’ very first store.
While not everything canned and sold from the Jam & Relish Kitchen is grown locally — because there wouldn’t be enough! — it is all grown somewhere in America.
“We do try to feature local items whenever we can,” says Laura Henry, The Jam & Relish Kitchen Manager.
Fun Fact: They sell 35,000 gift boxes with six 1 and 1/2 oz. jars of jelly in them!
Experience The Jam & Relish Kitchen
The sweet aroma of fresh pies and cookies baking welcomes visitors inside the Kitchen. There, they find a bounty of homemade baked goods and locally canned relishes, salsas and pickles. Many displays offer delicious samples of what the Kitchen sells, the visitors’ taste buds dancing with delight.
“[People] come here for the experience. They get to see the Amish ladies making the stuff in the kitchen,” says Henry. “A lot of people that aren’t from this area don’t know a whole lot about canning so they’re fascinated to watch everything that we’re doing.”
Fun Fact: They pickle 3,360,00 beets and go through 2 and 1/2 tons of cream cheese, mixing it with jams and relishes for samples — all in one year!
But the appeal of The Jam & Relish Kitchen isn’t only found in the mouthwatering scents and tasty samples. Many visitors treasure this time because it’s a family tradition for them.
“A lot of people have been coming here for years and generations. They came here with their parents and their parents came here with their parents so it kind of becomes a tradition,” says Henry.
This family time means more to the visitors than the local delicious food ever will but that’s why the Kitchen Kettle Village likes their guests so much: they value family, just like we do in Lancaster County.
Information used by permission from Kitchen Kettle Village. Check out the Kitchen Kettle Village website for hours and upcoming events.
