Reading the many PA dutch recipes recently brought to mind my surprise when I first began my genealogy. As I entered names & dates I was astounded to find that 2 and 3 generations ago, my ancestors were living into their 90's and still functioning for themselves. Certainly not the usual life span at that time. They had survived the wonderful, rich, cholesterol filled foods of their heritage. Butter in everything, [lard for pie crusts], dumplings, spaetzle, sticky buns etc. My grandfather said a piece of meat was not good without ample fat which he consumed. By today's standards these people should have died early on from clogged arteries and excess calories. As the king of Siam said, "'tis a puzzlement" Hope I inherited their metabolism. Arline