Treasured recipes made better with human ingredient
Among the items my husband inherited from his mother is a well-used black notebook. In it are pages of handwritten recipes, clippings, and even a tiny menu from a restaurant in Shanghai, China prior to the start of World War II. All of these were gathered between 1939-1950 as the family followed Jack’s career Navy father to various postings.
When I flipped through the little notebook I realized we not only had to preserve it but share it with family members. Accordingly I intend to scan each page, insert photos of the family from the period, and any side comments Jack cares to make. I’ll get the material printed and bound in some way and send copies as Christmas gifts. And, then we’ll preserve the original in an acid-free environment.
If you’re fortunate enough to possess a similar treasure you might consider doing something of the sort. Genealogy isn’t just names and dates but how people lived their lives. It’s their story and nothing will bring people closer to their ancestors than reading and cooking a favorite recipe. Somehow you will feel a bond with your great-grandfather when you taste his favorite apple pie.
A project like this doesn’t have to be difficult. There are good photocopiers, digital cameras, Smart Phones, and scanners to help and a lot of online resources to show you how to assemble your work or do it for you for a fee, and your local printer can do a good job as well. If you’re not computer literate you can bribe a friend, relative, or a neighborhood teenager to help you.
Even if all you have is a series of individual recipes on tattered bits of paper you can copy them, add a photo and a few comments about the family member attached to the recipe. For example, I have an aunt’s mincemeat recipe and I could certainly print that with a photo and some general information about her including when she was born, died, married, and a note or two of personal memories. I also have a cookie recipe that was supposedly my grandfather’s favorite. It came from his widowed aunt and she always made several batches of her cookies when she visited. True to its kind and date it’s only a list of ingredients with no instructions. Still, it’s a link to the past and my grandfather’s tastes. An additional bonus is that the recipe is written in my great-aunt’s own hand.
This is also a fun way to share some of your genealogy with your children and grandchildren without burdening them with the dreaded dates and places many genealogists delight in and so many family members don’t want to hear. Sneaking in family memories and a few stories along with a recipe will hopefully encourage your offspring to develop an interest in their forebears.
And though it’s only July, Christmas will be knocking on our doors before we know it so consider gathering some of the family’s heritage and sharing it with those you love.
Nancy Battick is a Dover-Foxcroft native who has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds a MA in History from UM and lives in DF with her husband, Jack, another avid genealogist. You can contact Nancy at nbattick@roadrunner.com.