The truth behind many family “heirloom” recipes
March 31, 2018 by Darcie
Everyone has cherished family recipes, handed down from mother (or father), who got it from her mother, who ostensibly received it from hers as well. An investigation by Atlas Obscura calls into question these “heirloom” recipes, and discovers that many of them were copied from cookbooks, food packages, and other locations.
The site asked Gastro Obscura readers to submit stories of discovering that alleged “secret” family recipes were not, in fact, original creations. The stories poured in from all over the world, each a tale of a plagiarized family recipe or misunderstanding about the food’s origin. Most of the recipes were for cookies, cakes, and other sweets.
One elderly gentleman, who was known as the “fudge man” by friends and family, was on his deathbed when his secret came out. His wife pleaded with him to give her the recipe so she could keep his memory alive. It turns out that the recipe people had begged him for years to release was none other than the one from the marshmallow fluff jar.
Sometimes people didn’t claim to have a secret recipe but family members just assumed it was an original. That was the case with a woman who, along with her siblings, would watch their mother prepare pancakes without using a recipe. After the woman had left the house and was on her own, she called her mom to ask for the recipe and to find out if it had come from her Lithuanian grandmother. Her mother laughed, and said “No, I got the recipe from a cottage cheese lid.”
I’ve never investigated whether any of my family recipes came from the back of a package or the pages of a cookbook. Even if they did, I would still cherish their memory, although I would chuckle if my grandmother had passed off a back-of-the-box recipe as her own. Have you ever learned that a prized family recipe was not created by a family member?
Categories
- All Posts (6802)
- Antipasto (2072)
- Author Articles (246)
- Book News (932)
- Cookbook Giveaways (972)
- Cookbook Lovers (247)
- Cooking Tips (103)
- Culinary News (299)
- Food Biz People (547)
- Food Online (776)
- Holidays & Celebrations (262)
- New Cookbooks (145)
- Recipes (1480)
- Shelf Life With Susie (231)
- What's New on EYB (132)
Archives
Latest Comments
- Foodycat on The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 3 – Bread 2024
- Jenny on Cookies! EYBD Previews, Recipes and More
- shermath on Sweet Seasons Cookbook Promotion
- lucymajor94 on Sweet Seasons Cookbook Promotion
- Lesevans6 on Recipes from Sicily & Recipes from Venice Cookbook Promotion
- Indio32 on Cookies! EYBD Previews, Recipes and More
- priyamaine on Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking Cookbook Giveaway
- PatBarrett on Cucina del Veneto and a Quick Bites with Ursula Ferrigno
- ClaireHamilton on Cucina del Veneto and a Quick Bites with Ursula Ferrigno
- BlueThyme on Small Batch Cookies Cookbook Promotion