Passing Down Recipes: What Do YOU Make of It?

What’s your favorite dish your mom, aunt, or grandma made when you were growing up? Do you know how to make it? My mom made the best Spanish rice in the world, but I never learned how to make it. By the time I wanted to know how, my mom couldn’t remember how she made it. Finally, I got some instructions from a friend that resulted in a finished product very much like it. I found myself wishing, though, that I had taken the time to work alongside my mom and learn from her when I had the chance.

When we’re young we don’t know that something as simple as our family table’s common fare will someday be important to us. As moms, it would behoove us to take note of the dishes our kids prefer most and teach them to prepare them. Yes, it takes time—and patience—but what better way to pass down both a recipe and an experience?

When our children get married, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we gifted them with a collection of “Mom’s Recipes”? That means recording instructions for preparing them. Sometimes it’s hard to specify the exact measurements one uses in a signature dish. My mom always cooked by guesstimate, adding a little of this and a little of that. A written-down “recipe” can certainly include guesstimation—it’s the  spirit of the recipe that counts—allowing the inheritor to at least come close to the original and perfect the recipe through multiple trials.

It may seem like a hassle to think about what we’re doing as we “cook from scratch,” but one day someone special will appreciate it. And it can be passed on to further generations.