How to create a family cookbook
Do you have old recipes passed down to you from your grandmother? Have you passed down recipes of your signature dish to your grandchildren? The secret to creating your favourite dishes can entail much more than simple instructions. Those treasured family recipes are a part of your family’s heritage – beloved because they evoke memories of days gone by and remind you of the special people in your life (as well as for the delicious taste.) But too often these recipes are torn from magazines and stashed in an old folder, scrawled on pieces of scrap paper or simply exist in our minds. It is time to preserve these cherished recipes to not only ensure future generations get a chance to enjoy great-great grandma’s special chicken casserole dish but to reflect on the shared memories and traditions of a family brought together by the power of food. Gather the recipes together before they are forgotten forever in a family cookbook.
Make a plan
Make a list of the recipes that you want to include. Maybe it is the meatloaf of your childhood that you were tired of because mum made it every Monday night but found yourself making it for your own children. It could be the devilled eggs grandma made or the unique way your grandson makes tacos that is somehow always delicious.
Organise them how you see fit. It could be by meal times, individuals or holidays. It depends on what types of recipes you have and your personal preference.
Test it out
While you may have found the recipe in a magazine or online, over the years recipes slowly begin to be tweaked – adding something more or something less, sometimes accidentally – until you have created the perfect recipe for your family’s taste. The best way to ensure the recipe you write down is your dish is to cook it. Write down everything as you go including all the categories you would find in a traditional recipe such as serving sizes, ingredients, instructions for preparations but remember the following:
Ingredients list with measurements – Remember to include measurement for a “sprinkle” or a “dash of that” especially for those little add-ons like seasoning and spices.
Description of ingredients - For example, your grandma might have insisted “sliced” rather than “diced” onions completely changed her Bolognese (as well as a few secret ingredients).
Temperature and times – Add extra clues like five minutes or until golden so future generations know they are on the right path.
Pots and pans – Make note of any special pots and pans needed as well as the sizes.
While you may always play it by ear when cooking your favourite dishes (after all, you’ve been cooking them for years), now is the time to accurately record everything. Just think of future great-great-great grandkids trying it out for the first time!
Add a personalised touch
You aren’t just writing a recipe you are writing up a family treasure. Add those helpful tips and tricks you’ve found out yourself the hard way, your opinions about the best way to slice a tomato and ideas for variations. These little quirks in the recipes are what makes the memories – the personal way someone approached the recipe and changed it to make them their own.
Other family member’s recipes
Get other family members to contribute their favourite recipes. Be sure to get them to write it like you have or alternatively go over and watch them cook (a great idea for the people who never follow recipes). Ask them for their special tips and where the recipe is from and how it has changed.
Make memories last forever
Now it’s time to take a trip down memory lane. Write down the special memories and anecdotes that accompanies each recipe (get family members to do it for their recipes). Perhaps it’s the memory of smelling grandma’s lasagne wafting into your bedroom or the excitement you felt when you knew dad was cooking his special beef stew. Or it’s the story of the first time grandkids ate your cheesecake and spat it out only for it to be the favourite cake now.
Personalise your titles such as “Auntie Mary’s banana bread” and be sure to include pictures as well. It could be a picture of the dish or the family member who created it or just a photo of the whole family enjoying it.
Enjoy it
Once compete you’ll be in possession of the best recipe cookbook ever. Try out some recipes and enjoy your family history!