Family Recipes in Genealogy, the Forgotten Family Heirloom

Family Recipes in Social Genealogy and Family History

Family Recipes in Genealogy, the Forgotten Family Heirloom 

Family recipes and meals were, and still are, a huge part of our family history and genealogy! It brought families together through the generations and continues doing so with the recipes passed down to us. It brought and continues to bring families together, whether it be through the special moments of cooking with a parent, grandparent or maybe even a great grandparent to the joys of gathering around and enjoying the company of loved ones while preparing or consuming that meal! Handed down family recipes can bring back a nostalgic time from one’s past and is also a great family heirloom to pass down through the generations, while honoring your ancestors!  

What is (or was) a family recipe that has been passed down through the generations of your family?

Have you ever thought of this social genealogy question and how photos and tangible items passed down through the generations are not the only family heirlooms one can inherit, but recipes are as well? Well, I did! That’s why I decided to ask this social genealogy question on social media! I wanted to see how many others are still using family recipes that have been passed down through the generations or have started their only family tradition of passing down a family recipe for future generations! Of course, this is just a very small sample, with only about 120 comments, but still very fun and interesting! 

Here are some of the responses I had to this question:

• Potato based turkey stuffing/dressing for the holidays- Irish
• German Potato Salad and streudel
• Dinner rolls; scalloped oyster casserole; Thanksgiving staples! - Virginia and New England ancestors ( at least 4 generations)
• Ableskiver with jam and glogg  - Traditional Danish dessert 
• German slaw and English walnut bars
• Apple pie, stuffing, potato salad, funeral potatoes (at least 3 generations), chilli, and meatloaf (generations-forever haha!)
• Potato pancakes (at least 6 generations), Chocolate gravy (Arkansas/Kentucky) and homemade bread
• Dutch Pork Chops (5 generations)
• Scalloped potatoes and ham every Christmas Eve (4 generations)
• Homemade kraut & sausages all from the garden and from home grown pigs
• One pot meal of cooked kale mashed into rough mashed potatoes or sauerkraut or carrots or French cut style green beans, Metwurst and the grease it was fried in
• Stamp pot- Dutch (2 responses)
• Homemade waffles and dumplings
• Szarma- Hungarian
• Meatloaf ,potato soup,chicken and dumplings,.chicken noodle soup,beef ,barley veggie soup and several more (4 or more generations)
• Honey Pumpkin pie from 1943 (when sugar was rationed during the Depression)
• Tourtière, a French-Canadian Meat Pie, with the loose meat served at Thanksgiving as a side dish (dressing) or the neck cavity stuffed with it (at least 4 generations)
• Chili with diced potatoes in it and thick!!!! (5 generations and many friends!)
• Chicken pot pie, PA Dutch-style (5 generations)
• Potica (nut roll)- Slovenian (at least 4 generations)
• Baked beans with heirloom marrowfat beans
• Bean soup, cabbage soup, pickled beets and eggs, and potato salad (at least 4 generations)
• "Aunt Helen's chocolate cake", a must for our family at every birthday celebration
• German Chocolate cake (a new family recipe)
• Suet pudding (at least 4 generations)
• Vegetable soup with a little sauerkraut for flavor and Cranberry salad (at least 5 generations)
• Vegetable soup (4 generations)
• Suet pudding (9 generations or longer)
• Mincemeat,cabbage rolls
• Potato salad, real baked beans with Boetje’s Dutch Mustard, and meatloaf

 
There were handed down recipes (and a few new ones) anywhere from the common to some that were quite different! It was a fun question to ask, and it was fun to see all the different recipes that people have received from their ancestors and still use through the generations!
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Interactive Questions:
What do you think of the recipes on this list? Do you use any of these? What is (or was) a family recipe that has been passed down through the generations of your family? I’d love to read your comments!
 

More Social Genealogy and Family History Questions:
Come read more of my social genealogy questions and their results under the Social Genealogy and Family History category. (More coming very soon)