As I was making turkey burgers the other night, I paused to wonder whether my son will ever ask me how I make them. He’s only nineteen months old, so it will be a while before I show him how to cook. To his credit, he can say “burger” already and it sounds really cute when he says it. I would like to think that he will someday be an ace in the kitchen, just like his mom and dad. When the time comes to teach him how to cook, I want to make sure that he learns all about the recipes that are important to our family. Our family does not have a family cookbook yet, but I am beginning to think that we should.
A family cookbook is a great way to keep the memories of your family alive for future generations. Family gatherings are often centered around meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and many memories are made not only at the family table, but in the kitchen both before and after the meal. A cookbook can preserve the recipes that your family treasures along with photographs and other memorabilia, and it could become a family keepsake in its own right.
In the past, recipes were handed down through the generations when parents taught their children how to cook. Many of the recipes were not written down until many years later. Some still may not actually exist on paper, only in the minds of those that have been preparing them from memory for years. Other recipes are jotted down on little scraps of paper that are tucked into recipe boxes or into other cookbooks. Computers make it easier than ever for family members to send you recipes and photos and for you to compile them into a cookbook. There are even computer programs and web sites where you can publish one or more copies of the cookbook that you create.
Creating a family cookbook will take some time and effort. It is certainly a genealogy project that is worth doing, though, because the whole family will enjoy it now and in years to come. If your family has some time this summer, why not make this fun genealogy project a group venture. Don’t forget to taste test some of the recipes as you go along.