AUDIO PODCAST SHOW NOTES: Food has always been at the center of family life, so if you want to know more about your family’s history, a logical and tasty place to start is with your family’s culinary heritage. The food they ate and the recipes they cooked can actually tell you a lot about them, and my guests today can help you uncover those stories.
My guests in this episode:
- Ashley Covelli is the food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor behind the website Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen.
- Lisa Lisson is the genealogy researcher behind the Are You My Cousin? YouTube channel.
Together they produce and host Passing the Plate, a podcast that explores the intersection of family history, cultural heritage, and culinary traditions.
Listen to the Podcast Episode
To Listen click the media player below (AUDIO ONLY):
SHOW NOTES
Documenting Family Recipes
Ideas for documenting the recipes of family members:
- Go to the store together to shop for the ingredients.
- Cook side by side.
- Take detailed notes.
- Feel it, taste it, and document those details.
- Have them scoop the amount needed into an empty bowl so you can measure for exact measurements.
- Note sensory indicators. (What it should look and smell like.)
- Be very curious about everything going on!
- Record video of them cooking.
Sharing Recipes
- Update the recipes so that they can be enjoyed by modern cooks.
- Consider updating recipes to accommodate various dietary restrictions.
WRAPUP: Action Items
- Digitize and organize family recipes and recipe-related materials.
- Reach out to other family members to gather additional information and memories about family recipes and culinary traditions.
- Experiment with modernizing and adapting traditional family recipes to make them more accessible for contemporary home cooks.
- Explore opportunities to share family recipes and culinary heritage.
Passing the Plate podcast episodes recommended:
#34, 35, 36, and Lisa’s grandmother’s cornbread recipe episode.
How to connect with Lisa and Ashley:
- Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen blog by Ashley Covelli
- Lisa Lisson’s Are You My Cousin? Website
- Are You My Cousin? YouTube channel
Lisa Lisson
Ashley Covelli
Resources
- Recipe-related blog posts: https://lisalouisecooke.com/category/recipes/
- Find Family Recipes in Old Newspapers (video & article)
- Download the show notes for this episode which include Lisa’s Bonus Tips for finding old cookbooks online. (Premium Membership required.)
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Liked your episode on food and recipes. My grandmother made butter cookies for as long as I could remember. Never saw a recipe but as a boy i wasn’t into cooking as much as just eating. She passed away at the good age of 105 and afterwards I realized that her recipe was gone forever. Except I was happily wrong! I made contact with a 2nd cousins wife through genealogy(who I’d never met) and in just chatting she mentioned how sweet my grandmother was and that she had her cookie recipe. So now my sister and I have copies and have made some. They aren’t exactly the same but they’re close enough.
What wonderful story! Thanks for sharing.