This week, I have chosen to continue discussion of my grandmother’s recipe book, although I feel that its function and usage, as well as chain of ownership, are not exactly groundbreaking. Obviously, it is a recipe book, with “Recipes” clearly stamped across the cover. Unfortunately, there is practically no information on the book whatsoever about its original manufacture other than the words “Made in Hong Kong” in type font on the inside of the back cover, so I cannot be certain about what company may have produced it or the year that it was made. I would not even know how to begin an attempt to discover the manufacturer or its manufacture date with so little data to go on, especially if it was a recipe book that was mass produced during the time period in which my grandmother bought it.
I asked my mother when my grandma may have bought the recipe book and she was unsure, but she estimated that it was probably bought in the 1970’s “judging by the recipes in there.” This implied, to me, that my grandmother only began to write her recipes down after my mother, the youngest of five girls, was born in 1967. Perhaps she had never had time before then to put her recipes on paper, but had been making these desserts and cookies for years; maybe she had never truly explored baking until most of her children were grown and had moved out. I am not sure, and these are questions I will pose to my aunts when I next get an opportunity. My grandmother passed away in 2005, meaning that she likely had this recipe book for approximately 30 to 35 years before my mom took ownership of it.
What is so interesting (and a bit funny) to me is that if my grandmother really had this book for so long, she wrote down very few recipes in that time. My mother and I, of course, treasure the book (my mother more so than me, as it belonged to her mother), but it only contains a grand total of twelve recipes, two of which were written in by my mom, probably after my grandmother had already died. Objectively, this may not seem like an item that would have intrinsic value based on what its function should be: a recipe book with only twelve recipes in it? Yet I cannot explain the deep connection that my mother and I both feel to it, and the sorrow we would both feel if it were to fall apart or become lost.
I cannot say that the book’s use has changed all that much over time, except that perhaps we utilize it now only to make some of the recipes inside rather than continuously adding more recipes, so I suppose it has taken on a bit of a decorative quality. I enjoy baking and cooking, but am by no means an expert. My mother has not added any more recipes in years, and I had never even considered writing in the book despite the fact that a majority of it is empty, the blank yellow pages practically begging to be filled in. I still feel quite odd about the idea of adding anything new, as if it would decrease the sentimental value of the object or as if it would be, in some way, sacrilegious. Maybe one day when I feel ready and as if I have something worthwhile to contribute, I will write in the recipe book, but for now I am content with taking it out of its place on a shelf in the dining room a few times a year, baking my grandma’s gingerbread cookies for Christmastime or making her apple crisp on a whim.
The Materials of History, Thought, and Art 
I truly love how you have to chosen to write about your grandmother’s recipe book. For how little IS in it, the meaning you have garnered from its pages is so touching. I have very little passed down to me from either my side, or my husband’s side of our families. An item we do have, that is treasure by all, are a couple of handwritten recipes from my late mother-in-law Angie. She was an extraordinary cook who did use some recipes but would then make them her own. One recipe for struffoli (Italian honey balls) that are made at Christmas time is in Angie’s block print on a well worn index card. It now has a place of honor at a recipe binder she gave me as a gift. My husband, a professional baker wanted to take the recipe to work. No way. I scanned a copy of it, giving him that to bring to work. That three by five card can’t be replaced. A handful of other recipes are on yellow legal pad paper. My husband cooks nightly and never uses a recipe because he doesn’t need to, but it is good to know I can refer to these treasures his mom left behind, just in case. Katie, I truly hope something you create in the future, takes an empty spot in the recipe book. It will just enhance the story you might tell your own children and/or grandchildren in the years to come.
Hi Katie!
I loved reading about your grandmother’s cookbook! I relate to the story of your object, for I also have possession of a family cookbook. Mine is a culmination of recipes that my mom and my nanny put together. They range from meal preps to desserts, all of which have been repeatedly used for family get togethers. The book has become special to me as well, for I can now cook the recipes myself. One in particular, our family apple pie recipe, has become one of the pages that is basically mine now. I have taken over that family tradition and even put my own twist on the pie. Now, every holiday season my family eagerly anticipates my pie and it makes me feel like I’ve officially become part of my family cooking tradition. Like you, I also hope that, though the apple pie has become my own, I can someday contribute my own recipe to the family book.
I found your blog post to be so interesting! I think it’s great that theres only a few recipes in the book, yet it still means so much to you and your family. I also have some recipes past down, and like you it’s very limited. My mom has little index cards filled with the very few recipes passed down from my great grandma and we still make these recipes every year at different holidays.