Tasting Traditions.
Welcome to our cookbook! We’re glad you stopped by. Tasting Traditions is an interactive, virtual cookbook that showcases recipes from various cultures. Each member of our group chose recipes related to their cultural backgrounds, and supplemented the recipes with linguistic information pertaining to their dishes. It took us quite a while to decode old recipes written in messy cursive, contact extended family members, and fill in recipes with no measurements whatsoever (Thanks Grandma!) to bring these recipes to you! We hope you enjoy this dive into different cultures and their linguistic histories, and that you craft some culinary delights along the way.
Izzy BelL
Irish and German
I don't remember a ton of connection to my family's cultural ties growing up, but from a fairly early age, I knew we came from Irish and German families; it was a joke in my extended family that my brother and I got all the German traits, while my sister got all the Irish traits. There were words and phrases I grew up with that I didn't even realize were German until I started learning the language in sixth grade. But we always had a few meals that cropped up every once in a while that my mom would proudly tell us, "this is a German recipe" or "this one actually came from Grandma Bell—it's Irish!"
All of the German dishes my family eats most likely came from my grandmother's casual cooking, which was dictated to my mother, who attempted to hash out measurements. On the other hand, the Irish dishes come from my grandma on my dad's side, who doesn't cook as much and uses longer, written out recipes. Most of those come along with stories of my grandma's childhood, and the women that she remembers made them.
I’m excited to share both the food and stories as you dive into this exploration of cooking and culture.
Theresa Gruskos
Polish and Italian
Growing up, my culture has never really been a huge part of my family's life. This is mainly due to the fact that many of our generations were born in the United States, and strong cultural traditions slowly died off over the years as the older generations left us. However, being a part of both Polish and Italian backgrounds, there are a few parts of our heritage that have been passed down and stuck in the family. One of the big things is food.
I have always been up for trying and making new things; a huge memory in my childhood consists of cooking with my mom. Everything I know about food comes from her. Food has and always will be a huge factor in my life—I mean, you can’t be an Italian without wanting to feed the world. Many recipes have been passed down throughout my small family and my mom has done her best to try and keep them alive. I now wish to do the same by sharing my family recipes with all of you in hopes that this food will be passed down for many more years to come.
Hannah Paquette
French Canadian
Cooking and baking have been one of the most important aspects of my life thus far. It is one of my favorite hobbies, and one of my most cherished bonding activities with family and friends. This passion is shared throughout my family; my parents have been inviting my sister and I into the kitchen since we were very little, and I can’t remember a time walking into my grandmother’s house without her offering me some kind of baked good.
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Some of these foods were certain to our roots though; I come from a French Canadian family, and a good chunk of the food I ate reflected this, especially during the holidays. I often stuck my nose up at these dishes, partially because I was a child with a limited palate, but also because others my age thought these foods were strange since they had never heard of them. I listened to them for too long.
Now, with a much more developed palate, and an even stronger curiosity for exploring food, I certainly have much more pride looking back at the foods my family has passed down to me. Hopefully I’ll be passing them down later in my life too. I’m excited to share the recipes that have been so important to my life, or to those before me, and I hope you all feel the same.
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Let us know what you think about our recipes, and share some of your own with us!