Baking Up Memories
Food is unifying. Whether it’s a shared love of goat cheese or a shared hatred of green peas, food binds and defines us. Tastebuds map our preferences, sending us a jolt of pleasure or deep disgust. And many people are passionate about the flavors they favor. Want to start a debate at your next dinner party? Here are a few questions to throw into the mix…
When it comes to topping a hot dog, are you team mustard or team ketchup?
Which is better—sweet bread and butter pickles or dilly half sour pickles?
Does pineapple belong on pizza?
(Or if you really want to stir up controversy, try this one… )
Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?
Taste is personal. I’d argue that these preferences help shape our identities. Cooking is similar. It takes time and love to prepare a dish. That delicious thing you created with your own hands becomes an extension of yourself. Food can also shape group identity. Cherished recipes traded between friends, or handed down through the generations reflect something about those making and eating them.
These recipes we inherit may even take on a mythic quality—Matt’s BEST chili. Dad’s FAMOUS french toast—there is something grand and magical about them. They are a sort of sacred knowledge. And it seems every family has them. It doesn’t matter if it’s Beef Wellington or microwaved corn chips and cheddar cheese. Food builds memory. It’s a link to the times, places, and people of our past.
In my family, no dessert is as beloved as pie. My grandma loved to make pie almost as much as my grandfather loved (and still loves!) to eat it. But pie is tricky. There are so many ways for it to go wrong. If your dough is too dry, it cracks and crumbles. If it’s too wet, it can turn out tough and chewy. You want fruit fillings to be syrupy and soft, but make sure they don’t leave your pie with a soggy bottom! Although there are plenty of articles on the subject, in my experience, good pie making is all about feel. Understanding the way dough and filling work through experience.
My entire life my Grandma has been our family’s pie baker. But with her health declining, it’s been a long time since she’s baked anything. I want to pick up where she left off and carry on her pie legacy! This year I’ve vowed to improve my pie making skills by baking one pie a month. Each month I’ll be attempting a new recipe from my Grandma’s 1965 Farm Journal Pie Cookbook. Along the way, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite memories with my grandparents.
