Passing Down Recipes
Written By Khristin Guardado
Photographed By Marko Maturino
Modeled By Caroline Sluss, Sophia Lins, Annabella Diaz, & Rikki Clay
People hold value in memories and nostalgic moments. Whether written on paper or found online, recipes are a gateway to remembering and creating special moments. Despite simply being a list of ingredients and steps, they contain memories embedded in the cooking process. Recipes are not only used to recreate dishes once imagined, but are also a way to bond with others, practice cooking skills, celebrate one’s culture and remember family traditions.
The significance that comes with passing down recipes relies on nostalgia and tradition. Recipes are not bound to a sole purpose. Apart from being a guide for cooking, recipes preserve generational tastes of family favorites and inspire the best moments in life. No matter how one comes across a recipe, it is there to be practiced and shared amongst family, friends and others.
Typically, recipes are associated with family cookbooks or note cards passed down throughout generations. Family recipes keep one’s culture and traditions alive. Without them being passed down, the rare and unique taste of a family dish is lost to time. Food is a substantial aspect of defining a culture’s roots. A lot can be learned from a culture based on the type of food and preparation styles simmered in their cuisines. If recipes were not passed down through generations, families would not have the traditional and cultural meals that are memorable to them. Then, future generations would not have the opportunity to enjoy a unique dish that is associated with their family.
Nevertheless, family recipes are not the only way to pass down memories. Dishes are always being personalized. A recipe for any dish can easily be found on the Internet. Whether you create a recipe of your own or tweak one from online, there is the opportunity to share it with your partner, friends or family. Through fun cooking dates with your loved ones, recreating recipes sparks memorable moments and the creation of personal traditions. With the family you make through personal relationships, recipes inspire fun and unforgettable moments to be passed down for generations.
A recipe that has been monumental in my life is avocado toast. I got into the habit of making it after my high school Spanish teacher taught our class how to make guacamole. I wanted to learn how to cook for myself and avocado toast became one of the first dishes I mastered. It became an integral part of my life by designating it as my post-workout meal and quick snack for guests. One of the first meals I made with my boyfriend was avocado toast. He would prep the guacamole while I cooked the eggs. I would also make it whenever my best friend slept over at my house. This dish has become my way of connecting with my culture, creating memories with my loved ones and practicing my cooking skills.
The importance of recipes is the personal meaning and memories associated with them. Whether cooking with your family or friends, recipes are the foundation of those special moments. Without them being passed down, their importance and uniqueness would only be some lost aspect of the past. Recipes gift us the pleasure of understanding where we come from and inviting new qualities into our lives. By passing down recipes, a monumental piece of humanity is preserved and shared with others.