Old country Moms and daughter-in-laws; My Mom’s pastry recipe was not written. It was my favorite strudel. ( so many times, as a child, I was told “that’s for our guests, leave it!”) As an adult I asked her to teach my wife. Mom always demurred with some excuse. Of course she would make it and bring it over. (As an adult I insisted on reserving the major portion for myself of course.) Mom never shared her secret recipe and took the recipe to her grave.
Just like my mother. A few years ago, (Mom is still kicking), us daughters wanted some of her recipes. “B” took some time with Mom to make these foods and it was difficult to get exact measurements. Sometimes it was fun and sometimes not so much, but they plowed through it. Good cooking comes from experience and using your 5 senses.
Old pluggers rely on timing — how long does it take to fillr 1/2 cup of water?, and weight — does this feel like a cup of sugar?, and look — have I added all 3 cups of flour or not? — because we can’t read the amount written on the side of the measuring cup.
There was once a test between technicians who worked with metrics, and American housewives who worked with US units. The technicians were asked to estimate what the liquid volume – in liters and ml – that was sitting in from of them in three different containers of different size. The housewives were asked to do the same, using gallons, pints, cups and oz as their units. The housewives did a far better job of estimation.
My mother never measured anything. I never saw her use any measuring apparatus but her cooking was famous. People would come over just to eat her food.But she used to express that she didn’t like cooking,,,something that I never made the connection.
And that created problems for the younger generation that tried to copy the recipe. The pinch, the handful, the tad, etc. were different and things didn’t come out right. Happened to my wife as she tried to make some of her southern favorites from her grandmother.
On the contrary, I am a Plugger and almost always use measuring cups and spoons. Of course, there are some foods that I prepare without any “measuring tools”, and they are always good though not quite the same every time.
My grandma always had a tin of chocolate chip cookies on the counter. When I asked mom if she had grandma’s recipe I was told that she just used the recipe on the chips package. No matter what I did, my cookies never came out the same as grandma’s. Until one day I was in a hurry. Other than the two sticks of butter I was somewhat sloppy in my measurements. As the first pan was baking I KNEW that smell! Biting into the first cookie I KNEW that taste! And the cookies stayed soft and chewy and delicious for longer than usual, like grandma’s. I had duplicated grandma’s recipe! But, try as I might, I have yet to do that again.
One of my mom’s complaints about her mother (both great cooks BTW) was that grandma’s recipes were “add a pinch of this” or “use a handful of that.” The problem was that grandma had bigger hands than mom.
I think that they sometimes use this as a ploy to get offspring to come and keep them company while they demonstrate and converse, instead of just writing things down.
My great grandmother (or was it great-great grandmother?) had several of those kinds of recipes. One of my aunt’s (married to my mother’s brother) went over to her house and wrote down the recipes and standardize the measurements (1/2 an egg shell was 2 Tbls, for example). Then she copied them and handed the copies out to each of the “kids” (my mom’s brothers and sisters) to pass along to their families. Which are still being copied and being passed down to the next generation and the next. It is so cool to think that these recipes are heading into the hands of the 7th and 8th generations in my family and that is only since they were standardized. I have no idea how long they were in the family before that.
I’ve heard it said that baking, unlike other types of cooking, is more of an exact science. Screw up the amounts and you get a failed result. But I know that experienced cooks can get by with the estimates of this and that. My parents, rest their souls, wrote down the recipe for our favorite and fairly complicated Christmas cookie recipe (a multi-ingredient filling that needs to be ground up ahead of time) and I am SO glad they did, as it evokes all kinds of great holiday memories.
Templo S.U.D. over 4 years ago
never baked with my grandmothers when I was a little boy (although I received my step-grandmother in early adulthood)
Zykoic over 4 years ago
Old country Moms and daughter-in-laws; My Mom’s pastry recipe was not written. It was my favorite strudel. ( so many times, as a child, I was told “that’s for our guests, leave it!”) As an adult I asked her to teach my wife. Mom always demurred with some excuse. Of course she would make it and bring it over. (As an adult I insisted on reserving the major portion for myself of course.) Mom never shared her secret recipe and took the recipe to her grave.
Breadboard over 4 years ago
Just season to taste !
I'll fly away over 4 years ago
Just like my mother. A few years ago, (Mom is still kicking), us daughters wanted some of her recipes. “B” took some time with Mom to make these foods and it was difficult to get exact measurements. Sometimes it was fun and sometimes not so much, but they plowed through it. Good cooking comes from experience and using your 5 senses.
namleht over 4 years ago
Young pluggers need measuring cups..until they are old pluggers
david_42 over 4 years ago
One college friend’s family would weight everything grandma used before and after she made something. It was the only way to document the recipes.
GreenT267 over 4 years ago
Old pluggers rely on timing — how long does it take to fillr 1/2 cup of water?, and weight — does this feel like a cup of sugar?, and look — have I added all 3 cups of flour or not? — because we can’t read the amount written on the side of the measuring cup.
VICTOR PROULX over 4 years ago
There was once a test between technicians who worked with metrics, and American housewives who worked with US units. The technicians were asked to estimate what the liquid volume – in liters and ml – that was sitting in from of them in three different containers of different size. The housewives were asked to do the same, using gallons, pints, cups and oz as their units. The housewives did a far better job of estimation.
UmmeMoosa over 4 years ago
My mother never measured anything. I never saw her use any measuring apparatus but her cooking was famous. People would come over just to eat her food.But she used to express that she didn’t like cooking,,,something that I never made the connection.
ctolson over 4 years ago
And that created problems for the younger generation that tried to copy the recipe. The pinch, the handful, the tad, etc. were different and things didn’t come out right. Happened to my wife as she tried to make some of her southern favorites from her grandmother.
sfreader1 over 4 years ago
On the contrary, I am a Plugger and almost always use measuring cups and spoons. Of course, there are some foods that I prepare without any “measuring tools”, and they are always good though not quite the same every time.
l3i7l over 4 years ago
My grandma always had a tin of chocolate chip cookies on the counter. When I asked mom if she had grandma’s recipe I was told that she just used the recipe on the chips package. No matter what I did, my cookies never came out the same as grandma’s. Until one day I was in a hurry. Other than the two sticks of butter I was somewhat sloppy in my measurements. As the first pan was baking I KNEW that smell! Biting into the first cookie I KNEW that taste! And the cookies stayed soft and chewy and delicious for longer than usual, like grandma’s. I had duplicated grandma’s recipe! But, try as I might, I have yet to do that again.
Plods with ...™ over 4 years ago
…and you never get the same thing twice.
Alberta Oil Premium Member over 4 years ago
That..was when cooking was an art.. now, it’s all metric science.. hard to convert a pinch. a handful or shake into metric..
Nuke Road Warrior over 4 years ago
One of my mom’s complaints about her mother (both great cooks BTW) was that grandma’s recipes were “add a pinch of this” or “use a handful of that.” The problem was that grandma had bigger hands than mom.
the lost wizard over 4 years ago
I think that they sometimes use this as a ploy to get offspring to come and keep them company while they demonstrate and converse, instead of just writing things down.
contralto2b over 4 years ago
My great grandmother (or was it great-great grandmother?) had several of those kinds of recipes. One of my aunt’s (married to my mother’s brother) went over to her house and wrote down the recipes and standardize the measurements (1/2 an egg shell was 2 Tbls, for example). Then she copied them and handed the copies out to each of the “kids” (my mom’s brothers and sisters) to pass along to their families. Which are still being copied and being passed down to the next generation and the next. It is so cool to think that these recipes are heading into the hands of the 7th and 8th generations in my family and that is only since they were standardized. I have no idea how long they were in the family before that.
NaturLvr over 4 years ago
I’ve heard it said that baking, unlike other types of cooking, is more of an exact science. Screw up the amounts and you get a failed result. But I know that experienced cooks can get by with the estimates of this and that. My parents, rest their souls, wrote down the recipe for our favorite and fairly complicated Christmas cookie recipe (a multi-ingredient filling that needs to be ground up ahead of time) and I am SO glad they did, as it evokes all kinds of great holiday memories.
Caldonia over 4 years ago
Well, paste is a pretty simple recipe.