Food holds some of the strongest and sweetest memories. As such it is important to put effort into preserving our cuisine. However this can often be easier said than done. When preserving family recipes the best way is to cook with them, or have a clearly written recipe. However it’s not always that simple, you’re both busy, they live hundreds of miles away, or when you come over to cook she did all the work before you get there and just wants you to sit and chat while it’s in the oven.
Below are my best tips and tricks to getting the important recipe information regardless of the circumstances.
Call/Facetime:
If you live far away technology is an indispensable tool to communicate and answer your questions. Especially if you can use facetime, skype, or zoom to do a video call and ideally you could watch her cook that way. If that’s not possible don’t underestimate how much valuable information you can get about necessary ingredients, measurements, or which recipe she’s currently using through the phone. Try asking one cooking related question per call instead of asking for everything all at once and notice how your knowledge compounds. You can also show her what you’ve worked on recently. This way she can see your progress and offer direct feedback.
Take Photographs:
Say you are able to come over and cook with her, but she throws everything in a bowl at lightning speed. The best way to not get in her way but still get information is to take photos. Taking photos of the ingredients, the random cup they’re using to measure, which pan they’re using, the oven settings, even photographs of the final dishes can prove useful. It might seem elementary now but you’ll thank me later when you can look back and figure out which layer goes first in the pastitsio, which mold is used for the melomakarona, which type of semolina she uses, and what the dough is supposed to look like at various stages.
Go to the store with her:
While she might not want you to get in her way when trying to cook for Πάσκα. She would love to show off her εγγόνι to the cheese guy at the local import store on a random shopping trip. Going to the greek store can help immensely in getting an idea of what is being used in the kitchen. Which brand of olive oil does she use? Does she get fresh or frozen seafood and from whom? Which olives from the 15 available containers does she get? Does she make her own filo or buy it? If she buys it, note the type and brand as there are several. Figure out what cuts of meat and what fat content the ground beef is. By doing this you will slowly demystify the pile of unlabeled cheeses and learn which kinds at what frequency and for which dishes she gets them for. This will make it much easier for you to know where to get the right supplies.
Cookbooks:
Stereotype may lead you to believe yiayia’s never use recipes and that they came out of the womb knowing how to bake spanakopita, but this simply isn’t true. Many received cookbooks as wedding presents and had their recipes well practiced long before you were born. My yiayia’s cookbook even has a “letter to a new bride” indicating how common this practice was. While they may be tucked away I would encourage you to see if she has one. If it’s already been passed down to you or a cousin take a look through the margins. More likely than not there will be notes written there or pages tabbed at a particular favorite recipe. Unlike modern cookbooks they are often extremely detailed. Everything from which parts of the animal to ask the butcher for, various types of table settings, example meal plans, my yiayia’s even has an entire section on game meat. They may give more directions on which spoon to use than the oven temperature. But it will provide a real insight as to where she may have started all those years ago and which recipes stood the test of time over the years.
Figure out measurements:
Measurements are often a source of dread in Greek recipes. From “the blue cup” to “το τσιγάρο” and a potentially limited understanding of fractions compounds into a perfect storm of confusion. Do yourself the favor and find out if 1+1⅓ is 1⅓ or 2⅓. Next time you’re visiting or calling, identify which cup and spoon is being used. What is the oven set at? Measurements aren’t just limited to the amounts of ingredients used, it’s also in the assembly and method. When making tiropita triangles is an entire sheet of filo used? How is it folded? Is one sheet cut into vertical or horizontal stripes prior to assembly? When assembling baklava how many sheets are placed at various intervals? What are the dimensions of the pan it fits into properly and the recipe is based off of. These are just a few ideas as to how the assembly process can also be mathematically challenging as well and needs attention
Go to church:
Volunteer with your family to help cook things for the church festivals, coffee hour, or help bake the prosphero. It’s less stressful to take someone to a different kitchen to learn how to cook instead of your own. The church will also have multiple tools and you can get better at your cooking skills generally when being assigned to different tasks. The ladies might also make their own dishes when they are finished cooking whatever they need for the church. For example, growing up all the women would come and help dye the eggs for the church on Holy Tuesday. That way we could finish quickly and afterwards we could use the church pots to dye our own eggs. So be prepared to make your own dishes after fixing whatever is needed at that time. This would also be a good opportunity to ask other people about recipe issues you’re having and compare solutions, as well as being more involved in the community. If you volunteer to help make καταϊφι for the festival, a very difficult dessert,people will notice. We all need involvement , and they will be so happy and thankful for the help.
I hope these tips will help provide a starting point to what can be a daunting task. Like all things in life, starting is the most difficult part. But once you get some more practice under your belt it gets significantly easier. Like any other skill it is worth committing time to, and unlike any other skill it will provide significantly more joy, connection and community.