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Almost every family has a treasured recipe, beloved as
much for the memories it evokes of family get-togethers or a special family
member, as it is for its taste. Most families have many such recipes, handed
down through generations, taught to children, or squirreled away on index
cards or scraps of paper.
A wonderful gift for family and friends, a family
recipe book is a wonderful way to combine favorite family dishes with
memories of treasured family moments and members. But how to turn those
family culinary favorites into an actual family cookbook?
Collect the Recipes
Start by sending a letter to your relatives, asking everyone to send back
one or more of their 'specialties' by a particular date. In the letter, be
sure to encourage the submission of recipes that have been passed down from
earlier generations, along with a story or photo of the family member best
known for the recipe.
Ask for memories of times spent cooking and/or eating together, as well as photos of holiday and other family get-togethers.
For best results, and to cut down on your workload,
include a sample recipe format for submissions to follow. For example, you
can ask family members list the ingredients in order, together with the
quantities. A fill-in-the-blank recipe form can be useful here, because it
helps remind people not to leave out important information like the cooking
temperature, and you can also add spaces to encourage submitters to include
a brief story about the recipe's creator or a favorite family memory. You
may also want to ask family members to explain why they chose the particular
recipe.
Items to Include on a Recipe Form
- Name of the recipe
- Name of the person contributing the recipe
- Name of the person who originated the recipe (if
different from the submitter)
- The history of the recipe (Where did it come from
and why is it special?)
- Ingredients and quantities needed, in the order in
which they appear in the directions
- Cooking directions
- Prep time and cooking time
- The number of people the recipe serves
- Any special cooking tips or advice
If your family is like mine, you most likely have a
relative or two who never writes down recipes. In this case, try to elicit a
nearby relative to visit this family member and watch them prepare the dish,
translating "a pinch of this" and "a dash of that" into more precise
measurements and keeping track of cooking times and temperatures. The helper
should also ask the relative for any special tips they may have for
obtaining the best results.
Tips for encouraging a reply:
- Ask those that can to send their recipes and
stories by email. You're not only more likely to receive more submissions,
but you'll also be able to cut and paste the recipes right into your final
document.
- Since emailing good quality pictures can be so
painful for many, consider joining a photo share site to make it easier
for participants to upload their photos.
- Set a deadline that allows family members at least
a few weeks to gather together their recipes, but not so far out in the
future that they forget about the project all together. You may also want
to send a short reminder postcard or email a week or two before the final
submission deadline.
- For participants you know don't have email, try
sending a SASE with your letter to boost the chance of a response.
- If you're planning to sell the cookbook to help
recoop your costs, it is still nice to offer free copies to everyone who
contributes recipes, stories or photos.
Organizing the Recipes
There is no one correct way to organize a cookbook. It really depends
upon the recipes you've collected and your purpose in creating the
cookbook. Some suggestions:
- by category - appetizers, soups, salads,
entrees and desserts
- by individuals - grandparents, cousins,
etc.
- by family - by family unit (Mom, Dad &
kids) or branch of the family tree (Grandma, Grandpa and all of their
descendants)
- by holiday - Christmas, 4th of July,
Thanksgiving
Assembling Your Family Cookbook
Once you have collected and organized the recipes and stories, it's time
to sit down and design the cookbook.
The theme should be something which reflects your
family, whether its a photo from a recent family reunion, an old family
photo of a distant ancestor, or a design that celebrates your family's
country of origin or ethnic heritage.
When assembling the actual cookbook, you have two
major options: you can either photocopy the original submitted forms
(transcribing the ones sent by email) or you can type everything into
the computer for a more consistent format.
If you choose to use the computer to create your
cookbook, stick to simple fonts like Times Roman or Arial that are easy
to read. Save decorative fonts for chapter and recipe titles.
Incorporate the photos and stories throughout the cookbook, in places
where they enhance the recipes without obscuring them (on adjoining
pages, for example).
To make your cookbook easy to read, create both a
Table of Contents and an index.
Publishing Your Family Cookbook
If you're only creating a few copies, you may be able to print and
assemble your family cookbook yourself at home. Three ring binders or
folders make good covers, and allow the option for new recipes to be
added in the future. You can even include each page in a plastic sleeve
so that the cookbooks can actually be used without danger of spills!
If your cookbook project is larger with numerous
family members interested in copies, you may want to turn the job over
to your local copy shop. Be sure to ask about the various options,
including glued bindings or spiral bindings, different paper types, etc.
Get cost estimates based on the number of copies you require and then
make your final selections accordingly.
Tips for incorporating family history into your
cookbook
- Make color copies or scans of family heirlooms
that relate to cooking to use as a background behind a few of the
recipes. This might include items such as an award won for a
particular recipe, a newspaper clipping about the family, a
handwritten copy of the recipe which has been passed down through
several generations, special family table linens, or airplane tickets
from a family trip that produced a great recipe.
- Write an introduction to the cookbook, which
shares the details of its creation and how family members responded to
the project. Make sure to include the date!
- Include a photo and short bio of the family
members originally known for some of the more treasured recipes. If
the family member is deceased, a few short memory quotes about the
individual and their recipe from the descendants makes a nice touch.
When you're done, pat yourself on the back, try
out some of the recipes, and enjoy your delicious bits of family
history!
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