I inherited my mother’s personal collection of recipes, gathered together in a three-ring binder. It’s easy to tell which recipes she made the most often because they’re the ones covered in smudges of chocolate, sauce, and other ingredients that went into the special dish or dessert. The most smudged recipes are those my mother served guests, and she entertained a lot.
Ahead of Food Day Canada tomorrow, a new Leger Marketing survey, conducted on behalf of Ancestry, reveals that seven in ten Canadians state their most memorable family moments involve home-cooked meals and eating together.
However, almost half (44%) of Canadians feel that part of their family history will be lost if family recipes are not passed down.
Many Canadians feel family recipes bring them closer to their heritage
Food heritage is one of the first and most prominent traditions passed down from previous generations, with nearly three quarters (72%) of Canadians saying that they first learned to cook at home with their parents or grandparents.
In fact, according to the Ancestry survey, 67% still cook at least one recipe that has been passed down by another family member and 58% feel family recipes give insight into how their ancestors lived.
Food Day Canada on July 31 is an annual celebration of Canadian food and a time for Canadians to share their food and stories with each other.
With this in mind, Ancestry is encouraging Canadians to explore their own family recipes, cultural food traditions and the stories that come with them. Family recipes are a window to the past and can serve as a crucial starting point for journeys of personal discovery.
Lesley Anderson, family historian for Ancestry, credits her family Cookery Book as the catalyst for her foray into the world of family history. The well-loved recipe book, written in 1907 by her great-aunt Mary Elizabeth Carr, was gifted to Ms. Anderson by her mother at the age of 21.
Photo: Lesley Anderson.
“Holding an item that is over 100 years old and knowing that my ancestors also held the Cookery Book and made these recipes is so poignant for me,” said Ms. Anderson. “Recipes and cookery books can be really meaningful family heirlooms, connecting you to your heritage and providing you with the opportunity to bring the stories of your family to life through cooking the same food they once made and shared.”
The Cookery Book holds some of Ms. Anderson’s favourite recipes, including a traditional scone recipe passed down from her ancestors in the UK. On the Ancestry.ca website, she has been able to attach pictures of the Cookery Book and its recipes to her digital family tree, allowing her family members who also have access to the tree to find inspiration for their next meal or simply learn more about their ancestors.
Ancestry empowers Canadians to discover more about their family history. Canadians can connect to other family members’ trees to search for family recipes and other traditions that have been passed down through the generations. In addition, users can search through billions of digitized historical records worldwide, including censuses, marriage, birth and immigration records to discover the stories of their ancestors’ lives — when they were born, where they lived, when they came to Canada and who they loved.
