Food is a great way to connect people. It becomes part of our memories of places and events. Think back to a wonderful experience when you shared food. Your food memories. This could be your first date, a milestone birthday, a comfort food your grandmother made, or the foods you enjoyed on that trip to Italy.
For the most part, taste comes from our sense of smell. Anyone with a bad cold at Thanksgiving trying to enjoy a turkey dinner with a clogged nose knows this all too well. But is olfactory memory real? According to the research of Dr. Rachel Herz and colleagues at the Department of Psychology at Brown University, it is. Smells can trigger strong memories and emotions.
Thinking back to your food memories can make you recall small but important details. It can bring back times you may have forgotten. I’m going to share some of my memories to help you get started thinking about some of your own.
All sketches by the lovely and talented Brooke at EdibleSketch.
Easter Bunny Cake
This was a stand-out childhood memory for me. It was springtime in the 70s. My mom made a cake for me to take to a school event. I had never seen a shaped cake before. My mom always went the extra mile to make things special.
It was a vanilla cake bunny frosted in white icing and covered with fluffy coconut. It had paper ears, a marshmallow tail, and a jellybean face. It sat on a bed of green-tinted coconut “grass.” It was the most wonderful thing to see. I don’t remember what the event was, but I will always remember that cake.
Betty Crocker has a similar recipe you can get here
HARVARD BEETS
This is a recipe my grandmother made countless times. She loved beets. She cooked plain beets and pickled them too. But my favourite was when she made Harvard Beets, which are tangy and sweet. They are good served warm or chilled.
I always wondered about the name. College beets perhaps? Its origin varies according to the internet. But most can agree it’s a recipe that was born around the mid-19th century. This is because of the addition of cornstarch in the recipe.
But note, my grandmother’s recipe calls for arrowroot. I prefer arrowroot powder, although it can be a bit more fragile than cornstarch.
My grandparents had a farm and I loved staying there for summers and weekends. They introduced me to a variety of fruits and vegetables that I still enjoy. Except for parsnips. I could still do without those.
Get the recipe for Grandma’s Harvard Beets here
CORN FRITTERS
I have a lot of memories of my mom’s cooking growing up. One of my favourites was corn fritters, and still is! I was relentless in pestering her to make these for me. Every time I requested them, I know she dreaded it. Now I know why.
They are easy to make, but they are time-consuming. Standing over a stove deep-frying a few at a time can be tiring. Then after you’ve done all that work, they disappear within minutes! Not to discourage you…these are so worth the effort. So after many years of bothering my mom, I started to make them for my family. And now my children pester me. Thanks, Mom!
You can serve them with real Canadian maple syrup but we also eat them as is. I also add more creamed corn than my mom’s recipe, but we’re crazy for corn here.
Get the recipe for Mom’s Corn Fritters here
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Another recipe from my childhood is Sweet & Sour Meatballs. All the women in my family made this at different times. I don’t remember having it too often. It can be a lot of work.
One day we were going to a family reunion on my grandfather’s side. My aunt was up late making these meatballs. She was making a ton of them and I asked if I could help. Back then we didn’t use breadcrumbs and there were no food processors. We’d wrap saltines in aluminum foil to enclose them and crush them with a rolling pin. Wow, times have changed.
That was the first time I made them. Years later I asked her for the recipe so I could make them for my own family. She gave me the recipe but corrected me on its origin. I always thought it was her creation. She told me it was a recipe passed down from my great-Aunt Mabel, my grandfather’s sister. It was also Aunt Mabel who hosted the family reunions.
I continue to make this recipe for my family. It’s one of their faves. I find this version is different from most I’ve seen, especially with the addition of Worcestershire sauce. For the record, I only use Lea & Perrins. I’ve modified the recipe some over the years. I always use breadcrumbs. I usually brown the meatballs in the oven instead of using a skillet which takes longer. And I always triple and even quadruple the sauce recipe. I end up making a lot of meatballs and they love the extra sauce for rice. It never goes to waste. Trust.
Get the recipe for Aunt Mabel’s Sweet & Sour Meatballs here
Broccoli Salad
I first tried this salad decades ago. I’d never had anything like it. I don’t entirely remember the circumstances. But I remember the woman who made it. I didn’t know her well. What I did know is that she was a hard-working, loving mom. And she had just fled an abusive husband. She was starting all over again and trying to get back on her feet. She continued to work while getting her kids through the trauma. A mountainous challenge. But she was doing it. Strong and brave as she was. When she brought this salad, lots of people asked for the recipe. And she obliged.
I make this salad all the time, more so at holidays and events. It’s always a hit. Everyone raves about it and wants the recipe. And every time I make it I think of the remarkable woman who shared it.
In recent years I’ve seen variations of this salad pop up in our local delis. I still think this one is the best.
Get the recipe for Broccoli Salad here
Chicken Adobo
My best friend in high school was from the Philippines. Her house was a second home. I have a lot of good memories. And one thing was for sure, they made sure you ate.
Over the many years, I tried a lot of new foods. Lumpia (the best), Kare-Kare, Sapin-Sapin, Ensaymada, and countless other foods. I always skipped Balut, however. That’s a resounding no to the boiled, fertilized, pre-hatched chicken or duck egg.
You will find that Filipino surnames are often Spanish or German due to conquests and colonizations. Some have retained their pre-colonial indigenous names. But for the most part, Filipinos will have a Spanish surname. Because of this, you will see many Spanish-infused dishes. Some of these include paella, flan, and of course, Adobo.
Adobo has many variations in Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, as well as Puerto Rican and Peruvian. My fave is Filipino Adobo.
My friend’s cousin taught me the dish. He also wrote down the recipe for me. But like all cooks used to making a dish a million times, the measurements weren’t precise. Feel free to adjust to your taste, but I’ve made it this way a hundred times. Every single person has loved it.
Don’t forget, the most important ingredient is love. I’m not kidding.
Get the recipe for Chicken Adobo here
Chicken Curry Sandwiches
I’ve been making curried chicken salad for a long time. I wasn’t given a recipe, I just whipped it up one day because I like curry. I use what I have on hand and vary the ingredients a bit from time to time. I’ve served it in endive and over lettuce, but it’s great in a sandwich.
There’s nothing spectacular about this recipe. What makes it memorable for me is that it ended up being my cousin’s favourite. She loved when I made it. We were very close. A few years in age apart, both September babies. As children, we shared the same room for many years. Later we lived close by or saw each other often. We were like sisters. No, scratch, “like.” We were.
Six years ago she lost her battle with brain cancer. She left a hole in this world. All I’ve got now are memories. I think about things we laughed about. Things we fought about. And I remember the things she enjoyed. Even something as small as a curry chicken salad sandwich.
Get the recipe for my Curried Chicken Salad here
PUPUSAS WITH CURTIDO
I’ll be straight with you. I didn’t know what pupusas were until 7 years ago when I met my significant other. Being from El Salvador, I asked him about their traditional dishes.
For him, his food memories conjured up pupusas. He began salivating just thinking and talking about them. He spoke of fighting with his brothers over who got more.
Because I liked to cook and bake, I asked him for the recipe. He drew a blank. It turns out, he’d never made them before. His mother always did. He said he could never get a clear answer out of her about how to make them. Family secret? haha
So it was up to me. I searched the internet and finally found a recipe. I soon found out it wasn’t as simple as finding a recipe, though. I had to learn “how” to make them. Later, I found a video of two high school students demonstrating how to form the pupusas. My first attempt wasn’t too bad. Thereafter I was better at making them.
The great thing about pupusas is that you can fill them with whatever you want. I often make them with beans and cheese, but you can use beef, pork or chicken. I don’t usually make the accompanying sauce (salsa roja). I know, it’s a criminal act. I just prefer pupusas without the plain tomato sauce. It makes them softer and I like the slight crispiness of a plain pupusa.
I always make the curtido with them. His mom buys sauerkraut for a quick and easy version. Both versions taste great to me. You can also find prepared curtido in some stores.
The original pupusas are not spicy. Over the years I’ve added a mix of finely chopped onion, red and green pepper. I add this to the filling for a pupusa with more kick. They are so versatile you can make countless creations of your own.
The only thing that remains the same is that you will always eat too many. We have a running joke of the many times we’ve eaten so many until we’re rolling up the stairs to bed. I craved them a lot when pregnant with our two children and now our little ones love them. So the humble pupusa has become a memorable staple for us.
Get the recipe for Pupusas here. Recipes for Curtido and Salsa Roja are linked on the same page.
START MAKING FOOD MEMORIES
This exercise can help you remember recipes that you can share with your family. Or learn a recipe from one of your travels. You can also create your own traditions and food memories for your loved ones.
What are some of your food memories? Share them below!
