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Discover your family's culinary past and rediscover the recipes passed down from generation to generation.
Cuisine and genealogy are linked for several reasons. Indeed, recipes can often be passed down from generation to generation within the family. As true vectors of family traditions, family recipes allow you to discover dishes prepared and shared by our ancestors. They are also often accompanied by memories and family anecdotes - true treasures for us genealogists!
Ancient recipes, in addition to serving as a link to the past, are essential elements of our culture as they often reflect cultural and regional traditions. They are also precious sources of information about the eating habits of the time. By revealing sometimes lost ingredients, preparation methods, and other economic constraints, they help us understand the food influences and choices of our ancestors.
If unfortunately the recipes of your family have not managed to reach you, there are several sites that allow you to delve into the cuisine of our ancestors:
Evelyne Achon, a geneablogger, shares a new ancestral recipe with you every month (and a tested and - often - approved recipe!). We love to find historical notes there, travel to the region with each recipe, and the step-by-step photos. Find her content (not just culinary) on her Facebook page and on her Twitter account.
Discover the different sections of this section: salads and soups, appetizers, meat or fish, vegetables, desserts and candies, creams and sauces, and drinks from yesteryear to travel back in time. The recipes are, however, very (too?) concise, so you will need to be a bit independent.
Through this section, Gallica (the BnF website) guides you through its gastronomy collections. You can find cookbooks, handwritten menus, gastronomic maps, trade manuals, advertisements, and much more!
THE site for a real culinary journey through time! The recipes are proposals for interpretations of different texts and manuscripts available for free. The recipes are tested before being published. So, what will you start with? Crispels or the Riche Manger according to the Ménagier?
Using these various resources, you will find a variety of recipes from ancient and traditional cuisines from different regions and eras. So... happy research and good tasting!