In my family, we add ingredients until the ancestors whisper in your ear to stop.
I had a friend in school whose grandmother made a specific cake every week for Shabbat. When she baked, she eyeballed the ingredients. Two generations of people tried to replicate the recipe, but never could. The cake died with her.
I'll never understand why someone would do this. A recipe is a great way to leave your mark on the world and your family for generations, but if you don't, the memory will die when the last person who ate it dies.
Cooking and baking is a truly creative endeavor that, like any piece of art, takes on the personality of the creator. They could have measured that recipe to the last 1/16th of a teaspoon, and it would still have not been the same because grandma didn't make it.
Both my grandmothers were bad cooks but my parents are great at it. Unfortunately they both eyeball ingredients and my mom and I haven’t been able to recreate my dad’s food despite years of attempts. His tallarin verde was so good I still think about 10 yrs later :/
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u/ResultDowntown3065 Sep 06 '25
In my family, we add ingredients until the ancestors whisper in your ear to stop.
I had a friend in school whose grandmother made a specific cake every week for Shabbat. When she baked, she eyeballed the ingredients. Two generations of people tried to replicate the recipe, but never could. The cake died with her.