Why does nobody talk about how grandma's recipe cards are always missing key steps?

I was going through my grandmother's old recipe box last weekend and found a card for her famous spaghetti sauce. It just said "brown the meat, add the stuff, simmer for a bit." No measurements, no spice list, no nothing. My mom tried to fill in the blanks but she admitted she just guesses every time now. So here's my debate: Are old family recipes better when they're passed down as vague hints, or do we need exact instructions to keep them alive? Has anyone else dealt with a recipe that felt like a puzzle?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles91925d ago

People get so dramatic about old recipes like they're ancient scrolls or something. It's spaghetti sauce, not rocket science. Brown some meat, throw in tomato stuff and whatever spices smell right, let it cook. You don't need a PhD to figure that out. If you can't make a decent sauce without a step by step guide then maybe cooking just isn't your thing. Grandma probably didn't write it down because she knew anyone with half a brain could wing it. The mystery is part of the fun, not some crisis.

wyatt_shah8525d ago

@charles919 nailed it honestly. Just cook and taste as you go - that's the whole point of a family recipe anyway.