That family recipe said 'a pinch of salt' and I spent 3 hours trying to get it right

Last Tuesday I tried to make my grandma's turkey chili from her old handwritten card. She wrote 'add a pinch of salt' which turned out to be a total lie because I put in maybe a quarter teaspoon and it tasted like nothing. So I kept adding more and more over the next hour until I finally hit the right spot at about three tablespoons. Turns out 'a pinch' from grandma meant a whole handful because she used those big kosher salt crystals. I texted my cousin and she laughed and said yeah grandma never measured anything. So now I gotta figure out how to rewrite the whole recipe in actual measurements before Thanksgiving. Has anyone else had to decode a relative's cooking notes that were more like riddles?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim.nina14d ago

Man I feel your pain, grandma recipes are basically hieroglyphics.

kaigibson15d ago

Did you ever try eyeballing it and just end up ruining a whole batch? I used to roll my eyes at the whole 'grandma measured with her heart' thing until I tried to copy my aunt's cornbread recipe. She wrote 'a nice lump of lard' and I thought I was being clever by using a half cup because I figured a nice lump meant generous. The cornbread came out so greasy it basically floated in the pan. Called her up and she laughed and said a nice lump is about a golf ball size. So now I just make her come over and show me in person and I write everything down while she's doing it. It's a whole process but at least I can finally make cornbread that doesn't need a paper towel to soak up the grease.

leo_black7615d ago

Yeah a golf ball sized lump is definitely more like it. Half a cup of lard would turn anything into a floating grease bomb. I think the problem is that 'generous' means different things to different folks. Like to my mom generous means a heaping scoop but to my buddy generous means a light sprinkle. You gotta learn the specific code words each cook uses. Once you crack that it all makes sense.