Rotger began with a recipe box she inherited from her grandmother Marion Griswold Doane, who lived in Essex, Conn. It holds the food memories of Rotger’s childhood. All recipe collections and their handwritten or typed index cards are windows into our cultural past, transmitting family histories and evoking memories (Nonna’s lasagna, Mom’s meat loaf). They take us back to molded gelatins, ladies’ lunches, canned-soup casseroles, fondue. Today collections of recipes — in boxes, notebooks, or a bundle held together with rubber bands — sit on kitchen counters, in plastic bags, on pantry shelves, or stuffed into drawers. Everyone is waiting for that month of Sundays when there’s time to get organized.
Article source: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2011/05/18/barbara_rotger_researched_old_recipes_and_how_they_were_collected_for_a_masters_thesis_in_gastronomy/
