Do you have a favourite family recipe? It’s likely to be a favourite because it’s tied to memories. Perhaps it’s even one that’s been passed down in your family.
Two of my favourites are my Nan’s trifle and my Grandma’s Christmas pudding and cake. I’m fortunate to have inherited the recipes.
Nan’s trifle was usually, though not always, a Christmas special. I remember it most from when I visited her during December, and we’d have an early Christmas lunch. The table was spread with a small, eclectic sampling of food including cold roast chicken, green salad, potato salad, pasta salad, and trifle.
Nan’s trifle is a simple one which uses jam sponge roll, tinned peaches, jelly, and custard, added in layers to a bowl and all liberally dosed with sherry. It needs to sit in the fridge for a good while so the peach juice and sherry soak in. Not that there was much trifle left over at the Christmas lunches, but I would gratefully enjoy any that was.
Another festive treat has always been Christmas pudding and Christmas cake. My family uses recipes which were handed down from my Scottish 2x great-grandmother, Margaret Ritchie, nee Reid. The story goes they originally came from Wales where the Ritchie family lived for a while in the early 1900s when David Ritchie was working there.
My Grandma inherited the recipe, and often made large quantities, sometimes selling about fifty of them to local residents whose interest came via word of mouth. Grandma was also sometimes asked to make the Christmas cakes for decorating as wedding cakes.
Quantities in the pudding recipe are enough to make two puddings, and my Mum always uses one for Christmas, putting the other away as a treat for Easter. It preserves well because of all the alcohol and dried fruit. The Christmas cake is similar and I have one in my cupboard right now, left over from December, awaiting a special occasion to bring it out.
The tastes and smells of Christmas and these inherited recipes are strongly tied to my memories of family and the festive season. If you have any special or favourite family recipes, make sure you write them down so they can be passed on to family.
Untangled Family History 
Fantastic stuff, Sarah. This is such an under-rated and very much neglected side of family history that one simple will not find on BMD certificates or Census returns, although it’s staring most of us in the face most of the time and yet goes unrecorded. I think it’s fantastic you still have these recipes and can attribute them to those sadly long gone family members. It’s a warm and loving family hug coming down through the ages.
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[…] basic – with lots of mince and sausages, potatoes, peas and carrots. She had a talent with Christmas cakes and puddings though, which were considered exotic, and fairly […]
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