It’s always fun to find innovative dishes that combine elements from different cultures in imaginative ways. After all, that is essentially what humans have done throughout history. Discover new spices, new vegetables, new techniques, and boom, new dishes. But what about the past, the often humble, usually healthy, and sometimes iconic dishes that once fed our families? Some may make fun of the cuisine of more innocent (or more difficult and impoverished) times, but some of those dishes were often because they were amazingly delicious, or more importantly, because they were delicious. our families, our culture, our history.
Fortunately, many people are realizing the importance of saving our culinary past. An impressive number of organizations, both international and local, protect food, organize resources, and gather information. Fortunately, some community-based organizations are working to salvage the ideas and traditions of previous generations in more focused areas. One such organization is Culinary Historians of Northern Illinois (CHNI). Through the recipes of the people who grew up here, CHNI aims to identify the history and immigration patterns that shaped northern Illinois, and when and how change occurred.
Jerry Rounds, CHNI’s current president and one of its founding members, recalls the organization’s origins. She was having lunch with food historian Dr. Bruce Craig. “We met at a small Greek restaurant on the outskirts of Chicago. I shared with Bruce not only the more than 100 handwritten recipes that my mother, Nelly Belidora Genova, left for our family, but also the wonderful memories we have with them.” We wanted to preserve them somehow. It turned out that Bruce was considering a project to document the historic esophagus in this area.”
Regarding his own inspiration for exploring the region’s culinary history, Craig says: The people (mostly women) who wrote these recipes by hand and shared them with family and friends spoke earnestly about their communities and the times in which they lived. Of course, unlike other fields of study, pursuing these traditions and creating these dishes provides us with the pleasure of tasting the past, such as grandma’s favorite cake. ”
The timing was clearly right, as Mr. Lowndes and Mr. Craig quickly joined a group of like-minded people. By 2016, they assembled a committee of archivists and historians to make this goal a reality. They came up with a name and a mission statement. They compiled a list of requirements. They incorporated. And they began to collect.
There are two forms of collection. The Cookery Manuscript Project focuses on handwritten recipes that are more than 50 years old, whether neatly written on index cards in a box or scribbled on notepads and stuffed in drawers. The Community Cookbook Project collects classic recipe booklets created by clubs, churches, and organizations. These collections also usually include information about the history of the people who created the dishes and the places they lived.
But they didn’t just want a bunch of recipes. “We wanted people to be able to talk to culinary historians, not only to learn their stories, but also to pass on what we know about that era and region.” Lowndes says. “One of our first members, Dave Malone, came up with the idea for a show where people could submit recipes directly. Another first member, of the DuPage County Historical Museum, Michel Podkova, director of the museum, agreed to host the first roadshow.
The number of historical organizations and libraries involved increased, and collections grew rapidly. CHNI needed a way to keep all of these resources safe and accessible. “In 2022, I approached Northern Illinois University (NIU) to explore the possibility of collaborating with Northern Illinois University’s Regional History Center and NIU’s Director of Special Collections and Archives, Bradley Wiles,” said Lowndes. ” he recalls.
Mr. Wiles quickly recognized that CHNI’s collections were well-suited for the university’s purposes. “Our goal is both preservation and research,” he says. “We record other activities as well, but we want to look at history from the ground up, including the role of women, patterns of immigration, and how things have changed. These collections document Once completed, it will be available to anyone who wishes to research it.Apart from the recipes, the cookbook in particular includes information, introductions, and headnotes that reflect the community.”
Both projects benefit from the relationship with NIU. The Community Cookbook Project, led by CHNI’s Deb Lorentsen, has installed over 200 community cookbooks at universities. All will be digitized and archived and made available for personal or professional research.
“Through the Culinary Manuscript Project and Community Cookbook Project, CHNI has been able to connect people to their own history, explore other cultures, and connect with people with similar interests,” Lowndes said. At the same time, we are preserving the history of the area. The lasting part is that my family’s food history, memories and recipes, including my mother’s, are a permanent part of the Northern Illinois Regional History Center. ”
Born in Mascouta, Illinois in 1913.
If you’d like to include recipes and cookbooks from over 50 years ago in your collection, check out the next Recipe Road Show on CHNI’s website. Cookbooks will be donated (you’ll be asked for ones you’re not currently using), family recipes will be scanned (you can take them home), and you’ll know where the recipes came from and what memories they bring to the dishes. It is combined with a form that identifies what is associated with it. Recipes and Permission to Use the Information Collected. These events give you the opportunity to meet the group’s volunteers. Alternatively, if you are unable to attend the road show, you can visit the initiative on the CHNI website under How to Submit a Recipe. (For handwritten recipes, you will also be asked to submit the typed version so that the recipe is accurately archived.) The required submission forms are also there.
Lowndes said, “When you look at recipes in cookbooks and the memories that come with them, and community cookbooks, you not only see the food being prepared, but also hold a mirror up to history, such as World War II and the 1950s, with their rationing.” you can see.” Housewives and the increased availability of sugar, the sixties with the proliferation of ready-to-eat foods, and the position of women in the marketplace. We also see that the advent of television had a huge impact on recipes, making food more similar on the East Coast and Midwest. With the advent of the internet, it seems increasingly unlikely that we will ever see anything like this handwritten recipe again. That’s why it’s so important to preserve them. ”
This work is carried out by a group of dedicated volunteers, who also raise money to support activities such as special dinners. We also hold lectures, meetings, and reading groups several times a year. But the organization’s main focus has been, and will continue to be, preserving Northern Illinois’ culinary history. If you’ve lived in Northern Illinois for a while and have recipes or memories of the food you grew up with, they want you to be a part of this project.
