If we told you that a certain dish came from the dead, would you eat it?
If there’s one family heirloom that’s given the same reverence, it would be intangible knowledge of a craft.
Or more specifically, a recipe.
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People can learn various things from the internet and quite recently, internet-based cooking shows gained quick traction over the years.
For others, though, especially in close-knit families, recipes are passed down from one generation to another.
They’re highly treasured.
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These recipes are tightly kept secret until the time comes when a loved one nears her end.
Sometimes, however, these recipes end up in the most unexpected of places.
Rosemary Grant searches cemeteries for recipes.
If one would ask her how she learned to bake spritz cookies, one would raise an eyebrow at her answer.
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She will tell you that the dead taught her how-[ and it’s true.
Recently, an interesting trend is spreading in the funeral industry.
Some people are sharing beloved recipes on their headstones.
And now, through Grant’s TikTok account, she’s trying out these recipes so we won’t have to.
Of course, we’ll try them anyway.
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Her project of cataloging and trying out the recipes started during the pandemic.
In her article in The Guardian, Grant said she did what most people did during the lockdowns- learned how to bake and set up a TikTok account.
She also has a rather niche job.
She works for the government and wanted to be an archivist.
During the lockdown, she began working as an intern in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC.
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As the only place she could go for a jog or walk, Grant noticed something on the gravestones.
At first, she just noted the differences between old headstones to contemporary ones.
Then, she saw others had recipes.
Curiosity got the best of her and soon, she found herself combining her hobby, her work, and her newfound digital avenue.
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She tried the recipes for herself.
She also posted them on TikTok.
“There are only about 10 so far that I’ve found, mostly through searching online.” She said in The Guardian, “The first one I tried was a spritz cookie that was on a gravestone in New York.”
Through her posts, she inadvertently and unknowingly bridged the gap between Baking-tok and Cemetery-tok.
Since then, she has tried out date and nut bread, no-bake cookies, and fudge.
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Keeping the connection alive
The more she baked, the more she realized how important recipes are to family histories.
Recipes are intangible and food is a great way to remind people of good memories and the love their loved ones had for them when they were still alive.
And maybe, just maybe, this is the reason why these headstones exist in the first place.
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“I don’t know how I want the world to remember me just yet.” She wrote, “but for these women, their recipe seemed like the perfect way to connect with their families after they’d gone. And they wanted to share it with everybody, which is beautiful.”
See this woman learn to cook from headstones in the video below!
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