Food and Memory: The Emotional Connection to What We Eat. Every Meal Creates A Story.
My meal-time story memories are many, but most of my favorite memories were from my grandmother, known to me as “Mama Emma”. Memories from my mother were few since she was a terrible cook ! She would burn most things but thank goodness my father and grandmother were good cooks !
Food and Memory: The Emotional Connection to What We Eat
Food is not merely sustenance; it is a safe for memories, a journey through time that connects us to our past, culture, and the people we hold dear. There is an emotional connection between food and memory that is a profound aspect of the human experience, transcending the physical act of eating.
Why Food Memories Are So Powerful…Every meal creates a story
According to Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst “Food memories involve very basic, nonverbal, areas of the brain that can bypass your conscious awareness,” she told me. “This is why you can have strong emotional reactions when you eat a food that arouses those deep unconscious memories.” This is why every meal creats a story or memory.
Magic in the Kitchen
Being in her kitchen as a child was magic. “Mama Emma” could perform magic in the kitchen. I will never know how she could get a 5 course meal on the table as fast as she did. It was amazing. I am telling you, she always had company in her home and all came for a meal.
Even if she hadn’t known they were coming she could whip out a meal in what seemed to me, minutes ! Every Sunday at her house after church people were invited to come over. (usually family members). And of course she had enough prepared within the hour to feed us all.
Papa’s Southern “Red-Eye” Gravy
One of my grandfather’s favorite was always her breakfasts. He loved to have Southern “red-eye” gravy and biscuts with whatever else she had prepared. But first you have to understand what Southern “red gravy” was. And note I have never see it on any menus as an adult but I know people still eat it in the South.
Red-Eye Gravy Ingredients
- 2( 1 lb ) ham steaks (1/2-inch thick) or 6 pork chops
- 1 1⁄2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 3/4-1 cup very strong black coffee
- 1⁄4 Tsp pepper
- hot biscuit (Mama Emma’s were always made from scratch)
Directions
- Put the ham or pork chops in a shallow container; pour milk over them.
- Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.
- Remove ham or pork chops from milk.
- If using ham be sure to cut slashes in the ham fat to keep from curling.
- Cook 1 slice of ham or pork chops in 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy (cast-iron, preferably) skillet over low heat until light brown, turning once.
Accouding to my memories the pork chops or ham were always fried in an iron skillet.
When she removed the ham or pork chops in the bottom of the skillet were the small pieces of meat in a little of the grease. She would add some strong coffee, stir it, add pepper making it into gravy. Grandmother would then have fresh fruits (sometime from the peach or apple trees), eggs, pancakes, etc ready for him when he came home from their little country grocery store to eat. This was a daily occurrence at their house.
Other Meal Favorites have a story
Another favorite of mine was her freshly baked cakes and pies. No one in my family could ever match those delicious treats or her home made biscuits which in the summer were used for the strawberry shortcakes.
Every Meal Creates A Story and that statement is so true!
A typical meal at Mama Emma’s house was a feast. If it were breakfast, lunch, or “supper” there were always things from her garden or fresh chicken from her chicken coop( that she plucked and fried, or baked . Deviled eggs and salad. And again, she could have a full course on the table in minutes it seemed to me. Oh, and always a desert she had made earlier in the day or the day before. I learned to make my deviled eggs from her and to this day do not understand why my daughter can not make deviled eggs.
The Pressure Cooker Story
I remember the day the pressure cooker exploded. Mama Emma was preparing her famous spaghetti (another frequent meal to this day I can’t get to taste like hers) and spaghetti went everywhere in the kitchen from floor to ceiling ! If it weren’t for all us grandchildren laughing it would have been tragic but she joined in the laughter. Oh, and she still got the meal on the table for a house full of guests that day !!!
I am going to share another of her recipes here with you. I do hope you will enjoy them as much as all her guest and family did day after day in her home.
Summer Memories in Morilton, Arkansas
Growing up with stairstep cousins from Louisiana we spent summers in their home. Borda was a year older than me, and Kathy was a year younger than me. We would meet each summer and stay for a few wes….how our grandparents put up with all the mischief and rearranging of store shelves is a mystery in its self. Poor Papa never said a word but we are sure he couldn’t find a thing in the store after we left. And Mama Emma never complained as we jumped on the iron bed in the back room or used her best quilts for tents on the cloths -line in the yard.
Recipes as Legacy
Recipes passed down through generations carry with them the stories and experiences of those who came before. By recreating these recipes it becomes a way of preserving family history.
Food and Memory: The Emotional Connection to What We Eat… every meal creates a story
In Conclusion
Food and memory are intertwined threads in the tapestry of our life experience. Every dish tells a story, and every bite carries the deep emotions and transport us to moments that have shaped our lives.