3. Introduction
Research Objectives:
•To determine when the family recipe is typically made
•To determine if the recipe is shared with other people and
whether or not there is power associated with having this recipe
•To determine who usually makes the family recipe and if
they are a male or female
•To determine if there are any stories or values associated
with the family recipe and how long it’s been in the family
4. Qualitative data only
Data based on in-depth transcriptions from
personal one-on-one interviews
Key themes were recorded for each interview
Transcriptions were analyzed for specific
objectives
Similarities and differences in each objective
were pooled
5. Dishes made for special occasions
Half of the interviews were for weddings or
Christmas
Other occasions were more general, such as
big events or made whenever
Imagery was evoked based on what time of
year
Sensory imagery was also evoked
6. Most of the time the recipe was kept within
the family
Half of the interviews made a point to explain
that keeping the secret was important
Many of these recipes have been passed
down through generations, carrying on
nostalgia
Passing down the recipes showed an
influence of power
7. Women generally made recipes, based on the
data
10 out of 12 were women
Grandmothers and mothers generally made
the recipes
Others included aunts, fathers, and
grandfathers
8. Most interviewees recalled attending family
gatherings
Shared words such as
tradition, respect, love, special and home
Stories include recipe origins, smell of the
food, or how it was made
The food put them in a “happy place”
9. Tradition of keeping a recipe held great value
and sentiment
Majority of the family recipes were passed
down from mothers or grand mothers
Recipes brought feel-good emotions such as
warmth, comfort, and happiness
Recipes are valuable, often kept within the
family
10. Small budget: $45,000.00
Limited amount of time: turnaround was
considerably shorter time than JALA would
have liked
Different moderators for each interview
conducted
Slight bias to those chosen to be sampled
11. Improvements: more flexible budget, longer
timeline, interviews conducted by one
moderator, set quota for interviewees
Next step: look into what kind of recipes
bring the most emotion
Next step: quantitative data search
Look into: Recipes and their impact based on
holidays or their impact on women
