Why We Should All Return to the Heritage Cooking of Our Grandmothers

In the age of air fryers and chicken inns, the kitchen has become a place of efficiency rather than artistry. We have traded the slow simmer for the high-pressure steam, and in the process, we’ve lost more than just flavour.

Returning to the heritage cooking of our grandmothers (traditional food & methods) is a necessary reclamation of our health, our environment, and our culture.

Slow food

Grandmother’s kitchen didn’t rely on shortcuts. Heritage cooking is built on patience.

• Traditional methods like fermenting, soaking grains, and long-simmering bone broths unlock nutrients that quick-cooking methods bypass.

• Many heritage techniques were designed to make food easier on the gut, think sourdough fermentation versus commercial yeast.

Sustainability

Long before zero-waste was a trending hashtag, it was a survival tactic. Our grandmothers knew how to stretch a single chicken into three different meals and turn stale sukuma wiki into a good meal.

• Heritage cooking utilises every part of the ingredient, drastically reducing food waste.

• These recipes were born out of what was available in the garden, naturally reducing the carbon footprint associated with imports.

Connection

Every time we recreate a recipe passed down through generations, we engage in a form of living history. In an increasingly digital and disconnected world, the smell of a specific spice blend or the texture of a hand-kneaded dough provides a sensory anchor to our roots.

Economy

With the rising cost of living, heritage cooking is a financial lifeline. Traditional meals often rely on affordable staples, beans, tubers, and hardy greens, transformed by technique rather than expensive ingredients.

Ultimately, the recipes our grandmothers had are blueprints for a more sustainable and soulful way of life. By reincorporating the slow methods of the past, we do more than just feed our bodies. It might just be the best way to save our future.

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Feature Image: Elise Gaumier on Unsplash