Kitchen

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

My great Aunt and her husband owned a luncheonette when I was growing up and while everything my Uncle made was wonderful he did a chili dog that was my favorite as a kid. They would never give anyone the recipe even after they sold the place. They and their kids took the recipe to their graves. I've looked on line and tried to replicate it with no success. He came here from Greece so I don't know if it was specfically a Greek recipe or not. Anyone have a relative who won't share a recipe?

[dex]

@CrazyKittyLvr2@That is strange...maybe he used a mix or something that he didn’t want anyone to know about.I had a friend who always baked the best cakes and then she finally admitted she used a mix and added stuff to make it her own.

[Lilysmom]

@CrazyKittyLvr2, my story is not really the same but related.  I have a family member who takes my best recipes and claims them as his own.  Never gives credit and does it right in front of me.  My pie crust, my chow, my scalloped potatoes, and the list goes on.  One thing he can’t seem to make is my chip dip.  I gave him the recipe but he says it never tastes the same.  I didn’t leave anything out but he has accused me of that lol.

What do you do with someone like that?  Not to worry.  Not high on my worry list.  LM

[PhilaLady1]

My Mom and her brother, my uncle, were from Vienna, Austria.  My uncle used to make a delicious Zuchertorte.  Would never share the recipe and he took it to the grave.

My Grandmother was a great cook and baker.  Almost every recipe was in her head, and of course, long gone.  That's how it goes, I guess. 

[ALRATIBA]

Yes, my grandparents.  Partcularly my grandfather.

He and his brothers had a company that made jelly back around the very late 1890 to about the time of the Depression.  Company was sold ... but they kept the recipes.

Grandfather had a book of recipes for varies jellies and other preserves that he kept locked up.  We weren't even allowed in the kitchen when he was making the stuff.  In the basement was a big cabinet - filled with mason jars of every type of jelly and preserve you could imagine.  Absolutely delicious stuff.

My grandmother was the same way about her bread pudding and wine sauce recipes.  We had to wait until the one time of year she made a batch of each.

It's kind of fun thinking back about the idiosyncrasies of our family members.  My brother and I still laugh about it.  

[Group 5 minus 1]

Not sharing a receipe is a sign of insecurity. I'm sure if you think about it you may be able to find one similar. There was aplace in New Castle,PA that made a Coney sauce. Let me see if I can find it in my older receipes.

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

@dex  I'm 68 so it was a long time ago. Not sure mixes were common then. If it was  a mix no reason to hoard it after they were out of the biz.

@Lilysmom  If he made something of mine and presented it as his I would make a point to ask in front of others "Is this my recipe I gave you?".

My Mother-in-law would ask for a recipe, subsitute store brands and then complain it didn't taste the same.  You can use store brands for a lesser ingredient but no for the main ingredients. Cheesecake comes to mind.I would tell  her only Philly brand cream cheese but she would use something else. It's the main thing so don't mess around with it.

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

@Group 5 minus 1 Thanks for looking.

[kittyloo]

i only have one recipe i don't share. i make the best rocky road candy. my sis wanted this recipe for the last 20 years, many have asked me for it.   i finally gave sis the recipe a couple of years ago. no one else though

[AuntG]

Unless it's a trade secret for their business, I can't imagine why someone wouldn't share a recipe. If course, the person should always give credit to the originator and not claim it's their own recipe.