How Families Are Saving Recipes — and the Stories That Come With Them

They’re more than meals. They’re memories, stitched into flour, ink, and love.

When one reader asked if she should throw away the family recipes she’s never cooked, something surprising happened.

People answered.
And their stories — funny, tender, sometimes bittersweet — reminded us that family recipes aren’t just about food.

They’re about belonging, across generations and geography.
And about how a scribbled index card can keep someone close, even when they’re far away.

📚 Some turn recipes into books

Jenna made a photo book for her mom — filled with her grandmother’s scanned recipe cards, retyped versions, and family photos.
It wasn’t a big production, but the result? Treasured. Her cousins ordered copies, too.

Amanda received a handwritten cookbook from her family when she moved into her first home — a mix of everyone’s favorites.
She’s added to it over the years. One day, she hopes to give it to her kids.

🖼️ Some frame them, or print them on towels

Teresa copied and framed recipes from her mother and mother-in-law — they now hang in her kitchen.
Others printed them on tea towels, using their loved one’s handwriting as the design.
The kind of towel that you might never actually use — but you’ll hold onto forever.

💬 Some create storybooks, not just cookbooks

Yvette’s family is spread across the world.
But for her grandmother’s 90th birthday, they each wrote short notes about their favorite foods she used to make.
The result? A recipe book filled with love, stories, and photos.
Now, whenever they miss her — they call her on FaceTime, bake from the book, and laugh through their “fails.”

She said: “This book has been magic. But I won’t lie — I miss my grandmother immensely.”

💡 Others simply share a photo

Not every memory needs a hard cover.
Aly suggested something beautifully simple:
Take a photo of the dish you made next to the recipe card. Post it. Tag it. Archive it in your own quiet way.

“It doesn’t need to be a big project,” she said.
“Just a reminder. Just something shared.”

So what do you do with the recipes you’ve never cooked?

You don’t throw them out.
You let them rest.
You wait for the right moment.
And when that moment comes, you cook one. Or you frame it. Or you show your daughter how to make it — while telling her the story behind it.

Because it’s never really just about the food.
It’s about who made it.
And what it meant to sit at their table.

❤️ Want to share how your family is saving recipes?

Tag us @RainbownHome or use #RecipesFromHerHands.
We’d love to see how you’re keeping the meals — and memories — alive.