My grandma's apple pie recipe is good, but I think the crust is better with vodka instead of water.

Last week at our family reunion in Boise, I made her 1960s recipe but swapped the 2 tablespoons of ice water for vodka, and the crust was way flakier, even though my aunt said it was 'disrespectful to tradition'.

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly_henderson833mo ago

Honestly, this is how every single family recipe got started in the first place. Someone tried something new and it worked better. The idea that food has to stay frozen in time is so strange to me. My mom's meatloaf recipe is totally different from her mom's because she found a better trick. People act like changing an ingredient is some huge insult, but it's just cooking.

elliotw373mo ago

It's funny how recipes get treated like museum pieces when cooking is basically edible science. My grandma's cookie recipe changed when margarine showed up, and now we're all back to butter.

grantnelson24d ago

Is it just me or does this apply to everything people get sentimental about? @elliotw37 hit the nail on the head - we treat recipes like they're carved in stone, but really they're just a snapshot of what worked at that moment. It's like how we hold onto old TV shows or songs from our youth and act like new versions are ruining something sacred. My dad still complains about how they changed the formula for his favorite candy bar in the 80s, but he switched to a different brand years ago anyway. People get attached to the story behind the thing more than the thing itself sometimes.