Gastronomy and death are not separate things, even if logic points to it. Many cultures, such as Mexico, they honor their dead by depositing their drinks and foods favored on altars or eaten at the graves of loved ones.
Even quite a few recipes have their place on some gravestones. Under the cold stone lies a body and, upon it, is inscribed a recipe for posterity. Rosemary Grant, librarian at The AngelsUSA, who collects them on his TikTok account @ghostlyarchives.
His particular hobby, according to Grant, who is 33, began when he was doing an internship at Congressional Cemetery, in Washington DC.., within the master’s degree course in library and information sciences.
“In a job entrusted to us, I had to open a TikTok account and post a video every day. I focused on the documentation of my internship and, to feed on content, I began to investigate different cemeteries,” Grant explains to The avant-garde.
Unexpectedly, the time he spent there helped him get passionate about everything related to cemeteriesthus becoming one taphophilethat is, a person interested in death and its rituals.
On one of those days when he was surfing the Internet looking for curiosities about cemeteries, he came across an entry from dark atlas –a site that tells fragments of the history of hidden places or traditions around the world– that captured his attention: a gravestone from the Brooklyn cemetery, in New York, it was crowned with a sculpture of an open bookinside which reads “Spritz Cookies: 1 cup butter or margarine, 4 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 egg, 2 ¼ cups flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt.”
There were no instructions for making them, but that didn’t stop Grant, who she put on her apron and proceeded to prepare these cookies and document it for your TikTok.
“I’m to Die For” apostille.
And so, overnight, that recipe made her famous and… more than 1 million people watched his videowhich has already reached the figure of almost one and a half million views.
“They were very tasty, but the first two times I got them wrong. There were no instructions of any kind it was my followers who explained to me how to do it: They had to be shaped with a cookie press, and I bought it,” she said.
after that, many more came. Like Martha Kathyrn Kirkham Andrews’ fudge, which was written on the grave she shares with her husband in Logan, Utah Cemetery.
It is again an unexpected success on social media, and a curious message in her DMs: Martha’s granddaughter had seen the video in which she was preparing her grandmother’s recipe and had told her all the details of why that recipe ended up on her tombstone.
It turns out that Martha is someone who loves to give food, and one of her most iconic gifts was candy. So, when her husband Wade died in 2000, she Marta decided that she would prepare that place where she would rest 19 years later: installed the board with that recipe and she liked to see how people passing by noticed her, pointed to her and even told her that they had put it into practice.
Christmas cookies, chocolate oatmeal cookies, nut bread with dates, peach pie, blueberry pie and other recipes are what kept Grant entertained. in his search for gourmand tombstones which he found on the internet and visited his country whenever he could.
Interestingly, many of these recipes (with the exception of the cream cheese) are sweet. But no wonder: We usually seek comfort in cookies, cakes and other sweets. In our imaginations, sweet flavors make us refer to tranquility and biscuits or other baked goods, to family and more homely moments.
On the other hand, it is a way to make those recipes visible that once earned mothers and grandmothers the recognition of their relatives, taking them out of the house, making them public and sharing them with the world, finally giving them the importance they deserve.
Grant comments that this is something that practically only seen in cemeteries in the United States.
“I think we carry something personal to our graves, beyond a name and date of birth and death. Many people add details of the things they valued in life and what they want to be remembered for next. Maybe it’s a hobby, a love of a pet, a book, or a date. It’s a unique and interesting way to celebrate someone’s life.”
The woman also confesses it I didn’t have a good relationship with death and that the whole process helped her reflect on some topics she tended to avoid in order not to face her fears and the possible pain it could cause her.
Comment that the food It served as an excuse to talk and reflect on this tougher and less appetizing topic like death, since many of the users leave their comments remembering in detail their loved ones and the recipes they have prepared for them.
“I think that we don’t think enough about our mortal conditionbut through food and memories, this exercise becomes a little more bearable,” he concluded.
Source: The Vanguard
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.