Essential Question: How can I learn about tradition and heritage through cooking?

Over the past two weeks I’ve been exploring my project by cooking and doing research. So far, Ive cooked 5 different dishes all from my grandmothers recipes. Most of these recipes are quite simple but two were quite challenging. Im doing research mostly by reading. Im around one hundred pages into my textbook. I also found two Greek food blogs that I’ve been reading regularly. In addition, I watched an hour and a half long course about greek food on youtube. So far, my project is playing out exactly how I would expect.

The only challenges I’ve had so far in my project are attempting difficult recipes. Last week I learned how to cook my one of my favorite Greek dishes Spanakopita. On Tuesday I went to my grandmothers house and we made the dish. Cooking the dish with my grandmother was quite easy, mostly because she was constantly helping me and giving tips. The challenge came the next day when I tried to make Spanakopita at home. Almost immediately I realized how much harder it was to make the recipe without someone who’s been practicing for 70 years. The filo dough became dry and impossible to manage, the filling was too watery, and all of the triangles were different sizes. I overcame this obstacle when I tried to make the recipe again over the weekend. This time I cut the dough in even pieces and used less cottage cheese. This fixed the problems I had and helped make perfect triangles.

So far, Ive learned that cooking and tradition go hand in hand. Greek gatherings are only traditional with the proper greek food. And cooking Greek food in itself is a tradition on its own. Doing this project has made me realize how much effect Greek food has on my family. This makes me wonder if food in other Greek American families is as important as it is in my family.