A recent advice column entry had me thinking this week on family culinary traditions. The individual who wrote in for advice was passed on her aunt's famous pancake recipe only after promising to never share the recipe and its secret ingredient with anyone.
Well, of course, the aunt passed away, and the niece's sister-in-law demanded to know the secret ingredient. The niece refused, feeling she would be betraying her deceased aunt's trust. The advice columnist agreed with the reader since she had made the promise.
This, however, brought up an interesting question. What would be the statute of limitations on the pancake recipe? Would the niece ever be able to share it in good conscience? (I wonder a little if she simply wanted to hold it over her sister-in-law).
With recipes as intellectual property (and in our litigious society), it makes the issue even more interesting. In my family, we have lots of tradition-passed baked-item recipes, but they can be difficult to pull off without the right skill set.
What do you think? Do you have a famous family recipe that you don't feel comfortable sharing? Or are you of the persuasion to share freely? I'd love to hear a greater consensus on this!
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