One may often ask what the principal components of family, Christmas, or even more abstract ideas such as love, are. It is often the case that such questions are never answered satisfactorily. There is, however a unique opportunity to define these terms, no matter how abstract they are, using the family recipe. As in any literary interpretation, depending on the method of interpretation, context is the key in examining the family recipe, even more so when the object is to define an idea which can have many interpretations. In the case of the cart family; Christmas and even more to the point the love within a family has a simple recipe: two eggs, a half cup of sugar, one fourth a tea spoon of salt, and two cups milk.
Examined in a more concrete light, these ingredients make rice pudding. To be more concise, they make Hazel Cart’s rice pudding or as it is self-titled, Mom’s Rice Pudding, a staple of Christmas dinner for the Cart family. This recipe was young as far as family recipes go, although it is unknown in its exact age as that was never a topic of conversation, but its significance is profound. Within the context of the Cart family, who for many years has put very little emphasis on culture in general and even less on cooking, trans-generational or not, having such a recipe at all is indicative of its importance. It can be easily said that a cultural item such as a family recipe is made more important but the sparse usage of such things. Other than this rice pudding dish, the only culture evident in the Cart family was American, which was mostly indicated by the liberal consumption of burgers and hotdogs, mostly prepared by a fast food establishment. In this light it can be seen that this recipe is one of the very few things that show some of the European background in the Cart family.
When examining the recipe itself it should be noted that the creator refers to herself as “Mom.” This shows a strong orientation towards family, perhaps as far as family being the principal defining factor in the author’s life. It should also be noted that within the family the recipe received the unofficial name of “Mom’s Rice Pudding,” which places even more emphasis on family in relation to the recipe. While the recipe is hand written and personalized, it can be seen from the detail of the instructions that this recipe was never meant to be a secret. Coupled with the emphasis on family this shows that the reason for the creation of this recipe was to spread joy to the Cart family and that this joy should not end with the author. Instead it is meant to be passed on, almost as a gift. The recipe directs the reader, in exacting fashion, how to create the original rice pudding, but at the same time it welcomes changes. This is evidenced by the listing of alternatives within the recipe. For example, four egg yolks may be used instead of two eggs and vanilla may be added if desired. According to Jack Goody in his essay, “Recipe, Prescription, and Experiment,” is a prime example of peasant cooking,
“In this respect peasant cooking is different. Firstly it relies less on precise quantities, which tend to be specified exactly in the written recipe. Secondly, it tends to be less tied to specific ingredients; one can substitute more easily if one does not think one is preparing tripe a la mode de Caen, but simply cooking a dish of tripe for supper. Thirdly, there is more flexibility in regards to preparation,” (Goody).
This connection to peasant cooking is also shown by the fact that, while rice pudding has been a staple of many cultures, it is almost universally a simple dish that is associated with the underclass. This particular recipe is most definitely of the European variety and more specifically it most likely has its roots in English cooking tradition. This shows that the Cart family likely has mundane roots. This of course is a very broad indication of the Cart family’s roots, but given the lack of other cultural or even concrete indicators such as birth certificates and family trees, it is a veritable break-through. It should also be noted the literary significance of rice pudding. It is included in several works and in such works it is mostly served to the downtrodden. For example Charles Dickens used rice pudding in at least one of his works and given the normal subject matter Dickens wrote of, it would hardly be something a king would eat. A more recent example is the use of rice pudding in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a novel by Douglass Adams, as a counterpoint to complex tasks or thinking, thus emphasizing its simplicity.
This recipe is a prime example of how context allows for something mundane to take on a greater importance. The care and love associated with this recipe allows a dish, which is essentially the dessert equivalent of meat and potatoes, to be special and to take on meaning beyond the ingredients contained therein. It shows that a family recipe, while largely delicious, can have meaning beyond its taste. In this case the recipe shows the roots of the Cart family. They most likely come from a working class background, with most certainly a European background. The recipe also shows what was important to the writer, family, as well as her willingness to pass it on and allow changes to it. To the writer, Hazel Cart, the feelings associated with the recipe and in turn the dish, were much more important than the actual dish. So to her it was more of a recipe for love and family togetherness, than a simple rice pudding dish.
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