Have you ever asked someone for their secret cookie recipe and they hit you with a, "Not telling a soul. I'm taking it to my grave." As it turns out, some people mean that quite literally.
TikToker and Instagrammer Rosie Grant (@ghostly.archives) has discovered headstones across the country inscribed with recipes, and she's made it her mission to cook them herself.
@ghostlyarchive Have visited 6 of the 23 gravestones, including the graves of Naomi Odessa Miller Dawson (spritz cookie recipe), Kay Andrews (fudge recipe), Constance Galberd (date and nute bread), Annabell Gunderson (snickerdoodle cookies), and Margaret Davis (blueberry pie). #gravestonerecipe #recipegravestone #cemeterytiktok #gravetok #recipesoftiktok #cemeteryexploring #recipeideas ♬ So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek
In one of her viral videos, Grant shows several headstones, most of which she notes belong to women, that have recipes engraved on them (predominantly dessert recipes). From Spritz cookies to "really good carrot cake," she resurrects the recipes in her own kitchen and brought them back to their respective gravesites before digging in (we're talking about eating, not grave digging, relax) as a way to honor the deceased who were thoughtful enough to share their beloved recipes in an everlasting way.
Let's face it: "Jane Doe, Loving Wife & Mother" sounds so bland for a headstone epitaph in contrast to a delicious recipe. Think about it: That concrete or marble slab is permanently inscribed with something that's supposed to represent the memory of the deceased. Long after all of the people they've personally known in their lifetime are gone, that headstone continues to represent them to everyone else. So why not leave generations to come with the recipes you held dear? I mean, really, if you're someone who loves being complimented for your cooking abilities, it's a pretty foolproof way to receive eternal culinary appreciation.
And lest we forget the generational gaps that happen in the kitchen. For instance, I'm 30, and in my kitchen, I either find recipes from delicate newspaper clippings and handwritten recipe cards in my grandmother's recipe tins or I can head to Pinterest or TikTok, where I'm sure to find some crazy new food hack that my 1924-born grandma would be appalled by. Preserving recipes on a headstone is a great way to ensure classic recipes transcend time. Now, excuse me while I go bake a "really good carrot cake" to see if it lives up to the hype.
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