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Analyses

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My approach to developing these analyses has generally been introspective. Where a particular recipe from the archive has given me pause, I've tried to connect it with my own cooking, a memory, or some other facet that brings the present together with the past. I've found it hard, in doing this, not to bring a certain relativism into the mix. Recipes like Sunshine Salad (left) seem positively absurd to me, today, but I have to consider that my grandmother and I came from very different worlds. I also like to think that she was excited for these recipes, happy to try them, taste them, serve them. And if lemon-tomato gelatin made her happy, and especially if it tasted good to her, then far be it from me to critique that. 

But I've also tried to see the connections between the recipes themselves. Scalar makes that easy, in some ways, but hard in others. I want here to supply one of those "gimmicky network graphics" I mentioned previously. A network graphic is basically a visualization of the way things are connected. This one shows the tags I created (recipes written by my grandmother, recipes with peppers & onions, etc) as the central hubs to which the individual recipes are connected. In this way, you can visually see what the major players are, and even reorganize them to help you better understand how they operate. Have a look at it before you proceed to the individual analyses: it may be informative (and may take a moment to load!).



You'll notice that I've often supplemented these analyses with recipes of my own. These take the form of a very modern cooking blog, rather than a simple index card. I'm still unsure how I feel about that, but their presence is necessary one way or the other.  

This page has paths:

  1. Building an Archive Sean Gill
  2. Introduction Sean Gill

Contents of this tag:

  1. Pimento Cheese
  2. Barbecue

This page references: