Discovering the past through a cookbook

The story of immigration is as old as human history. Stories about dangerous ocean crossings, perilous overland treks, navigating in a strange land, or learning a new language resonate because so many of us have ancestors who emigrated to the place we call home.

If we’re lucky, an older relative can recount the journey with us. If not, it can be difficult to find information about our ancestors, but there are unusual ways to discover this rich history. One Australian woman learned about her grandmother’s immigration story through a cookbook she inherited. 

Ruth Balint’s grandmother’s earliest recipes were written in Hungarian and featured traditional foods like meat loaf and poppy seed rolls, while later recipes, penned in English, focused more on the foods of her new home. Many of the newer recipes were given to her from acquaintances and friends she made in Australia. 

As Balint thumbed her way through her grandmother’s ragged book, she found more than just recipes, however. She pieced together the story of her grandmother’s escape from Eastern Europe in 1938 through her assimilation into Australian culture by looking at the clippings, notes, and recipes tucked into the pages of the tattered journal.