Continuing a tradition may come with pressure, but when a habit is picked up and executed, it's because someone wants that moment to happen. Making traditional food is often driven by a desire to share something special with others. My Valentine's Day cupcake tradition helps us learn about that "want."

Recipe offer important biographical clues because they show cultural, linguistic, and family influences. Here are some steps for how to read a recipe using three versions of one of our family's traditional desserts: "Christmas Cake" aka "Advent Cake" aka "Coffee Cake" aka "Pfefferkuchen auf dem Blech." Try reading your own recipes and see what you'll discover about yourself!

Decoy foods are an important way for parents to share important cultural traditions. Pfefferkuchen is just enough like Lebkuchen that it can be used to disguise the important culinary practice of making Saint Nicholas Day cookies.

Studying traditional food? Autoethnography may be one of the elements in your researching toolkit. This post explains some of the pros and cons of autoethnography, giving examples from my own researching experience. It also offers a list of key texts to consult to help you with your own project.

Defining what is and is not a traditional food is not easy. Traditions are complex. They have origins we may or may not know and they are part of stories that evolve over time. Yet, a working definition of "traditional food" is something I've developed.