No one makes chicken and rice soup quite like my mother. The perfect dish to have when feeling under the weather or when I need comfort food. It took years of trying out the recipe she gave me – and never getting it quite right – until I asked her for the secret. I had followed the recipe perfectly. Her response: “You have to add a cinnamon stick to the chicken when it’s boiling.” The one ingredient she left out of the recipe, but the one ingredient that made it hers.
Just like my own instance, mothers pass down their unique cooking knowledge to their children. This know-how can be as simple as how to boil pasta or as important as a secret ingredient. We rely on our moms to continually teach us how to make those special dishes just like she did, or her mom even.
We asked people on Twitter to share their moms’ kitchen secrets and received some interesting tidbits. From what makes the perfect appetizer:
@EmilyLooseWheel: Mom’s special shrimp dip – breadcrumbs and melted butter. Delicious.
To the use of cinnamon in different dishes:
@brandik: she added cinnamon to burgers before grilling
@christyleigh: My mom always added cinnamon to her spaghetti sauce and it’s a tradition I’ve carried over into my own cooking.
Who can forget moms’ dessert making:
@chad_glenn: instead of a true Waldorf Astoria red cake my mom bought a chocolate box cake and added red food coloring. Not even close!
Moms know it takes some time before we figure everything out in the kitchen. She constantly offers helpful hints to make sure our food turns out tasty:
@SamiJCarter: My mom told me good cooks always taste their cooking along the way.
@RuthsHomeWorks: Cucumbers: slice off each end first. Rub the sliced-off end against the freshly cut area. It removes ‘bad spirits’.
But, at the end of the day, the one secret ingredient that mom always taught us was simple:
@PBugler: LOVE in every single bite
As we celebrate moms this weekend with Mother’s Day, we are reminded the important role that they play in consumer purchase decisions. As the most recent FoodThink white paper reveals, our research doesn’t just focus on moms, but on their influence upon all consumer groups and will be of interest across the entire spectrum of food marketing audiences.
Thinking of your mom, did she pass along any kitchen secrets to you?
