I was at my Grandfathers funeral just yesterday. His final food request just before he died on the weekend was “A glass of Chardonnay and a merengue”.
Funeral Food
41–50 of 68 posts
Re: Funeral Food
#42Growing up in St Louis, it was traditional for neighbors to bring food to your house when there was a death in the family. I thought that tradition faded away until a few years ago when my wife had a relative pass and a neighbor brought us a dish.
It is still a tradition where I'm from, New England. It's just a natural reaction when a family is in trouble, you make them a casserole or something substantial that keeps for a few days. I did it a few times this year already.
It's a way to express love and sympathy in a very practical, nourishing manner. I hope it never goes away.
Re: Funeral Food
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Context is important. > to celebrate the person that passed It is clearly written that such celebrations are for the person who has passed. It isn't even implicit: It's literally spelled out, in very plain English, what the purpose of these celebration are. > I hope people get together and celebrate when I die. Here, it is clearly written that the author hopes that people will perform such a celebration for him when…
If we're talking semantics, the celebration is not so much for the deceased, but for the living "left behind."
Prepositions are a fundamental part of English, and having a celebration for a person [alive, or dead -- it doesn't matter] is using "for" as a preposition.
Re: Funeral Food
#44This is fascinating. I was born and raised in Uruguay and I don't think food was ever a thing in funerals. You just hang out in a room and are generally sad, but food is nowhere to be seen. I've only seen food in funerals in the movies! I wonder whether this is by country, by religion (and variant of that religion), or what.
> You just hang out in a room and are generally sad Without the party afterward? Most of the funerals I've been to here in the Eastern US involve feeling sad during the service and/or burial, and then a reception afterward where the mood lightens and you have a good time celebrating the person.
Same here, it's a time for re-connecting with family and friends. We reminisce about the deceased, and we're connected by those stories. Some of the foods are generational, baked by great-great-aunts, or even a particular store-bought bakery good (Market Basket Donuts). No one would ever eat these on a regular day, but somehow, the platter disappears during the afterparty.
Re: Funeral Food
#45The funeral potatoes specialty reminds me of Jeanne Robertson's story about 7-up cake: https://youtu.be/-YFRUSTiFUs?si=O3vOnV5Ho8saWMui
Funeral potatoes are a special thing in Utah, a very Mormon dish. Quite good, iirc.
its also a very southern dish. we just call it Hash brown Casserole
Re: Funeral Food
#46I love (and I mean love) egg salad sandwiches. But if they’re cut in triangles, I just cannot eat them. The aversion is especially strong if there’s also tuna triangles and cold cut triangles. And this is 18 years after the funeral that caused the association of these food formats. Brains are weird.
But a triangular-shaped sandwich is an efficient sandwich shape to eat without making a mess: you're biting "off", not biting "into" (thus not getting egg salad all over your face). And what do you get when you've bitten off all three points? Another triangle! It's a beautiful day, I think I'll go outside and get some fresh air now :)
That's a wonderful observation, never thought about it that way. Thank you.
Re: Funeral Food
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funeral potatoes are a special thing in Utah, a very Mormon dish. Quite good, iirc.
Yes, they are very much a specialty of the regional culture. And they’re delicious.
Have you ever had chicken 65 from one of the local Indian places? I've lived in a few different places and the Indian and Chinese restaurants sometimes have regional specific dishes. I've not had chicken 65 outside of Utah.
Re: Funeral Food
#48Re: Funeral Food
#49This is timely for me, and something that's been on my mind, as my grandmother passed away about a month ago. (Tomorrow would have been her 83rd birthday.) I find myself thinking a lot about funerary traditions and the ways they can bring healing and closure to surviving loved ones, and help us remember the good times we've had with the deceased before recent illness or strife. The preparation for the funeral (compiling stories, pictures, etc) was very therapeutic for me as it helped me remember who she was beyond the decline of her last few years.
Re: Funeral Food
#50This is fascinating. I was born and raised in Uruguay and I don't think food was ever a thing in funerals. You just hang out in a room and are generally sad, but food is nowhere to be seen. I've only seen food in funerals in the movies! I wonder whether this is by country, by religion (and variant of that religion), or what.
Where I live, Oklahoma, after the church funeral service, everyone eventually ends up in the "fellowship hall", which is a large room with a kitchen and a lot of tables. If the deceased attended the church, a church committee would bring in food to feed the family and all who went to the service. Family relatives would also bring food. (This is where the most interesting dishes came from, usually family favorites.) U…
I love Oklahoma. Wholesome, hardworking people in a beautiful state. My favorite drive is through Sand Springs to Cleveland and Skiatook. You wind through Keystone Lake and the Arkansas River. So peaceful and pretty.