A Craving for Home

Jul
28

Post by community member:

I’m an immigrant. In January of 2002, our family moved to Canada for my husband’s work. We thought it would be exciting and that we would try it for a few years. If it wasn’t what we’d hoped for, we could always move back. It was just a few hours by plane.

But we loved it so we stayed, and although it was not always easy, we adjusted as we faced some difficulties. People were different than Europeans, as were the climate and habits.

Food was different too, and sometimes we missed certain kinds of foods. I knew my parents would always send me something if I wanted, but it was more fun to try to find the ingredients and make it myself. I bought “strange” snacks, and sometimes I thought…. Hey this kinda tastes like this or a bit like that.

One afternoon, stuffing my face with gingersnaps, which taste of pepernoten, I realized that the millions of immigrants who came here before us, under totally different circumstances, tried to do the same things I was trying to do–find comforting flavors that reminded them of home. (They couldn’t catch a plane back if they got homesick.)

I can order any ingredient I need online if I want it and can’t find or make it, but (y)our ancestors could not. They had to work with what they had. I’m pretty sure that is why I sometimes find cookies that taste a bit like something I know, but not quite. There are ingredients missing, and something else was added to take its place.

I understand now how important it is to keep at least some of your own heritage in your food. Immigration and a craving for food like “back home” is not any different than it was 100 or 150 years ago.

Now if I only could get my hands on a recipe to make drop. Anyone?

Drop, a licorice treat, as you would see it displayed in Dutch markets. The Dutch love their licorice!

You can also find Astrid at Apple Tree Acres.

Interested in contributing a guest post to the Farm Bell blog? Read information here for Farm Bell blog submissions.

Want to subscribe to the Farm Bell blog? Go here.




Comments

  1. Cathy Jones (catray44) says:

    I grew up eating “drop”! My neighbors were from the Netherlands. Mrs. Blokker would give those wonderful salty treats to us when she would receive a package from ‘home’. I remember getting pretty sick on them once, lol. She sometimes found them in a store in Holland, Michigan that imported items from the Netherlands. She also used to make Oliebol for us, oh my! So good!

  2. CindyP says:

    Great post Astrid!

    I can imagine the differences in ingredients available…it’s the same here regionally (south/north). Thank goodness for the internet!

    Off to search “drop”………. 🙂

  3. Laura says:

    I enjoyed reading your blog. You hit on a very basic human need——comfort food.

  4. kris says:

    You can definitely find “drops” in Holland MI. I live very close to there.

  5. Cathy Jones (catray44) says:

    Here is the link to Vander Veens, “The Dutch Store”
    http://www.thedutchstore.com/ You can order items for you home online, including “drops”!

  6. BuckeyeGirl says:

    I make Polish food when I’m feeling the need of that comfort food. I can totally understand the need for comfort food from “back home” even though I’m second generation U.S. citizen! All four of my grandparents stepped “off the boat”. I have the ship’s manifest for some of them to prove it too! Luckily I can cook most of my Grammy’s recipes because I learned at my Mama’s knee. I wish I had the actual recipes, all I know is a bit of this and a bit of that!

  7. Anita says:

    I know this post is several months old. I live in the southern U.S., and comfort food has always been very important to me. My husband’s mother and mine cook very much the same way, so his comfort foods and mine are the same – that means he loves my cooking. Lucky me!

    But we love to experiment with foods from other cultures too. One of our absolute favorites is Indian food. We are so fond of it that one of us develops a “craving” for it at least two or three times a month. And nothing else will do, but to head to our favorite restaurant for lunch, and eat “Tikka Masala” until we are shamefully full. It’s become one of our NEW comfort foods!

Add Your Thoughts



Search Farm Bell Recipes

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
All Recipes
Appetizers & Snacks
Bagels
Bean Soups
Beans
Beans, Grains & Rice
Beef
Beverages
Biscuits
Blog
Boiling Water Bath
Bread Machine
Breads
Breakfast
Brownies
Budget
BWB Condiments
BWB Fruits
BWB Jams, Jellies, Butters & Preserves
BWB Marmalades & Conserves
BWB Other
BWB Pickles & Pickled Stuff
BWB Salsas
BWB Sauces
BWB Tomatoes & Combos
BWB Vegetables
Cakes
Candy
Canning
Casserole
Casserole
Casserole
Cereals
Cheese
Cheesecakes
Chilis
Chowders
Cobblers
Coffee Cake
Cold Remedies
Condiments
Cookery 101
Cookies & Bars
Cream Soups
Crisps
Crock Pot
Crowd-Size
Crusts
Cupcakes
Cure & Smoke
Dairy
Dehydrating
Desserts
Diabetic
Dips
Doughnuts
Dressings
Egg Dishes
Eggs
Entertaining
Fat-Free
Featured
Fermenting
Fillings
Fish
Food Photography
Freezing
Frostings & Icings
Frozen
Fruit Breads
Fruit Cakes
Fruit Salads
Fruits
Gift Basket Goodies
Giveaways
Gluten-Free
Goat Cheeses
Gourmet
Gravies
Griddles
Grill-Outdoor Cooking
Hard Cheeses
Herbs & Spices
Holiday
Homemade Cheese
How To
Ice Creams
Ingredients
Ingredients & Mixes
Jell-O
Jell-O Salads
Kid-Friendly
Kitchen Gadgets
Kosher
Lactose-Free
Lamb
Leftovers
Lettuce & Greens
Low-Carb
Low-Fat
Low-Sodium
Main Dish
Marinades
Meat Salads
Meet the Cook
Muffins
Non-Dairy
Old-Fashioned
One Dish Meal
Other Breads
Other Breakfast
Other Condiments
Other Dairy
Other Desserts
Other Main Dish
Other Salads
Other Side Dishes
Other Soups & Stews
Other Special Diets
Pasta
Pasta
Pasta Salads
Pastries
PC Beef
PC Chicken
PC Meats
PC Other
PC Poultry
PC Soups & Stews
PC Veggies
Pets
Pickling
Pies
Pizza
Pizza Crusts
Pork
Potato Salads
Potatoes
Potluck
Poultry
Presentation
Preserving
Pressure Canning
Pressure Cooker
Puddings & Custards
Recipe Requests
Relishes & Chutneys
Rolls
Rubs
Salads
Salads
Salsas
Sandwiches
Sauces
Scones
Seafood
Side Dishes
Soft Cheeses
Soups & Stews
Sourdough
Special Diets
Special Occasions
Steam Juicer
Stocks
Stuffings
Substitutions
Syrups
Tarts
Tips & Tricks
Tortillas & Pitas
Using FBR
Vegan
Vegetable Breads
Vegetable Salads
Vegetables
Vegetarian
Wild Game
Yeast Breads


If you would like to help support the overhead costs of this website, you may donate. Thank you!





Thanks for being part of our community!