Found out my grandma's pie crust recipe has been lying to me for years

I was digging through my grandma's old recipe box last weekend and found a handwritten note tucked into her pie crust page. She wrote that she always swapped butter for shortening because it made the crust tougher and she thought it tasted better that way. I've been making her recipe for about 8 years now, thinking it was the gold standard. Turns out she just didn't like flaky crust and wanted something more like a cracker. I tried a real butter crust yesterday after looking up a serious eats article and the difference was night and day. The pie came out way lighter and actually held together without crumbling. Has anyone else found a family recipe that was completely off from what you expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam_baker7d ago

Yo that's wild! My buddy Dave had a similar thing with his mom's "famous" chili recipe. Turns out she just dumped a can of Hormel into a pot with extra beans and called it homemade for like 20 years. He was so proud thinking he had this secret family chili thing, then his dad accidentally let it slip at a barbecue. Now he makes it from scratch and it's actually way better, but he still gets mad when we bring up the canned stuff.

marybutler7d ago

Oh man that chili story is brutal lol. @adam_baker that's honestly kind of hilarious in a sad way though. I mean I get it, finding out your grandma's secret was just her personal preference hits different. My aunt used to brag about her "special" meatloaf recipe and we all thought it was this amazing family thing. Turns out she just put a whole sleeve of saltines in it because she couldn't get it to stick together otherwise. I tried making it without them once and it fell apart completely. Now I just tell people it's "rustic style" and hope they don't ask questions. It's crazy how many family recipes are actually just happy accidents.

williamhenderson6d ago

Friend of mine had the same deal with his dad's barbecue sauce. Pops always acted like it was some secret family blend. Then the guy finds an empty bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's in the trash one day. Dad just added a little brown sugar and cayenne to it. Told everyone it was "Grandpa's Kansas City recipe." @adam_baker now that's the kind of secret that got my buddy writing angry letters to his dad for a month.