The unfortunate reality of life is that at that at some point, for all of us, it must end. While it might be uncomfortable to think about, everyone should take some time to decide what they want to be remembered for. For some people, it’s their recipes. Rosie Grant, a University of Maryland graduate student, has recently become big on TikTok for making recipes that are memorialized on people’s gravestones.
Photo: Iryna Horbachova/Shutterstock
The Best Part About Cemetery Tourism? The Gravestone Recipes
@ghostlyarchive Trying recipes inscribed on tombstones. Let me know if you’ve found others #cemeteryexploring #bakersoftiktok #recipegravestone #gravestonerecipe #taphophile #gravetok #cemterytok #cemeterytiktok #bakingrecipe ♬ Ooh Ahh (My Life Be Like) [feat. Tobymac] – Grits
While many cemetery visits are solemn, cemetery tourism is a way to walk through the gravestones differently with historical viewpoint. Grant told NPR that she thought of the recipes as a way to connect with people in the afterlife by using what they wanted us to remember them by. And even though gravestone recipes are a pretty new-wave concept, according to the New York Times, the practice is popping up all over the world, from Alaska to Israel, giving people who decide to try the recipes a cultural reference of where the food is from.
@ghostlyarchive Naomi Miller-Dawson’s grave in Green Wood Cemetery #recipesoftiktok #recipesforyou #gravestone #greenwoodcemetery #taphophile #spritzcookies #gravetok ♬ edamame – bbno$
Grant told NPR that her favorite gravestone recipe she’s made so far is a spritz cookie listed on Naomi Dawson’s tombstone, which she says tastes like a cross between a sugar and shortbread cookie. It turns out the recipe belongs to Richard Dawson’s mother, who refused to give the recipe up. Even though the recipe lacked measurements, Grant made a plate to bring to Naomi Dawson’s grave.
Who knew recipes could bring us together as much in death as they do in life? 