Funeral foods: Comfort and ease

Bundt Cake    (Photo by Katrin Morenz)

The two qualities that reign supreme within the many funeral-food traditions are comfort and ease.

Foods that temporarily stuff the gaping emptiness include vegetables with rice (Chinese), cheesy hash browns (Mormon), custard pies (Amish), casseroles (Midwest),

bundt cakes (Minnesota), chow mein noodles (Hawaii), jambalaya (New Orleans), ham biscuits (American South), and frogmore stew (South Carolina low country).

Ease of preparation and serving counts for everything at times like these.  Epicurious of MSN Living reports that the Amish “funeral pie… can be made in advance and requires no refrigeration.”  Minnesota bundt cakes are “easy to freeze and store for families.”  And what can be simpler than chowing down on Hawaiian noodles?

Tradition often dictates how these meals will unfold.  The Jews have a Seudat Havara’ah (“Meal of Condolence”), and the Chinese avoid meat during mourning. The “funeral repast” follows a Southern

burial.  This repast is a “semi-formal dinner, featuring multiple courses of local specialties… paired with simple desserts.”   

    

Resources

http://living.msn.com/food-drink/food-news/beyond-casserole-mapping-out-the-country%E2%80%99s-funeral-food-traditions

Copyright October 10, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved