Spent $45 on a 'secret family recipe' book that was just basic stuff from the internet

I bought this old looking cookbook at a flea market in Savannah, thinking it was full of lost Southern dishes. Turns out, every 'heirloom' recipe inside was just a slightly tweaked version of what you can find on any food blog. I feel like I paid for a story, not real history. Has anyone else been burned by a fancy looking recipe book that was totally fake?

3 comments

3 Comments

fox.jesse2mo ago

Ugh, that's the worst! I read a whole article about this cottage industry of people making fake "vintage" recipe books to sell online. They just copy popular online recipes, change a few words like "tablespoon" to "spoonful", and print it on yellowed paper. The article said they even add fake stains and handwritten notes to make it look real. It's a total scam that preys on people who love food history. Makes me not want to trust any old book I find now.

lane.drew2mo ago

My grandma's church actually put out a real one years ago. I found a copy at a yard sale for two bucks and those recipes are the real deal (the banana pudding is perfect). Now I just look for those local fundraiser books instead.

paul_morgan14d ago

Read an interview with a guy who makes those books. He said the whole point is to sell a fantasy, not food. People want to feel connected to some romanticized past. So they pay for yellowed pages and fake handwriting. The recipes don't even matter. It's basically a prop, like a movie set cookbook. Just a piece of decor for your kitchen shelf.