10/25 Secret Family Recipe

Shhh...it's a secret.

There are a lot of companies and even people we know that have these recipes that they refuse to share. Worse, they'll elude to them whenever they can. We all know about the KFC spices, or Coca-cola's secret recipe, or the Bush's Baked Bean commercials that play on the idea of selling a family recipe. Sometimes it's a secret because "secret" is a good marketing ploy. It drums up interest and publicity and makes people a little more willing to see what all the hype is about. But secret recipes aren't relegated to the competitive commercial world only.

There was never really anyone in my family that I remember being big on secret recipes. There were a few family recipes, created and coined by grandmothers or aunts, but those were pretty much common knowledge among anyone who wanted them. Because of this, I have never really understood the hype behind secret recipes. I understand their use in marketing, but when you aren't marketing, what's the point? I suppose the answer lies in pride. There's a good feeling that goes along with making food that people like. If you're the only person who can make that food that people like, then the pride and the good feeling can go even farther.

Whether it is pride, money or something else that motivates people to make secret recipes, the truth is that lot's of people have them, and sometimes people stumble on the same one by accident. It's a world full of secret recipes out there. And everyone has their own reason for keeping it a secret.