It's My Secret Recipe!

I really want to comment on a subject that I have not seen much opinion on and it happens to be my pet peeve because it illustrates a lack of understanding of what food is all about.

We all have experienced it. You go to a family gathering usually, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a friend's Super Bowl Party and there is a dish that someone mentions they prepared and you are polite and complimentary. Usually it is mediocre, but being a courteous person, you inquire casually "What's in it?" or "How did you make it?"
Then it comes......the person becomes haughty, looks you in the eye for your reaction...."It is my secret (family) recipe!"
Now, I take a deep breath and count or bite my tongue so as to not let onto what I am really thinking: " OH, PLEASE. You can't tell me that you have, on your own, created something that has never been done in the history of human culinary experience and is not on the Internet! You are narrow minded, and your attitude flies in the face of what the culture of food is all about: Sharing!

I strongly believe that we have survived as a species because, when migrating to different environments, we are able to share the discovery of new foods as well as how to prepare them so they are palatable. Having a secret recipe you won't share flies in the face of this wonderful, essential culture of cuisine that we as humans have developed and has been essential to our prosperity and ensures the survival of our children.

It's a secret family recipe? When we as human beings seek to understand a different culture, the easiest and most direct, immediate way of doing so is to experience and share the cuisine and how it is prepared! We incorporate it into our culture! It is an essential and underestimated ingredient of understanding and living in peace in a multicultural society. It keeps from killing each other. So, the "secret family recipe" just doesn't hold up here either.

What I say now is softened. I simply point out that it is very easy to loose something special if it is not shared. If you share it more people can make it a part of their food culture.
I will have to make an exception for commercial restaurants or products that use it as a part of their draw or reputation ie. Bushes Baked Beans. (Nobody really believes that anyway, and they are the best canned beans.)

I will make one last point too. The secret recipe thing curiously only happens in American .
Now, in Italy for example everyone makes the best red sauce and they will tell you how it or any dish is made to the point where it becomes an hour dissertation as what defines the dish.
And, yes, everyone does make the best red sauce. Why is this the case? Because each sauce is made with local tomatoes that have been planted for generations and have adapted perfectly to that area and the character of the sauce is also influenced by other cultures, herbs, etc. in various parts of the country. This is called Terroir. This is the secret recipe.

So if you truly want to create something that is unique it takes more than substituting thyme for basil and calling it a secret recipe. It takes more than substituting ranch dressing instead of mayo in your Super Bowl dip. It takes, if you don't do it yourself, understanding and supporting local growers and producers who make it a commitment of their life to carry on the real tradition of what makes cuisine unique! Terroir.