Dad’s Recipe Box features heirloom recipes. One of our beginning ideas was to gather and publish family favorite dishes so the kids would have them written down if they wanted them. I debated whether to call these “heirloom” or “heritage” recipes, and I suppose either will do. But Merriam-Webster helped me decide. Here’s their definition:

heirloom: something of special value handed on from one generation to another

This is exactly what we intend by using the word. These recipes have special value becuase of the memories and feelings they evoke. Thanksgivings, Saturday mornings, Christmas, picnics and vacations. The older we get, the more we hold these times dear. If food and cooking can help us remember them, so much the better.