Forgotten Foods of NYC oral history project - fascinating stories from longtime New Yorkers

Image source: Bearas on Wikimedia Commons – one example of stuffed cabbage

Local writer and editor Anne Noyes Saini – one of the creators of the site City Spoonful – has embarked on another project called Forgotten Foods of New York City. She is interviewing long time New Yorkers over 55, who possess food stories and would like to share them. She has interviewed New Yorkers on the LES, in Battery Park City, and in Queens, recorded their stories, and publishes them on SoundCloud. More on the project:

In this ongoing audio project, longtime New Yorkers recall family cooking traditions, foods from home lost to immigration, and NYC’s bygone era of automats and soda fountains. These foods may be forgotten to most of us, but they are still alive in these New Yorkers’ memories.

The interview from Queens is with Bonnie Sue Pokorny, 66, of Forest Hills, Queens, who reminisces about her grandmother’s stuffed cabbage – made two days ahead and in large rolls. She loves the dish with a passion, and has made it in the past but these days finds it overly challenging – “It’s a process and probably I’ll never make it again because it’s a lot of standing. That is hard for me at this point.”

If you would like to participate, or know someone who might, you can contact Anne via email, which is found here. She is also assisted by Elders Share the Arts, who is connecting her with folks interested in participating in this project.

Forgotten Foods of New York City audio project [Project Homepage]