Podcast Summary: All Of It with WNYC

Episode: Family Recipes to Take to the Grave

Aired: December 16, 2025
Host: David Fuerst (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Rosie Grant, Creator of Ghostly Archive
Book: To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes

Episode Overview

This episode explores the intriguing phenomenon of family recipes etched onto gravestones—a unique tradition that immortalizes beloved dishes and the people who made them. Guest Rosie Grant, creator of the Ghostly Archive project on TikTok and Instagram, discusses her journey uncovering these culinary memorials across the United States and introduces her new cookbook collecting forty of these recipes, paired with the stories of those who took their signature dishes with them to the afterlife.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Origins and History of Gravestone Recipes

• A Recent Tradition
  Rosie explains that recipes on gravestones are a relatively new part of American memorial culture, mostly starting in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first one she discovered was in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, for Naomi Odessa Miller Dawson, featuring a spritz cookie recipe.
  “The first one that I learned about was actually in Brooklyn, New York...a spritz cookie recipe on her gravestone.”
  — Rosie Grant [03:16]

• How Recipes Are Chosen
  Some recipes are pre-selected by the deceased, others are chosen by their family as a tribute. Sometimes, recipes are inscribed as a way to sum up the essence of someone who was known for hosting family gatherings and expressing love through food. In a few cases, people have planned ahead for their own recipe inscriptions.
  “In some cases, it was the person themselves that requested it...and then in the case of some other family members, the person had passed away and they were trying to think of, how do we sum up this person who hosted every holiday, and they were known for showing love through food.”
  — Rosie Grant [04:34]

• Space for Recipes
  Only brief or simplified recipes fit, with most being baked goods that don’t require lengthy instruction.
  “You might notice as you look through the book, there are quite a few baked goods...a couple people just left out some instructions. And, you know, there's one person who even says, if it tastes like mine, it tastes right.”
  — Rosie Grant [04:00]

Memorable Gravestone Recipes and Their Stories

• Naomi Otis Miller Dawson’s Spritz Cookies — Brooklyn, NY
  Naomi’s gravestone looks like an open cookbook, listing only the ingredients for her much-requested spritz cookies, omitting the method—keeping the secret alive.
  “If you walk up to Naomi's grave, it looks like an open cookbook, and there's no instructions. It’s just the ingredients to her spritz cookie recipe...So this was like a secret recipe that she took to the grave.”
  — Rosie Grant [05:36]

• Annabelle’s Snickerdoodle Cookies — California
  A volunteer firefighter and a beloved community baker. Her daughter recalls memories of Annabelle feeding cookies to firefighters in a forested area, especially during wildfire seasons.
  “Her daughter talks about, you know, the volunteer firefighters gathering in the kitchen...and they would feed these cookies, amongst other things, to the other volunteer firefighters.”
  — Rosie Grant [08:57]

• Kay’s Fudge — Utah
  Kay’s fudge recipe challenged Rosie the most, given sparse instructions and her inexperience, but she persevered.
  “With each recipe, the biggest sort of leg of the project was of course, connecting with the families...the one that I struggled with the most...was a fudge recipe from a Woman named Kay in Utah.”
  — Rosie Grant [09:58]

• Roberta Jackson’s Kasha Varnishkas — New York
  A recipe for a traditional Jewish dish. The recipe inscription is based on a letter Roberta sent her daughter, with the memorable ending: “Does it taste like mine? It does. Good.”
  “Her daughter Sharon is actually this wonderful food writer...the way that it ends with, like, does it taste like mine? It does. Good. Was such an impactful part of the recipe that she included that in the instructions on the gravestone itself.”
  — Rosie Grant [14:41]

Rosie’s Personal Connection

• Forging the Project
  Rosie began her archival work while interning at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., inspired by unique gravestone epitaphs and stories during the pandemic. Starting with a TikTok account to document her experiences, Naomi’s Brooklyn recipe sent her down the “gravestone recipe” rabbit hole.
  “I was interning at a cemetery...I’d started a TikTok account about what’s it like to intern at a cemetery...I was so blown away about this idea.”
  — Rosie Grant [07:12]

• Her Family’s Background
  Rosie’s parents are ghost tour guides, and she often spent time in cemeteries growing up, leading to a positive and respectful relationship with such spaces.
  “Growing up with them...we went to cemetery tours frequently...so I never found them very scary places...they are very much for the living to go and think about people we've lost.”
  — Rosie Grant [12:22]

• Limited Culinary Experience → Recipe Archivist
  Rosie had limited baking skills but a deep love for food stories, narrative, and archiving.
  “I had a limited...I was more of an eater than a cook myself...But...my focus was food writing, so I loved food storytelling and food memoirs...definitely I've learned a lot about cooking in the process.”
  — Rosie Grant [10:57]

Cultural Reflection: Death, Memory, and the Death Positive Movement

• Normalizing Conversations About Death
  Rosie was introduced to the “Death Positive Movement,” which encourages open conversation about death as healthy for individuals and society. Discussing how one wishes to be remembered—including recipes—can be meaningful.
  “It began with hospice nurses not even that long ago. But it's just this idea that talking about death with loved ones is not only healthy as individuals, it's healthier for society...it is really healthy to talk about these things, even if it's kind of uncomfortable.”
  — Rosie Grant [13:29]

Rosie’s Own Gravestone Recipe

• Clam Linguine
  Rosie has contemplated her own legacy recipe—a clam linguine, honoring her upbringing and her husband's Maine heritage, and intends to have it inscribed.
  “It's a clam linguini and it's just a nostalgic dish that I grew up with and he's from Maine. And it's just something that I grew up loving and still to this day love to serve to dinner guests.”
  — Rosie Grant [16:28]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If it tastes like mine, it tastes right.” — Recipe inscription, discussed by Rosie Grant [04:00]
• “We often treat death as a failure rather than something that...no, I'm excited to think about these things.” — Rosie Grant [15:57]
• “What's more spiritual than food?” — Rosie Grant [06:17]
• “They are very much for the living to go and think about people we've lost.” — Rosie Grant [12:22]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:16] – History and origin of gravestone recipes
• [05:36] – Naomi’s Spritz Cookie recipe in Brooklyn
• [07:12] – How Rosie began this project
• [08:57] – Stories behind Annabelle’s Snickerdoodle and Kay’s Fudge
• [10:57] – Rosie’s baking background
• [12:22] – Growing up around cemeteries and ghost tours
• [13:29] – The Death Positive Movement
• [14:41] – Roberta Jackson’s Kasha Varnishkas
• [15:57] – Rosie’s own gravestone recipe (Clam linguine)

Summary Takeaway

This episode beautifully weaves together the themes of memory, food, and the rituals of remembrance, revealing how culinary traditions can offer a tangible, timeless connection to those who have passed. Rosie Grant’s project and book uniquely celebrate lives and cultures through recipes that quite literally go to the grave—inviting us all to reflect on how we’d like to be remembered and the stories our favorite dishes can tell.