This Is How Different Cultures Grieve With Food

[yellowdogintexas]

1. coming from a small town in the South, I can vouch for the

deluge of food which appears as if by magic when someone dies.

When my dad died, we had so much food it was unreal. My mom had a really big freezer, so we put a lot of it away for later.

Certain people bring certain things. One lady in our church always made the Hershey's chocolate syrup cake (decadent!). Chicken salad, cold cuts, mac/cheese, potato salad, deviled eggs, pimento cheese, various casseroles and of course desserts. Pie, cakes, brownies, cookies.

I recommend this for your reading pleasure: "Being Dead is No Excuse" The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral by Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays, in which the authors explain everything you need to know to host an authentic Southern funeral, Mississippi Delta style. There are recipes. Valuable quotes:

"Pimento Cheese is the Pate of the South" "Sweet tea - the House Wine of the South"
My church ladies' group read this book and then we had a party in which everyone brought something made with a recipe from the book. I took coconut cake and boiled custard.