Millard McElwee

 

Course: English 101

Instructor: Dr. Elisabetta Lejeune

Assignment: Narrative

   

Have you ever tasted a slice of heaven? I have not, but I think that I have come pretty close. It’s quite impossible to describe unless you have a wonderful imagination or the real thing. The slice of heaven is my grandmother’s finger-licking custard pie, whose history is quite enticing. The heritage of the pie can be tracked back to one of the oldest matriarchs in the family.

Originating from my great-great-great-grandmother, the recipe can be traced back four generations. As a child, I remember the stories my grandmother told about the pie. She would sit me down and stare straight into my eyes. The pride she felt beamed throughout her face as she began the story: “We come from a proud and strong family whose history can be traced back to… ” She told me the intricate details of how the pie was changed over the years. My grandmother also shared the recipe and made me promise never to tell anyone. Pearl Brown, also known as “Big Mama,” concocted the original recipe. The making of the custard pie was of the utmost significance because it was only made on special occasions. Whenever the pie was made, the occasion could only be described as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Super Bowl all in one. Everyone would sit around the table and wait for the cracking of the first egg until the eating of the last crumb. Anticipation of the final result was sometimes completely unbearable because the spicy aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla which filled the air.

The first custard pie by “Big Mama” has come a very long way, and it has been tweaked over the years to evolve into what it is today. The recipe was never placed on a piece of paper; it has been passed down by word of mouth like family folklore. “Big Mama” taught her daughters, and her daughters taught their daughters, and so on, all the way to my grandmother. My grandmother has only one granddaughter, my sister. She will pass the recipe and history of it down to her daughters. The legacy and history of our family and “Big Mama’s” mystical custard will never be forgotten.

There is a saying that we need to truly understand our past to understand our future. I found this statement intriguing and decided to learn more about my past. Tracing my history back was one of the most interesting things I have ever done, and it was not an easy task. I made numerous phone calls to family I didn’t even know I had. It took a few weeks, but I finally compiled all the information into a tree that traced back to “Big Mama.” The evolution of the custard pie might never have taken place if not for the evolution of my heritage from the Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans down to me. My heritage can truly be described as a “melting pot,” consisting of multiple nationalities. Like the blending of ingredients for the custard, my ancestry is blended in the same way.

The custard is truly a heavenly dessert unlike anything I have ever tasted. The dessert is symbolic to my life in more ways than one; it completely embodies my evolution and diversity as a person. I am proud and fascinated to know that I come from a truly unique background.

     

Dr. Lejeune’s Comments: Millard attended English 101 while he was still a junior at Hammond High School. His paper “Heritage in the Most Unlikely Places” is the product of an assignment that required him to narrate an experience that drew a connection between food and culture. His approach, which links memories of a favorite dessert to his family’s traditions and past, shows his passion to discover elements of his cultural heritage and also his ability to recreate a vivid image of his family’s background. The readers just wish that they could taste a slice of that heavenly custard pie.