What can a worn community cookbook tell us about family, place, and the foods we never forget?

In this episode of Jenn Seasly’s Foodlore, Dr. Jenn welcomes Alex Matuszeski to share the story of his mother’s peach cobbler—a simple seasonal dessert rooted in Bath County, Virginia, where she was born and raised among a large extended family in the Allegheny Mountains.

The recipe comes from an old Bath County cookbook created as a fundraiser by a local Presbyterian church. Filled with recipes contributed by members of the community, the small red spiral-bound cookbook has yellowed with age and become a treasured family heirloom. Inside is the cobbler recipe Alex’s mother still makes with ripe peaches, butter, a thin batter, and a beautifully crisp, chewy layer where everything caramelizes against the hot baking dish.

For Alex, the cobbler tastes like summer, home, and his mother’s love.

The conversation soon travels beyond dessert as Dr. Jenn and Alex explore Southern fried chicken, old family cooking methods, fresh spices, Indian food, homemade tamales, Polish pierogi, food memories from Poland, Thanksgiving dishes, and the joy of taking on a new culinary adventure.

Because the recipes that stay with us are rarely just instructions. They carry the people, places, traditions, and stories that shaped our lives.