There’s an old story that relates the tale of a young mother who was preparing to roast a ham.
As she always did, just before putting the ham into the pan, the mother sliced a little off each end of the ham. Her daughter, watching intently, asked why she did that when there was plenty of room in the pan.
“It’s a family tradition,” her mother replied. “It’s something my mother always did.”
“Why did she do that?” the young girl wanted to know.
“I don’t know,” her mother said. “I always thought it improved cooking time.”
That answer just didn’t make sense for the girl. Later, prompted by her mother, she called her grandmother to find out more about this family ham-cutting tradition.
“I don’t know,” the grandmother said. “It’s a family tradition, I suppose. It’s just something my mother always did. I thought it improved the flavor.”
The youngest daughter was still not satisfied.
Knowing her daughter’s daughter, the grandmother said, with a chuckle, “Well, we will have to ask my mother.”
A little later, grandmother, mother and daughter all went together to great-grandmother’s house. “Why,” they asked her, “is it a tradition to cut both ends off the ham before putting it in the pan?”
“I didn’t know it was a tradition,” the great-grandmother said.
“Then why do we always do it?” the daughters asked.
“I don’t know why you always do it,” the great-grandmother said, “but when I was raising a family, it was the only way I could fit a ham into the pan.”
Remember your mother this weekend.
Happy Mother’s Day.
