“Sampanelli” (Family Recipe)

Age: 20

Text:

“My dad makes sampanelli, which is like an Italian dish, because my grandmother is 100% Italian. So they grew up having a lot of olive oil and vegetables and that type of stuff, but there weren’t that many recipes fully passed down.

My dad doesn’t really cook, like we don’t want him to cook, but one thing he does make is sampanelli, which is kind of disgusting—it’s raw meat, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and like a crepe. The meat is raw—like salted pork—and he makes the crepe himself.

But the funny thing is, we were doing research this year, and I think it’s actually called something else, like “sampanel,” but they just assumed it was sampanelli because they wanted to make it sound Italian.

So now whenever people come over and my dad says, ‘I think I’ll cook,’ we all know what that means.”

Context:

The informant describes a dish made by their father that is understood within the family as an “Italian” recipe connected to their grandmother’s heritage. The dish often in social situations when guests are present. It has become a recognizable and somewhat humorous tradition within the family, especially as her father isn’t much of a cook. The name “sampanelli” is the family interpretation rather than an accurate term, showing how the dish has been adapted and redefined over time. The informant now lives in the US on the east coast with her family.

Analysis:

This is an example of material culture and foodways folklore, where cultural knowledge is expressed through preparation and sharing of food. A key aspect of foodways is its nature of bricolage, where people create tradition by piecing together available ingredients, memories, and cultural influences rather than following a fixed and original recipe. So, even though this recipe may not be authentically or accurately Italian, or prepared as such, it functions as a symbol of heritage and identity within the family.

The uncertainty around the name and origin of the dish demonstrates the variation that occurs in performance and through generations. This highlights how folklore adapts overtime and this doesn’t make the recipe less valid. The family maintains a version that reflects their own understanding of their culture background. It shows that folklore doesn’t need to be historically accurate to have meaning and still functions in preserving their culture.

This dish is also a form of family humor and shared knowledge. When guests come over they are brought into the collective experience of disappointment in the father cooking and therefore join the folk group of the family while present for the event. It is a way for all the bond and constructs an identity through performance and even for those experiencing the performance.

Post-Fast In-N-Out Tradition

Text:

“My tradition is, I’m Coptic Orthodox, which means I’m Egyptian and Christian, and what we do is every Easter, because we fast from meat, we go to In-N-Out every single year, since I was a kid. And we basically get three-by-threes, double-doubles, and we get super fat. And it’s great.”

Context:

The informant is part of the Coptic Orthodox Christian community and describes a yearly tradition that takes place after the Lent fast leading up to Easter. During this period, members abstain from meat and other animal products, making the end of the fast a significant moment of return to those foods.

The informant explains that their family and friends mark this transition by going to In-N-Out every year, a practice that has been repeated since childhood. In-N-Out is a fast food American burger chain in California.

Analysis:

This example is a form of customary folklore, specifically a ritual tied to a religious calendar. While the fast remains part of the formal religious tradition, the act of going to In-N-Out is an informal, family-created practice that builds on that structure in a modern way.

It connects to broader patterns in foodways, particularly the idea that the end of a fast is marked by specific, often indulgent foods. The emphasis on meat-heavy meals also shows the contrast between a period of restriction for religion and belief and then abundance. This is a common feature is post-fast ritual not just in religion but across cultures like body building. In this case, the use of In-N-Out shows how traditional practices adapt to local contexts because it blends religious and cultural identity with American consumer culture.

The repetition of this activity every year also demonstrates how folklore is maintained through ritual. The joking tone of “we get super fat” shows the humor that reinforces the group identity and marks a space where “getting super fat” and breaking all these religious strict rules is not only okay but celebrated by the group. It brings balance to daily life and also provides a safe way to go against the structures of religion. The fast may be over but religion itself is against over indulgence, this space, folk group and the end of the fast, creates the frame to subvert authority while still playing into it.

More broadly, this example shows how folklore can exist at the intersection of religion and informal practices. While the fast is institutionally defined the way it is experienced and celebrated is shaped by peoples everyday choices. Individuals and families can activley participate and create meaningful culture, with similar impacts of a religious fast, within larger systems on their own.

Garlic and Onions as Medicine

Age: 16

Text:

“One weird medicinal thing my parents would do is that even though they were doctors, they’re Romanian, so when we were younger, when we would get sick, they would always tell us to eat garlic and onions, which I think stemmed from the whole vampire Dracula thing, but somehow that was a way to avoid being sick.”

Context:

The informant describes a ritual from childhood in which their parents, both trained doctors, encouraged them to eat garlic and onions when they were sick. This advice was given as a part of everyday care, rather than in a formal medical context. The informant connects this to their Romanian cultural background referencing associations with garlic and onions as protection from things such as vampires.

Analysis:

This example of belief based folklore and foodways, specifically a home remedy that is passed down through cultural tradition. It reflects how folklore and coexist with formal systems of knowledge as the informants parents rely on both their medical training and inherited practices.

The use of garlic and onions as protective or healing substances connects in a widely known way to Vampires. However, this shows how stories and culture spread into each other and affect one another. This connects in a broader context to sympathetic logic where certain foods are believed to have magical qualities. While the information links this to vampires folklore it is also a cultural association around the world between food and health, showing how meanings can overlap across different traditions. Folklore is adapted and changed overtime, its performance and daily practice is what impacts the culture and identity around us.

This example also demonstrates how folklore functions as vernacular knowledge operates outside of institutional authority even when practiced by individuals within those systems. The fact their parents are doctors highlights that belief-based practices are not limited to a lack of scientific knowledge, but instead persist because they are culturally meaningful and familiar.

This example shows how folklore is transmitted within families and adapted into everyday life, shaping how people understand and respond to illness. Even if the reasoning is not fully explained or scientifically grounded, the practice continues because it is part of a shared cultural framework around healing.

Break a Leg

Age: 17

Text:

“I joined theater in high school because of my sister. She did it. And I learned that you should always say ‘break a leg’ instead of ‘good luck,’ because one time I said ‘good luck,’ and the person in the show got kind of, um, angry, and explained to me how that was actually really bad luck. So now I just make sure to always say good luck I guess.”

Analysis:

This example is a form of verbal folklore, specifically a superstitious/customary phrase tied to the performance settings. It reflects a broader theatrical superstition in which saying something positive (good luck) is believed to produce a negative outcome, while saying something negative (break a leg) will bring a good performance.

The moment of correction highlights how folklore is transmitted through informal social interaction, especially within a specific folk group like theatre performers. The informant’s experience shows how members outside of the folk group are socialized into the group norms, learning not just what to say, but what meanings those phrases carry within that context.

This practice also demonstrates how folklore relies on shared belief systems, even if those beliefs are not taken literally. The rule is maintained through repetition and reinforcement by the group, giving it authority within the performance space.

More broadly, this example shows how folklore helps define group boundaries. Knowing to say “break a leg” signals membership and understanding. In this way, the phrase functions not only as a superstition, but also as a marker of identity and belonging within the theatre community.

Romanian Joke

Age: 51

Context:

The informant is a Romanian immigrant now living in the United States. She recounts the jokes from back home when she was a young in the 90s.

Text:

“We have very weird jokes they’re either offensive, or matter a fact and stupid. For example, like okay, a professor says “Bula tell us five animals from African continent,” and Bula says “1 lion and 4 monkeys.”

Bula is the name of the kid. But it’s so stupid, I find it funny. There were always people that would be saying let me tell u this joke let me tell you that.

Analysis:

This is an example of a larger cycle of Bula jokes, a well-known genre in Romanian humor built around this fool “Bula.” This example shows how folklore is not just text but performance tied to social roles. This joke works depending on who tells it and in what context.

The humor operates through anti-humor because the listener expects a thoughtful response to the professors question but instead receives something very simple. The dryness of the joke and the delivery, which is a core aspect to Romanian humor, enhances the effect in the school setting. The joke is funny because it’s matter of fact, the answer isn’t wrong exactly but it’s so literal and stupid that it’s funny. It reflects how humor can be culturally specific, and it would be a joke within a specific folk group because of it.

Additionally the repetition of Bula in other jokes and by the class clown of the class demonstrates multiplicity and variation as many jokes reuse the same character in different scenarios. This is similar to “let me tell you a joke” or “knock knock” is acts as a signal and a performance marker, listeners then know something funny is going to begin and it frames their way of looking at it.

Finally, these jokes function as a form of social bonding within a peer group, especially in school setting where humor can challenge an authority figure like professors. In strict Romanian schooling a student presenting a joke about a student who gives an absurd answer to a professor is a subtle play at power dynamics within the class. This provides a space for students to laugh at institutional authority and is probably why my informant remembers it so clearly when prompted about jokes.