New study reveals 77% of Americans believe recipes are vital to preserving family heritage; millennials most likely to cook family favorites

NEW ALBANY, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For 75 years, Bob Evans Farms has brought people together with the highest-quality breakfast sausage made with premium cuts of pork and a signature seasoning recipe created by Bob Evans himself. To celebrate, Bob Evans^® is helping people turn their favorite family recipes into treasured keepsakes and even giving away a year's supply of sausage to one lucky sausage lover.

 

"Bob Evans sausage is a family recipe born from time-honored principles and carries the legacy of our brand," said Ciare James, vice president of brand marketing, Bob Evans Farms. "Just like our 75-year-old sausage recipe, we believe family recipes and culinary traditions are meant to be passed down and cherished."

Savoring family recipes
New research commissioned by Bob Evans found there is a strong sense of connection to the past that recipes tend to bring — feelings of joy, love, nostalgia and satisfaction are wrapped in the smells and tastes that trigger familial memories.

• The taste of time. Seventy-one percent of people have a family recipe that was handed down to them by their parents (54%), grandparents (40%) or great-grandparents (24%).
   
• Drool-worthy dishes. Two in three Americans have family recipes so good they believe they're worthy of bestselling cookbooks.
   
• Print versus digital. Even in the digital age, many still prefer to store their family recipes on physical note cards (46%), in a physical recipe book (40%) or purely by memory (25%) compared to digital scanning (13%).
   
• Generation gap. Millennials are especially keen to continue their family's heritage through cooking (80%), compared to Gen Z (67%), Gen X (75%) and baby boomers (76%). Gen X was found to be the most likely holder of family recipes (77%), followed by baby boomers (76%), millennials (68%) and Gen Z (53%).
   
• Passed dishes and traditions. A third (37%) believe passing down family recipes will be more important for the next generation.
   
• Making new memories. More than one in four (27%) have created their own recipes with the intention of starting their own family tradition of passing them down.

As part of their 75^th anniversary celebration, Bob Evans is partnering with culinary historian and bestselling author Sarah Lohman to explore the history of sausage in American cuisine and the importance of preserving culinary traditions handed down through family recipes.

"Sausage-making traditions from around the world were carried by migrants to the United States. The recipes relied on memory and feeling, instructions from an elder or a handwritten note, and were then adapted to the ingredients available in the new country," said Lohman. "For most of human history, family recipes like Bob Evans sausage recipe were passed down and prepared together — the recipes learned through observation and repetition."

Favorite family recipes sweepstakes
From now until Oct. 31, sausage lovers are invited to visit. and upload a favorite family recipe that includes sausage as an ingredient for the chance to be one of 75 people to win a $50 Etsy gift card to have a recipe turned into a keepsake that can be treasured for years to come. Plus, one grand prizewinner will also receive a year's supply of Bob Evans^® sausage, and the first 100 entrants will receive a 75-cent-off Bob Evans^® sausage coupon.

A sausage legacy
In 1948, Bob Evans legacy in the sausage business began when Bob Evans himself started delivery services for his signature recipe sausage in Ohio. The business grew and Bob opened his own "Sausage Shop" in Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1962, expanding delivery beyond Ohio just two years after. Now, 75 years later, Bob Evans Farms serves up a full sausage portfolio of fresh links, patties and rolls using the same family recipe.

Bob Evans^® sausage is available at select grocery retailers in the Great Lakes, Southeast and Northeast regions of the United States, including Walmart, Kroger, Meijer, Albertsons and Ahold Delhaize. To learn more and to explore a collection of sausage recipes.

About Bob Evans Farms, Inc.
For 75 years, Bob Evans Farms has delivered delicious, quick-to-table, farm-inspired food that makes mealtime a little bit easier and a lot more delicious. We're proud to be the No. 1-selling refrigerated dinner sides*, including many varieties of wholesome, feel-good favorites such as mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese, sold in grocery stores across the country. We're also a leading producer and distributor of sausage and bacon products and egg products including liquid eggs. In addition to our flagship Bob Evans^® brand, our product portfolio includes Simply Potatoes^®, Egg Beaters^® and Owens^® Sausage. Bob Evans Farms is based in Columbus, Ohio, and is owned by Post Holdings, Inc., a consumer-packaged goods holding company. For more information about Bob Evans Farms, Inc.