P . 24 | OCTOBER 2022 | THE HAMMONTONIAN
A mix of culinary culture in Mary Young ’ s cooking
MARY YOUNG AT HER HOME IN HAMMONTON . by GINA RULLO
Mary Young has lived in Hammonton for more than 50 years . Her heritage is a mix of German , Italian , Irish . Her personal recipe collection reflects the mix of cultures .
Her favorite recipe from the German side of her family is her grandmother ’ s German Apple Cake recipe .
“ I am not a big sweets eater . It is just enough sweet enough . I remember making that with her . It was her Christmas thing . She would give them out . Now my mother does that ,” Young said .
On the Irish side of her family , her go to is Shepherd ’ s Pie .
“ My son gets that every year for his birthday . I remember my grandmother
IN THE KITCHEN
making it . You could smell it when you walked in the house . When she would make the mashed potatoes , she wouldn ’ t use an electric mixer . She would use canned milk , not regular milk , too , Young said .
Young uses the same brand of shelf-stable milk — Carnation Evaporated Milk .
She said her grandmother liked to cook things all in one pan like Shepherd ’ s Pie .
On the Italian side , it is meatballs and gravy . That is that was on the stove when The Gazette entered Young ’ s home recently . The familiar and comforting smells came from the kitchen near the back of the home which was decorated for fall and Halloween .
“ I remember my mom ’ s mom making the gravy . She would get the white bread , she would put a little gravy on top ,” Young said , adding that the grandkids were all given this treat each Sunday before the extended family sat down for dinner together .
When it comes to her mother , she loves her mother ’ s homemade Macaroni and Cheese .
“ Not from a box . The flour roux , butter and cheese . Not Velveeta either ,” she said .
Mary and her husband Jeff have lived in their house on Orchard Street for more than 35 years . In their time together , Jeff has encouraged her to scale down the size of her meatballs which used to be quite large , the same size her grandmother made to match the oversized ravioli .
“[ Jeff ] will eat anything . Lasagna is his favorite or meatloaf ,” she said .
Cooking is a passion of Young ’ s . But she prefers to be in the kitchen by herself .
“ I like to cook by myself . On Sundays , I try to cook for a couple days of the week . I crank up the music and zone out ,” Young said .
During the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown , Young learned to adapt her recipes due to the food shortage issues .
“ During the pandemic , I tried to figure out how to cook things like our grandparents had to with the shortages . I have my grandparents ’ cookbooks . I went to the Amish market . I found yeast there because you couldn ’ t find it elsewhere ,” she said .
Young doesn ’ t just rely on her family heritage recipes . She enjoys trying new things .
“ I will try new recipes if I come across something . I will google recipes ,” she said .
“ I learn from my daughter-in-law . She made butternut squash macaroni and cheese . It was very good . She is a phenomenal cook ,” Young said .
Her husband is more traditional in his food choices .
“ Jeff is a meat and potatoes guy . A salad is not a meal to him ,” she said .
Young is now retired , but when she worked full-time , she cooked nightly . She still does despite her busy volunteer schedule .
“ We don ’ t eat out a lot . We try to eat home as much as possible ,” Young said .
And even though it is just the two of them now , Young said she still “ always makes too much .”
Their home is welcoming to visitors from their inviting front porch to the back where Jeff and Mary Young have a patio featuring a barbecue , flat top and a pizza oven .
Young said her favorite tool is from Pampered Chef and it is perfect for breaking up ground beef and other solids in the pan thanks to the pinwheel blades . It is called the “ Mix N Chop .” Her other favorite is her immersion blender .
“ This time of year , I like to make a lot of soups , chilis and stews ,” Young said .
Their home is where family holidays are held . Her sister is not a cook and didn ’ t get that gene at all , Young said with a laugh .
Thanksgiving calls for the use of her mother ’ s oven in her upstairs apartment .
“ My mom has an oven upstairs so we utilize that . Mom does the stuffing and sweet potatoes ,” Young said .
She said that ravioli course begins at
See KITCHEN , P . 25