From the moment I step into the kitchen to begin preparing a meal, I focus on the little rituals that get me ready to start the process: Cleaning before cooking; Having a recipe on hand; Gathering ingredients and kitchen tools to prepare the meal; maybe even plopping ear buds in to listen to music or a podcast. Also, here in my kitchen . . . one of those rituals is donning a kitchen apron.
For me, it’s a security blanket. It covers me up and sets the tone for my culinary adventures all day long.
Whether it’s a half or full apron, flowered or plain, retro or holiday inspired, my aprons take me through my moods in the kitchen. Without an apron, I feel a bit out of sorts – and promptly head directly to the pantry to grab one.
The problem is, once I get there, I must choose which apron I’ll wear. That’s because I have nearly 20 aprons in my collection. Obsessed? Maybe. But they’re practical, decorative and ritualistic.
They’re more than a piece of cloth to keep my clothes clean and more than a fashion statement. They represent memories – from my childhood and current life.
Just as gatherings and the meals we eat evoke memories, so too does that apron. It was always there, worn by my mother or grandmothers, becoming part of that story; the fabric of that event.
Grandma Marie donned her aprons for every holiday — and weekly for our Sunday afternoon family gathering . . . and her chicken soup.
Grandma Gorman, who lived with us, always had her aprons on when in the kitchen — as well as during her post mealtime nap.
I’m happy to say, that many of those same aprons, mostly hand-made, are now hanging in my pantry. It’s a collection that has grown through the years.
When I busted out of Cleveland and headed to Miami for graduate school, setting up my own apartment, an apron came with me. Through the years, as the homes of my childhood were cleared out to be sold, I gathered the aprons and added them to my pile. In between It all, mom employed her sewing skills to create something distinctly my own. And this past Christmas I was gifted 2 new gems to add to my apron collection – the Gold Poppy Hedley and Bennett and the Red Poppy apron from Mu Kitchen. (I see a theme here!)
Just as my kitchen gadgets, cookware, stand mixer and coffee maker are necessities for the way I cook, so too are my aprons. While the hooks in my kitchen are overflowing with aprons, I don’t think I’ll ever stop collecting them.
(I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have an obsession for collecting KitchenAid Stand Mixers in every color available!)
