A PINCH OF THIS AND A DASH OF THAT

(The Secret Recipe Revealed)

I have mentioned in a previous post that I teased my father-in-law a few years back because we found out that my husband's lineage is not fully Irish like we assumed.  I quipped that I was "sold a mutt" instead of the "purebred".  Well, I spoke too soon apparently...

Recently, I had my DNA analyzed by Ancestry.  A few years ago, I had it analyzed by 23andMe.

For years, I was led to believe the my heritage is entirely Italian, and while that is true for the past five hundred years that I have discovered, the ingredients in my ancient DNA suggest something different.  It seems that I am also a mutt, but don't tell my father-in-law!  I'll never hear the end of it.  As you can see from the pie chart, I am predominantly Italian, but I was surprised to see that Greek was paired with Italian.  Another interesting detail was the fact that I have quite a bit of Middle Eastern blood in me.  I'm assuming that centuries ago, ancestors traveled into other regions, perhaps selling their wares or on a mission to conquer foreign lands.  Who knows?  

The two biggest surprises in my personal recipe are as follows:

1.  My DNA revealed that I am actually 1% Irish.  WHAT??!!  For decades, I've been saying, "I don't have a stitch of Irish blood in me."  Turns out that I do!  That may prove why my favorite color is green, I enjoy watching Irish Step Dancing, my husband is mostly Irish, and I absolutely LOVE potatoes!

2.  My DNA also revealed that I am 4% European Jewish.  Hmmm...how did that happen??  For at least five hundred years, that I know of, my family has been Roman Catholic.  Interesting!

While I connect mostly with my Italian heritage and have grown up with the Sunday gravy, speaking very loudly with hand gestures, and indulging in the occasional cannoli, it is interesting to see that there are other cultures in me.  Talk about the secret family recipe!