The method and apparatus collect file recipes from deduplicated data storage systems, the file recipes consist of a list of fingerprints of data chunks of a file. Detailed meta-data for each unique data chunk is also collected. In an offline process, research and analysis can be performed on either the meta-data itself or on a reconstruction of a full trace of meta-data constructed by matching recipe fingerprints to the corresponding meta-data. The method and system can generate the full meta-data trace efficiently in an on-line or off-line process. Typical deduplicated storage systems achieve 10× or higher deduplication rates, and the meta-data collection is faster than processing all of the original files and produces compact meta-data that is smaller to store.