Where do you store your recipes? Do you keep them on one of the many online databases or in a traditional handwritten cookbook? Recently, I have been trying to collect all my favorite recipes from the internet, copies from cookbooks and handwritten ones from friends to catalog all in one location. Deciding where to keep them has made me weigh the advantages and disadvantages of all the choices.
There are so many different online recipe databases, software and Smartphone apps offering modern conveniences that a traditional cookbook can’t. I recently purchased a program that allows me to catalog my recipes by type of food, add pictures, import recipes from websites, publish my own cookbook and is even capable of sending grocery lists to my Smartphone. It is truly mind blowing!
There is something to be said about a handwritten cookbook, it gives a down home feel and opening it can be a sentimental experience. Coming from a family that doesn’t cook, I have always longed to have a book filled with generations worth of family recipes. A friend shared with me that she was given her grandmother’s recipes. They were all handwritten and spotted with grease marks of years of use. I could tell how much it meant to her and knew it was a very special gift.
When it comes to my recipes, I want it all but will have to settle for convenience. My handwriting isn’t that great and I am a much faster at typing. Hopefully, someday I will have collected all my favorite recipes and will be able to write them down for my children and we can start the family tradition of a cookbook to be passed down from generation to generation. For now though, I can enjoy all the great chefs that have published beautiful cookbooks and try and pretend they are my own family’s heirloom.
Tags: app, catalog, cookbook, database, handwritten, online, recipes, smartphone, tradition, traditional